Guitarist Trần Tuấn Hùng. Photo nguoinoitieng.tv

Bức Tường band is one of the most popular rock bands in Việt Nam. It was in danger of disbanding after the death of Trần Lập – who was the frontman and composer in 2016.

The band has returned after six years with a new album entitled Con Đường Không Tên (The Unnamed Road).

Việt Nam News reporter Nguyễn Bình chats with guitarist Tuấn Hùng, the new leader of the band.

What can you tell us about this song?

The song Ở Nơi Ấy Có Chúng Ta Thuộc Về Nhau (Where We Belong Together) is about the spirit of experiential travellers.

Writing a song is like giving birth to a (spiritual) child, it must be conceived and condensed with every bit of emotion. So that when it is born it will be beautiful and not influenced by something else.

After an online meeting with my partner, I understood fully his thoughts about the development of the experiential travel community and ecological environment protection. More than that, he respects my creative ideas.

Composing the song, I began to learn more about this type of tourism, the thoughts and emotions of the people when they absorbed energy through the trips.

I thought of myself as an experiential traveller riding motorbike or sat on a bus sharing joy to conquer the roads or do something meaningful.

The most difficult thing about writing a song is to find ideas. One of my close friends suggested to me the idea.

I want everyone to enjoy the song, so it must be simple with an easy melody and lyrics. The song needs to be romantic and enthusiastic, aiming to spread positive energy to listeners and encourage them to travel.

Bức Tường was one of the first successful rock bands in Việt Nam, according to billboard.com. What are you thoughts on this?

There were good bands before us like Atomega, Da Vàng, and our peers The Light, Desire, Thủy Triều Đỏ, Buratinox…ect. All of them have gained success.

We are lucky to be known by more people. I think that there must be a reason for the success that came to Bức Tường. It was always our dream, that we once thought was unrealistic, to make it happen.

We had an outstanding leader and met the right people at the right time. When the first album was released in 2002, we understood that the road ahead was very open, so we were even more determined to reach new heights.

What difficulties did the band encounter when the leader died?

We were like a ship in the middle of the ocean that had lost its captain. At that time, we lost direction and thought that we had to stop our journey.

The band performed old songs for two years and we felt trapped. After that we decided it was time to chance our arm by composing and recording the album Những Ngày Tháng Tuyệt Đẹp (The Wonderful Days) in 2019. It was well received by the audience and we made the album Vol6 entitled Con Đường Không Tên in 2020 featuring Phạm Anh Khoa.

It is a milestone for us to start on a new path. And this year, we released album Vol7 Cân Bằng (Balance) in April.

How do do you see yourself as a leader of the band?

I was the band’s co-founder with Trần Lập. But Lập was not only lead vocals and composer, but he was an executive of the band.

Now, I have to learn all the things needed to run the band like small concert organisation, press relations and writing new songs. It is really hard, but we keep moving forward.

Bức Tường was formed in 1995 and has changed its members many times. You and the late Trần Lập were among the first members. Why have you stayed with the band?

I’m surprised myself. I’m always eager to think about the things that I will do for the band. It is also exciting to rehearse with the band members and I’m still nervous before performances.

All the band members past and present always keep our love for the music that we pursue. Plus, we have received love and support from different generations. We still have dreams and goals to reach.

You are also an architect. What is the relationship between architecture and music?

I think it's normal, because most Vietnamese guitarists/rockers are like that. They have another job besides their music career.

There is an interesting relationship between these two jobs. Someone said "architecture is the arrangement of spaces, while music arranges silences."

What does the future hold for Bức Tường?

We have been working hard to release new albums and songs, so perhaps we will slow down a bit to start working on our own concerts.

We will have Concert 29+ in March next year to celebrate the 29th year of Bức Tường's establishment. I’m thinking a lot about that special event. - VNS