HÀ NỘI – Composer and music producer Nguyễn Quốc Trung, who is also director of Việt Nam’s biggest international music festival – Monsoon Music Festival (MMF) – has been invited to attend the on-going music business event Mu:CON in South Korea.

As the only representative from Việt Nam, director Trung is attending the conference to talk about the MMF. This is the third time MMF has been invited to participate in this leading music business event, which is taking place in Seoul.

Hosted by the KOCCA (The Korea Creative Content Agency), the annual conference focuses on the interaction and communication of the Asian and global music industries with the participation of international festival directors, agencies, promoters and professionals in the music industry from more than 30 countries. Each year, Mu:CON attracts more than 11,000 participants with its diverse activities, including music showcases, conferences, business matching and liveshows.

Mu:CON is one of the most important and crucial partners of MMF in partnering, promoting and developing the Vietnamese music industry. Over the past three years, Mu:CON and MMF have agreed on the Artist Exchange Program, at which each event will select an artist or group based on a strict set of criteria to perform at the partner’s event.

At MMF 2017, Mu:CON successfully introduced Biuret – a Korean rock band to Vietnamese audiences. In the same year, MMF chose Hà Trần with her project Bản Nguyên (To the Core) to perform on the showcase stage of Mu:CON Seoul 2017. 

Popular group: Vietnamese underground band Da LAB has been selected to perform at the Mu:CON Seoul 2018. — Photo courtesy of Thanh Viet Production

MMF director Trung said that the partnership between Mu:CON and MMF sets a foundation for artist exchange programmes with international music festivals worldwide in the long run.

“In the coming years, we will certainly continue to introduce many thrilling music activities as part of MMF, to our festival-goers, which include music showcases and conferences,” he said.

“We want to create a platform where artists, agencies, promoters, music festival directors in Việt Nam and around the world will have the opportunity to study and learn from specialists, which eventually helps facilitate and develop the music industry in Việt Nam in a more professional way,” he added.

At Mu:CON 2018, Da LAB – a Vietnamese band which performed at MMF 2017 – has been selected to represent Vietnamese artists alongside other international performers from over 30 nations.

Best known as an underground band, Da LAB’s songs are popular with young music fans, including Under One Roof, Hanoi Rush Hours and Back Home. Back then the music scene was filled with rap songs about love, while Da LAB’s songs quickly became known for their whole new perspective.

The group was formed in 2007 with five members and eventually ended up with three members two years later. In 2018, Emcee L joined the band and the band now has four members, including Trần Minh Phương (aka MpaKK), Nguyễn Trọng Đức (aka Rabbit Run), Võ Việt Phương (aka JGKid), and Nguyễn Thanh Long (aka Emcee L).

Mu:CON will wrap up today. – VNS