Eksotik Meksotik presents: Saigon Soul Revival

Vocals:Minh Anh Nguyễn

Keyboards:Đăng Nguyễn Khoa

Guitar & Đàn Nguyệt: Indy Laville

Bass: Gabriel Kaouros
Drums: Hiếu Nguyễn Hương Bảo

Special guest:

Đàn Tranh & Đàn Bầu: Hải Phượng Nguyễn

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, the band Saigon Soul Revival (SSR) has been bringing alternative music from Saigon—created before 1975—back to the stage since 2016. With rousing live performances, the band pays tribute to the original composers and performers of the golden era of “Nhạc Vàng” while also presenting new compositions and their own interpretations of old Vietnamese songs.

Since 2023, SSR has expanded its international presence and has performed at events including the WOMAD Festival in the UK and Australia, the “Sống ở Berlin Festival” and the “Festival der Kulturen” in Germany, at the “Trans Musicales” in France, at the “Festival Músicas do Mundo” in Portugal, as well as in China and other countries.

Debut album: Họa Âm Xưa (2019)

With support from the British Council’s “FAMLAB Fund” initiative, the band began composing original material in the spirit of Saigon’s pre-1975 sound. Their debut album *Họa Âm Xưa*, produced by Jan Hagenkötter, was released in 2019 on the Saigon Supersound label.

Recorded in Vietnam, the album features notable guest artists—including the legendary singer Mai Lệ Huyền, who was already successful before 1975, and the popular Saigon-based rapper Blacka (a finalist on the TV show “Rap Việt” 2022)—thus blending the historic sound of Saigon with its contemporary voice.

Traditional instruments such as the Đàn Nguyệt (played by Indy Laville) as well as the Đàn Tranh and Đàn Bầu—performed by the renowned, classically trained musician Nguyễn Thị Hải Phượng—lend depth and authenticity to the recordings and live performances. This fusion of old and new sets SSR’s sound apart from the original recordings of the 1960s and 1970s.

The album garnered international acclaim and was nominated for the 2021 Songlines Music Awards in the UK. It received extensive radio airplay, including on Radio FIP in France, on Iggy Pop’s radio show on the BBC, and on Cosmo (WDR) in Germany.

*Mối Lương Duyên* (2024)

With their second album, *Mối Lương Duyên* (2024), SSR presents a musical journey that includes eight original compositions and three cover versions of “Nhạc Vàng” from Saigon.

Nguyễn Anh Minh’s enchanting vocals glide through a multi-layered, stylistically diverse soundscape. The album goes beyond universal themes like love and heartbreak to explore how fate is shaped by personal experiences.

“Everything and everyone who enters your life, every event—whatever comes and goes—happens as it is meant to. We cannot choose our bodies, our families, our happiness or misfortune, nor our place in the world. Yet we have the power to accept and embrace our destiny.”

The track “ĐÁM CƯỚI NHÀ EM” from the album can be heard in the HBO miniseries *The Sympathizer*—a production featuring Robert Downey Jr. (who also plays one of the leading roles), based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen.

The single “Ai Thật Lòng Yêu Ai” made it onto Radio 1’s (Berlin) year-end charts. The official music video was added to the permanent museum collection of the Philharmonie de Paris (Cité de la musique), thereby paying special tribute to the use of traditional instruments in a contemporary context.

In 2025, SSR released the song “Con Tim Và Nước Mắt” as a tribute to the legendary rock band CBC Band. The track marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the war (April 30, 1975) and celebrates Vietnam’s reunification and cultural heritage.

The renowned U.S. radio station KEXP recorded a live performance by SSR in 2024 and has been streaming it since March 2025.

Chốn Ta Về(2026)

In 2026, Saigon Soul Revival returns—quite literally—with the new album *Chốn Ta Về* (“The Place We Return To”). It was recorded once again in Ho Chi Minh City.

Building on the sonic foundation of *Mối Lương Duyên*, SSR expands its musical palette through the use of more traditional instruments such as the t’rung (a bamboo xylophone from Vietnam’s Central Highlands) and the sáo trúc (bamboo flute); the latter can be heard, among other tracks, in “Hoạ Mi Ca” (by Mộng Long)—the album’s only cover song, which dates from before 1975.

The album features two renowned Vietnamese guest musicians: Đinh Nhật Minh, a young virtuoso known for blending traditional Vietnamese instruments—including the Sáo Trúc—with contemporary sounds, and Trần Mạnh Tuấn, widely regarded as Vietnam’s leading jazz saxophonist.

As on previous albums and during many live performances, Nguyễn Thị Hải Phượng contributes to selected tracks on the Đàn Tranh and the Đàn Bầu. Guitarist Indy Laville once again plays the Đàn Nguyệt.

The making of the album is documented in the upcoming documentary *That Saigon Soul Sound* by filmmaker Louis Corallo and the Cake Collective, to be released via SSR.

In addition, the band contributed the track “Vỡ Mộng Ân Tình” to the official James Bond video game *007 First Light* and recorded a new arrangement of “Sài Gòn Đẹp Lắm” for the documentary *Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon*.

In 2026, Saigon Soul Revival returns—quite literally—with the new album *Chốn Ta Về* (“The Place We Return To”). It was recorded once again in Ho Chi Minh City.

Building on the sonic foundation of *Mối Lương Duyên*, SSR expands its musical palette through the use of more traditional instruments such as the t’rung (a bamboo xylophone from Vietnam’s Central Highlands) and the sáo trúc (bamboo flute); the latter can be heard, among other tracks, in “Hoạ Mi Ca” (by Mộng Long)—the album’s only cover song, which dates from before 1975.

The album features two renowned Vietnamese guest musicians: Đinh Nhật Minh, a young virtuoso known for blending traditional Vietnamese instruments—including the Sáo Trúc—with contemporary sounds, and Trần Mạnh Tuấn, widely regarded as Vietnam’s leading jazz saxophonist.

As on previous albums and during many live performances, Nguyễn Thị Hải Phượng contributes to selected tracks, playing the Đàn Tranh and Đàn Bầu. Guitarist Indy Laville once again plays the Đàn Nguyệt.

The making of the album is documented in the upcoming documentary *That Saigon Soul Sound* by filmmaker Louis Corallo and the Cake Collective, to be released via SSR.

In addition, the band contributed the track “Vỡ Mộng Ân Tình” to the official James Bond video game *007 First Light* and recorded a new arrangement of “Sài Gòn Đẹp Lắm” for the documentary *Y Vân: The Lost Sound*.

Special live guest: Hải Phượng Nguyễn...

...was first introduced to the Đàn Tranh (a 16-string Vietnamese zither) at the tender age of five and began her formal training on the instrument two years later at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music. Hải Phượng won the silver medal at the 1989 Festival for Singers, Dancers, and Professional Musicians in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as first prize at the 1992 “National Competition for Young Đàn Tranh Talents.”

Today, she also teaches the Đàn Tranh at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music and plays the Đàn Bầu. She contributed to the recordings of the band “Họa Âm Xưa”’s debut album, as well as their follow-up albums “Mối Lương Duyên” and “Chốn Ta Về,” and performs live with the group whenever possible.