Vietnam’s burgeoning underground club scene is at an exciting crossroads. With label and rave collective Nhạc Gãy quickly rising to its vanguard since their first party in 2019, the Vietnamese electronic music scene is finding its own identity and sound after years of being dominated by Eurocentric standards. Though Gãy have only released one project so far – a genre-smashing compilation of Vietnamese and diaspora artists – that album is a sampler of the shape of the Vietnamese scene to come. This series of tracks is a further outline of that shape.

Puppy Ri0t
“RaizeR”
From Various Redline Margins
(Eastern Margins)

The Vietnamese underground is coming back around to vinahouse, a local EDM genre occasionally vilified for its perceived cheesiness, comparable to regional styles like scouse house in North England and hardbass in Eastern Europe. Puppy Ri0t, rising producer and regular DJ at Nhạc Gãy raves, experiments with the bouncy vinahouse formula for the UK based Eastern Margins collective in this track. Mirroring other scenes that are evolving their regional styles—funkot in Indonesia, budots in the Phillippines—Nhạc Gãy is part of a pan-Asian wave of energy in electronic music. In Puppy Ri0t’s hands, the bubbly vinahouse sound turns darker, more industrial.

Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective
“Aztec Glue”
From Ngủ Ngày Ngay Ngày Tận Thế
(Subtext)

Though they’re known for their explosive improvisational noise rock performances (they once performed for 48 hours nonstop), the Rắn Cạp Đuôi Collective have been dabbling in sound collage as of late. “Aztec Glue” is the most club-friendly composition on their latest album, and perhaps a premonition of their upcoming release on Nhạc Gãy later this year. A dreamy soundscape that descends into a beat thick with bass and noise, the track is one of their most recognisable.

Tran Uy Duc
“Hill”
From Came
(Self released)

Having just entered university, Tran Uy Duc is one of the youngest musicians who’s been rising in the Vietnamese scene, a testament to the youthful energy driving it forward. The first such album was Ran Cap Duoi’s Ngủ Ngày Ngay Ngày Tận Thế, so it might make sense that the two have collided, Tran recently joining up with RCD as a vocalist and producer. On “Hill”, he teams up with fellow Vietnamese vocalist Lý Trang to create a haunting piece of experimental electronics.

mess.
“Symbol”
From Fearless
(ANNAM)

Thao Vu, aka mess., is one of the co-founders of Nhạc Gãy, and certainly the group’s most eclectic performer. Her live act sees a union of traditional Vietnamese sounds and electronic music, while her DJ sets flit from techno to shoegaze to Jersey club to UK drill. She regularly does both at Gãy parties, sometimes combining the two. At the recent Equation Festival, she arrived at the DJ booth in an áo dài, a traditional Vietnamese dress, starting her set with a sáo solo before taking ravers on a musical detour through regional club styles across the globe.

Anh Phi
“Nodey ft Suboi – Đôi Khi <3 (Anh Phi Remix)”
(Self released)

Anh Phi is another co-founder of Nhạc Gãy. A filmmaker, DJ, and producer, he grew up in Paris before moving to Shanghai and then eventually back to Ho Chi Minh City, where he helped found the collective. This track, a techno remix of the V-pop song “Đôi Khi” by fellow Gãy affiliates Nodey and Suboi, is a staple at Nhạc Gãy parties, a local favourite that energises the crowd without fail.

Larria
“Chet Roiiiiiiii [Lo Say Bye La Bye] (Larria Edit 2020)”
From MÚA QUẠT (VIET MIX​/​EDIT PACK)
(Self released)

Inspired by regional club music styles like Jersey club and baile funk, Larria’s edits of Vietnamese pop are regularly rinsed in the Vietnamese underground. He’s also gained notoriety as a hip hop producer with Under the Hood, one of the most well-known artists in Gãy’s orbit. This remix of V-pop ballad “Lỡ Say Bye Là Bye” reworks the song from a smooth R&B cut for the café to a club anthem fuelled by Jersey kicks, breaks, and a sprinkle of baile funk beatboxing.

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