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| Khanh's passion is to combine traditional and contemporary music |
Unexpected harmony
Born in 1992 into a family with a background in performing arts, Khanh grew up surrounded by music and songs, so music came to him as naturally as breathing. In 2009, he began studying the monochord and the two-stringed fiddle at Hue Academy of Music. At that time, the monochord was not just an instrument to Khanh, but a soulmate, a door leading him into the world of traditional folk music.
Four years later, as a first-year student, Khanh became self-reliant through his own abilities. He took performance gigs and participated in small shows to pay for his tuition. “Back then, I just thought simply: as long as I got to play music, I was happy. There were shows where people paid me little, but I still felt happy,” he recounted.
During those years of studying and performing, Khanh met a rapper. His connection with hiphop came very naturally, from casual hangouts and musical exchanges. Once, while his friend was rapping, Khanh casually took out his monochord and tried harmonizing with him. He then discovered an unexpected harmony between two seemingly distant worlds: the timbre of the monochord and the rhythm of rap. In that very moment, a new idea sparked: why not let the monochord “converse with” and accompany hiphop?
Not stopping at the idea, Khanh started learning to make beats.
In 2010, Khanh released his first track combining the monochord and the two-stringed fiddle with rap music, titled “Ngay qua ngay” (“Day by day”). This product laid the foundation for the direction he has steadfastly pursued until now: connecting traditional instruments with modern music. Three years later, he continued to research deeper into orchestration and the way to harmonize folk instruments with Western instruments. “For me, music is not a race to follow popular taste. I just want to tell my own story, and the story of the people around me through the melody,” he said.
Ancient soul in new music
After graduating, Khanh joined Hue Opera and Drama Theater. Then, in October 2020, he decided to quit the job and move to Ho Chi Minh City, pursuing the path of a hiphop artist.
However, in October 2022, Khanh returned to Hue, becoming an independent artist. He both performs the monochord for the Hue Chamber Music Club, and collaborates on musical arrangements for many other artists.
Among his notable products are “Me Linh chorus” (artist Thanh Hang), “Mot chut Hue Thuong” (Mai Le), and “Phong Suong” by rapper Thai VG… Many of his works have not only been well-received by the audience, but have also won awards at domestic music competitions.
Besides performing Hue-Singing, Khanh also remixes folk songs and incorporates the sound of the monochord into EDM and hiphop. For him, folk music is not something to be “kept untouched in a glass cabinet”, but a material that can live alongside the present. “Folk music is inherently a part of me. Once I understand and am familiar with it, combining it with other genres becomes very easy. The issue is that we must respect the roots and not lose its soul,” said Khanh. He believes that the combination is not only to create novelty, but also to help the younger generation get closer to traditional music. If we only talk about preservation, music will sometimes stand still. But when it is allowed to live and blend into the new current, its true value will then spread.
In the future, Khanh plans to establish a band in Hue, where traditional instruments like monochord, two-stringed fiddle, and bamboo flute, etc., can harmonize with electric guitar, jazz drums, or keyboard. He calls it a multi-system band, where traditional and Western music are not opposite, but complementary, conversing, and enriching each other. “Hue not only has Hue-Singing, but it also has jazz, hiphop, funk, provided that it still contains the distinct soul and the rhythm of this land,” he added.
This is not just a personal dream, but also a desire to contribute to giving the public a new perspective on music of the Ancient Capital: dynamic, open, and integrated, while still retaining its inherent profound spirit.
In his journey, Nguyen Luong Ngoc Khanh is not only “preserving” traditional music, but also modernizing, evolving, and adapting it to contemporary life. He always believes that if an artist loses his/her core values, s/he can easily fall into indifference. “The core value of an artist, for me, is music. I want to let music live with the times, but it must still keep its soul. That is the only way to keep tradition echoing,” shared Khanh.
Amidst the pace of modern life, Khanh’s monochord still resonates, sometimes soulful in Hue-Singing songs, sometimes lively and urgent in rap tracks. In every setting, listeners can still recognize the ancient soul touching the music of today, gently yet profoundly.