1.
Starting to take shape from the summer of 2017, Quan Nhac Cam was a starting point in creating the appearance of the 60S Tho Quan art complex - an art space for Hanoi youth at that time. As Minh said, Minh singing and Quan Nhac Cam appearing, is in the right "period of the trend of young people making independent music", at the right time "this city needs such an atmosphere".
Minh singing old music with "free" energy seems "unsuitable" and "unreasonable", which seems to be very naturally nurturing the music bar and its creator, because people come to the bar not only to listen to old music, but also to "watch what young people do".
Quan Cam space, intentionally or unintentionally, is located in French-style houses in Hanoi before 1954. An space in the middle of the space, with many large windows welcoming natural light and wind. In the room, furniture is nostalgic, along with the peace of trees, flowers, and the bustling of music. That mixture gives us an image of the soul of the city - with elegance, romance, poetry - no matter what, somewhere discreet, it is not easy to lose.
The inspiration for naming Quan Cam is simplified from the name Luc Huyen Cam - the music bar of the artist duo Le Uyen - Phuong from the dreamy Da Lat land "a time of distant fragrance". The cultural atmosphere at Luc Huyen Cam, or at Quan Van with the singing of Khanh Ly - Trinh Cong Son echoing in the campus of Saigon University of Letters is the "largest source of inspiration" for Quan Nhac Cam to be present. Music bar - is a place where footsteps from everywhere can visit, to see with their own eyes, breathe a comfortable, "relaxed" atmosphere.
It is difficult to say where Cam Music Club at 60S Tho Quan or 6 Nguyen Thuong Hien is more worth going to, or more lovable. That atmosphere is both it and different from it, over time of relocation. A time of youthful excitement and passion of Minh and his companion girlfriend Pham An that started the coffee - music shop in Kham Thien area, has become more contemplative, when only Minh stepped onto the 3rd floor attic of the house at the beginning of Nguyen Thuong Hien street and quickly decided to reopen Cam after more than 2 years of interruption.
Many faces coming to Cam Music Club in Tho Quan alley do not return to Cam in Nguyen Thuong Hien, because of busyness or distance, or a time of their youth has passed; but there are familiar faces still returning to traces of memories, and more new faces - coming to Cam here when they do not know/miss the other side.
2.
No matter what, in the attic with lots of sunshine and wind, there is one thing that remains unchanged, which is that music still echoes. The music, the songs from the record, or the sudden singing of a guest hugging a guitar and playing, sometimes it is also the singing of Minh himself, with friends practicing together before the Folk Music Nights on Friday nights.
When music rises, it makes attendees or witnesses suddenly realize that somewhere in their hearts they are entering "artistic" soulful moments. The soaring sound opens up a world that is both magnificent and can soothe deep sadness hidden inside. The language of music is like a river, and standing in front of it, everyone can receive something for themselves: the sparkling sunlight or the cool steam. Just standing there, whether your soul follows to the shore or just a moment passes by, it is already full of aftertaste.
It is not an exaggeration to say: Music is the soul of Cam Music Club. What makes Cam special, different from many other cafes, is bringing us closer to the love songs of our country, which we rarely hear. Minh's way of doing it - opening a music club to be able to play his favorite songs, to sing his favorite old songs, to share with everyone, to welcome everyone - tells us that each piece of music, each song is associated with one or two specific authors, born in a certain space and time but it is still very beautiful, very vivid every time someone sings. A famous singer of a time, or a young person "absent" from that period - are equally fair in feeling and "conservation".
3.
Officially taking place the "Cam Ca Nights" every Friday weekend since 2018, "Cam Ca Night" has now passed the number 216. Reviewing the themes: "Da Lat in a distant time", "First love song", "Story of the river", "Saigon sun", "Rain returns to the song", "Sitting and singing very freely", "Night garden with moon shining", "Sad lullaby to poetry", "Hanoi, Hanoi", "This afternoon there is autumn coming home"... are many songs by musicians Van Cao, Pham Duy, Trinh Cong Son, Le Uyen Phuong, Vu Thanh An, Tu Cong Phung, Ngo Thuy Mien, Tran Tien, Thanh Tung... rang out. Among them, we cannot fail to mention the "Cam Ca Nights" dedicated to each musician.
Duc Minh cherishes the musical works he sings, cherishes the musicians who compose the songs and also cherishes the voices he admires. Minh himself will write articles introducing the themes of each music night before they take place, excerpted with poems and lyrics with sincere emotions from his own experience. Minh also spends time talking about musical works and musicians, before or after singing like simple confessional words.
But when Minh plays and sings, it seems like another Minh, passionately, immersed in each lyric, melody. Minh's voice is bright and emotional, as if "at this moment, in this place" only love for music is a source of emotion, a burst of aspiration, passionate dedication. The small attic where Minh sings is not more than a few dozen seats, with lights, candles, only the sound of piano, guitar, occasionally adding the sound of violin, cello or drums, and singing without mics that Minh often calls "no sound" stirring the space like the spread of light.
There are times when Minh sings with a few friends, sometimes Minh sings alone, with a guitar. Minh says "to be sad, to be lonely, to be closest to myself". But that's what Minh says, when the sound of the guitar and singing rises, the sadness becomes pure, without a bit of weakness. Minh is like the stairway to the attic, like a window frame, a ray of sunlight, a drop of rain, a forgotten tree, a late-night lamp suddenly lights up... no one is sure. But maybe Minh is everything, all the hills and this city, dawn and dusk, bright smiles, warm hands hugging...
Guests come to listen, including both acquaintances and strangers, both Vietnamese and foreign tourists. Some pass by once, some return many times. The reason for coming and going is unclear, but sometimes in the room, suddenly the guest bows down so that no one sees him in tears. As if the song is for them, as a consolation that they have been burying for so long.
Once Minh sang "White Summer", the regular customer looked out the window, saw under the road the car was traveling with lights, suddenly remembering the night he heard it more than a month ago, when it was later, looking at the window printed with different shadows of trees, people and cars, then the singing sound like it was rising from the ground like the sky was echoing down, the guest felt like he was at fault for being so busy that he had not come to listen for a long time. When he returned home, looking at the recorded images, seeing the dizziness of his hand hitting the pillow, the guitar, then the singing voice receded like the sky, passionate, magnificent, the guest once again burst into tears of pity: "Calling the sun on your thin shoulder... for the afternoon craze many white flowers flying... the sun takes you back to the highlands, the wind flying"...
The guest imagines the tears of the flower quỳnh, even though the quỳnh dust on the second-floor resting mat hangs down the stairs to the attic that has been out of season for flowers for a long time. For the Cam Ca Night "The Story of the Fragrant Quỳnh Flower", Minh once wrote: "The flowers avoid the daylight, so that when night falls [...] they bloom silently at night. Like the flower quỳnh, there are beautiful things, giving up to everyone, dedicating themselves, dedicating themselves to the last brilliant moments".
Minh's words about quỳnh flowers can also resonate with Minh himself when mentioning the names of "songs combined into oneself", there is always "Còn tiếng hát gửi người" - for Cam music nights, like the nights when quỳnh flowers have "bloomed" on the attic, sowing fragrance, longing and lingering feelings for those who pass by.
