The song "April's Obsession" expresses the continuation of the persistent creative journey with the simple and sensual sounds of musician Nguyen Thanh Trung.
Thanh Minh period starts from the beginning of the third lunar month, which is an occasion for every Vietnamese child to fulfill filial piety, clean graves and repair ancestors' graves. That is when family and clan sentiments are tightened through fragrant incense sticks and prayers for peace. In harmony with that spirit, the song "April's Obsession" by musician Nguyen Thanh Trung appears as a predestined coincidence.
In the form of a summer love song with loudspeakers, rosewood flowers and sudden rains, but the content structure of the work operates like a deep nostalgia. The song is arranged by musician Thanh Tung (stage name Thanh Tung guitarist) and features Vietnam's No. 1 Oboe artist Hoang Manh Lam and the voice of female singer Bui Yen Ha, promising to bring a completely different musical experience to the audience in these April days.
Music by musician Nguyen Thanh Trung is inherently a journey to find pure vibrations from life. With the song "April's Obsession" this time, that journey is no longer solo footsteps, but the resonance of professional artistic thinking, creating a space of contemplation full of beautiful feelings.
Musician and arranger Thanh Tung assessed, "Musician Nguyen Thanh Trung often humbly considers himself an "amateur" in music. However, his "amateur" quality contains a rare receptiveness. His music is colorful, lyrics are tricky, rhythm is sometimes a difficult problem for the arranger. It is these things that retain the true emotions of people, not flashy, not borrowed, bringing interesting things to those who accompany Nguyen Thanh Trung in the process of discovering to create a very unique musical space".
With "April's Obsession", the horn sound of Oboe artist Hoang Manh Lam (who just won the First Prize in the 2024 Autumn Music Competition) not only plays the role of musical accompaniment, it is the soul of nostalgia. The slender, slightly choked sound of Oboe perfectly matches the image of white Dalbergia tonkinensis flowers, lilies and especially the detail of "green fungus".
Instead of looking for names that have shaped the style and music of musician Nguyen Thanh Trung such as People's Artist Quoc Hung, People's Artist Mai Hoa, Meritorious Artist Hoang Tung or Minh Chuyen, To Ngoc Ha... the choice this time was placed on singer Bui Yen Ha.
This is an experimental but confident decision of music arranger Thanh Tung. Singer Bui Yen Ha possesses a beautiful, round voice and above all, freshness. Her appearance is like a strange breeze, adding to the treasure trove of artists performing Nguyen Thanh Trung's works. Yen Ha's voice is not too dramatic, the female singer chooses a natural way of expression, flexing her muscles to the gentle, natural Vietnamese intonation like the heartfelt words of a child from afar returning on Thanh Minh Day.
April, through the musical thinking of Nguyen Thanh Trung and the shaping of Thanh Tung guitarist, has become a psychological space, where nature repeats its cycle but human life does not. It is the contrast between the eternity of heaven and earth and the finiteness of human life that has created a strong obsession.
Therefore, the song "April's Obsession" goes beyond the framework of a regular entertainment product. It is a theoretical work about memories, a tribute to the past, contributing to preserving the good cultural traditions of the nation in these meaningful March months of the lunar calendar.
