Vong Interview

 

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the solo project these days?

Greetings. As of now, I’ve finished writing and recording new materials for the next release. However, they’ve been demoed so I’ll have to re-record them as well as working on its artworks.

2.Can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you have went for on the recordings so far?

I always go for the straightforward, old-school sound of black metal. Of course, I draw some influence from outside of black metal as well, but the roots will always be deep in the sound of the second wave.

3.Recently you have re-recorded your 2019 demo, can you tell us a little bit more about the decision to re-record all of your older songs?

When I joined House of Ygra, a label based in Hanoi, we agreed that “A Wander in Liminality” was to be released in CD format, and I had already had in mind the idea of a jewel case design for it. 

As I was revisiting the old records, I found the sound and song writing very immature, as I basically had had no idea what I was doing with the DAW back in 2019. And halfway through the jewel case designing process, I realised that these artworks deserved a better recording quality to accompany it. The idea was to sound raw and gnarly, but at the same time the riffs and all instruments must be audible. And thus, “A Wander in Liminality” was re-recorded, even though the release date was pushed back several months but from what I can see it was totally worth it.

4.A lot of your lyrics cover Vietnamese folklore, can you tell us a little bit more about the mythology, and culture behind this topic?

To clarify, some of them were folklore/culture and mythology while the rest were historical. The idea for folklore and mythology is very similar to the Scandinavians and their paganism themes. As for the historical part, I pick out the tragic parts or the battles and events that shaped our history.

For the title track, in Oriental culture “liminality” is a post mortem stage, in which the dead is stuck between moving on to the afterlife or lingering on Earth, and often baffled as they can still hear their loved ones mourning while coming to term with the fact that they are dead, at the same time they may find themselves wandering alone in an unknown landscape between the realms of the living and the dead, revisiting their own memories as if it was a final dream.

“Lệ Chi Viên” (The Lychee Garden Case, 1442) was a historical event that saw Nguyễn Trãi’s family falsely accused of regicide and subsequently, three generations of his entire family (around 400 people) were beheaded in a single day.

“Ất Dậu” (year of the Rooster) refers to the 1945 famine in Northern parts of Indochina, caused by the Imperial Japanese Army (and the French Vichy regime) when they confiscated all the grains and replaced all the crops with jute and cotton for their war efforts, which resulted in the death of 2 millions Vietnamese.

“Storm over the South Sea” is a song inspired by mythology. It tells the story of Thuỷ Tinh, the god of water and the ocean, who every year during the Autumn months, will conjure the storms, hurricanes, and floods to get back at his nemesis, Sơn Tinh - the god of mountains over millenniums old grudges.

“The Birds Shall Carry My Bones Home” is about Tuệ Tĩnh, a Buddhist monk and a well-known healer who was sent as a tribute to the Ming emperor in 1385 and had to spend the rest of his life in China. Supposedly, his final will was hoping that one day a compatriot will rest his bones at his birthplace.

“Ghosts of Long Forgotten Trails” is a special one for me. Inspired by war time stories from my relatives and the novel “Nỗi Buồn Chiến Tranh” (The Sorrow of War) by Nguyễn Bảo Ninh, it paints a story about soldiers who were lost or abandoned in the jungle, succumbed to diseases and the wilderness, and forced to wander restlessly as ghosts until their remains are found and properly buried.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Vong'?

The word “Vong” in Vietnamese simply means dead, forgotten, or in this case, a wandering spirit who cannot reincarnate for they still hold on to their past life or unsolved grievances.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

The main artwork as well as most of my artworks were heavily influenced by Art Nouveau, but with a few pinches of Oriental spices to them.

For the album artwork, a lot of Vietnamese/Oriental imagery was used:

The figure is cladded in the traditional Vietnamese women’s tunic (áo dài).

The barn owl is believed to be an omen of death in Vietnam and in several other cultures.

The figure is also adorned with bronze age artifacts, from weapons to bracelets, all of which are dated to the Đông Sơn culture almost three millenniums ago.

While the barn owl symbolizes death, the silk moths are a symbol of life and transition in contrast.

All animals and plants in the artwork are native to the region, with the lotus being our national flower.

Symbols and patterns found on the Đông Sơn bronze drums were also utilized here.

7.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians on the recordings or do you prefer to work solo?

For this particular record I had the help of Imperial, another figure in the scene who lent me his audio equipment. Otherwise, I’d prefer to work solo. 

Of course, I’m open to work with other musicians, but that’d be in another project, because Vong is where I want to experiment around and project my own ideas.

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?

I don’t think it’s that popular, but I think it’s been mostly positive, the only complaints I’ve seen were mostly about the sound quality of the demo. 

9.When can we expect new music and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

A sophomore album was planned to be out later this year but since both me and the guys from the label have been busy lately, it will probably have to wait until next year.

For Vong, I plan to do a few other releases before retiring it and move on to other projects that I’ve had in mind.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that you are currently listening to nowadays?

Aside from black metal, I’m also a fan of neo-folk, post punk and some other stuff like dream pop. And last but not least, Vietnamese music from the 60s and 70s.

Some artists that I’ve been listening to a lot lately: 

Forgotten Woods

Death in June

Anna von Hausswolff

Mazzy Star

Wulkanaz

Kaelan Mikla

Of the Wand and the Moon

Forseti

Psychic TV

Amebix

11.You also have mentioned an interest in romanticism and occultism in a previous interview, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?

I think romanticism plays a huge part in the themes of many black metal acts, and Vong is no exception. A lot of inspirations were drawn from the basic characters of romanticism, like a certain bond with nature, a nostalgia for the past, freedom of expressions and human emotions to be conveyed through art. 

While I do have an interest in occultism, I don’t consider myself an occultist or a satanist or anything like that. I just simply enjoy reading about witchcraft, paganism and have a soft spot for artists who utilize the theme.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

When baking banana bread, always use an extra banana. Slice the banana into thin slices (along the length of the fruit) and place them on top of the batter before you bake it. This will give the loaf a layer of crunchy, chewy caramelized banana slices on top.

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