Nghe An girl and multinational band

(Baonghean) - As a former student majoring in History at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, graduating with honors from the Academy of Journalism and Propaganda, in addition to her work as an editor, Nghe An girl Le Huong Tra (born in 1989) also participates in musical activities by founding a unique multinational band.

Recently, on the social network youtube, the video of the world famous song “Hello” by the famous female singer Adele performed by a multinational band in Vietnam has caused a stir in the online community. Within just 1 week of release, the video received more than 17,000 views and shares. The unique point of this band is the “Vietnamese” name: Bun Cha Band - with members from different countries around the world living and working in Vietnam.

Bun Cha Band

The Bun Cha band currently consists of 3 members from different countries: Daniel Murphy (UK) plays piano, Taylor Morrison (Canada) plays lead guitar. The leader Le Huong Tra (Vietnamese) appears with the band as a singer, and Tra also performs on stage as a solo singer.

Le Huong Tra on the music stage

Huong Tra is not a strange name to fans. This girl born in 1989 has participated in many music game shows: The Voice, Vietnam Idol, Sao Mai Diem Hen... and left certain impressions. However, Huong Tra does not pursue music professionally. This former student majoring in History at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted graduated with honors from the Academy of Journalism and Propaganda and is currently a reporter and editor for VTC Television.

In her spare time, Tra nurtures her hobby by performing, singing at large and small music shows in Hanoi and recording, creating her own music channel on Youtube. Many fans are surprised and delighted: The mature, somewhat old, serious and polite female editor on the VCTV14 weather news becomes "transformed" in music videos: sometimes passionate, sweet, and soulful, sometimes free and wild.

Tra said: Actually, it is not too difficult to balance these two "extremes". During the day, I spend most of my time focusing on my work as an MC and reporter. Because of the nature of my work, I have to show my demeanor, as well as choose mature and mature outfits and makeup so that the information transmitted on television becomes trustworthy. And at night, it is time to perform, so this is when the artist in me is most clearly and comfortably revealed, just like my true self.

Tra's artistic style is widely accepted by the expat community living and working in Hanoi. Among many friends from all over the world, Tra was surprised by the musical talent of a few close friends, and the idea of ​​forming a multinational band arose from there.

Apart from Tra, the other members’ main jobs are English teachers and musicians, playing music at tea rooms, Western bars and events for the foreign community in Hanoi. Due to each member’s busy personal work, the idea of ​​forming a band was left unfinished for nearly two years, until after hearing the song “Hello” by the famous female artist Adele, Tra was really attracted and obsessed, so she stood up to “invite” everyone to do a cover (sing again in a new style) for the song.

Huong Tra shared that the group initially planned to name themselves The Da's Band because when combined with Tra's name, it would mean Iced Tea - a drink known as the "national drink", most popular in Vietnam, and has become a typical popular cultural feature.

While discussing a suitable name, Daniel suggested that the group go eat bun cha and then think further. By natural reflex, the members looked at each other and wondered, why not choose this typical dish of Hanoi that the group "loves"? And so, the Bun Cha band was born. Many audiences said that the name of the band was the first thing that attracted them. Instead of using a "Western name", this group of many Westerners chose the name of a dish that was both familiar, cute, and "craving". The way this name was chosen was not only unique and creative, but also easily won the hearts of Vietnamese audiences.

Private path

Although Bun Cha Band has 3 European members, the main singer who performs English songs is a girl from Nghe An. Singing English is not the strength of Vietnamese singers in general. It is very difficult for a Vietnamese singer to sing a foreign language as well as his/her mother tongue. That requires the singer to practice English pronunciation in addition to normal vocal training. Therefore, Tra has to take advantage of the opportunity to practice English anytime, anywhere, especially conversational English. When practicing a new song, Tra often sings and asks her English friends to listen and give her feedback on her pronunciation.

Huong Tra and members of Bun Cha Band.

The direction of Huong Tra and the Bun Cha band is quite new and different: Specializing in covering (singing again) popular English songs in the world music market, recording, filming videos and updating on Youtube. For the group, covering means doing it differently, not exactly copying the original. Coming to each cover, the audience will enjoy new versions compared to the original in terms of singing style and music processing. It can be said that performing cover music is "creativity within a framework", a place for artists to promote their creativity, sensitivity, and a bit of "recklessness" in musical thinking.

Currently, there are also some Vietnamese singers who choose to cover international music, but this is not a popular trend in Vietnam. Therefore, Huong Tra and the Bun Cha band consider this an interesting challenge for them. After the first song "Hello" (Adele) with more than 17,000 views and shares in a week since its release, the group has more confidence in their path and has more motivation to continue perfecting many other products.

In the near future, Huong Tra and Bun Cha Band will participate and compete with many other strong opponents in the reality TV show Vietnam's Got Talent 2015, after receiving an invitation from the organizers of this prestigious talent search contest.

Hoang Van