Vinh Dang Tran...Roof top, Cubase and Atari!

Vinh

Joan Widfield, a director working on a film in Vietnam, had asked me last October to collect and to edit music for her up coming film. She had specifically ask me to avoid the typical Vietnamese traditional music, which was over used in most film shot in Vietnam, and the pop stuffs from Asia and Paris by Night. She wanted something different, original, and made by Vietnamese borned artists specifically rock, alternative, and electronics, no pop.

This blog entry is not about the film but about Vinh. During my search for the music, I ran into Unlimited Project and the man behind the record label, Vinh Dang Tran...all the way in Paris, France. I decided to make contact with Vinh and luckily, he was a "victim" of the Myspace.com and so we are linked, Vinh's exact words.
Here is my conversation with him (we were both in broken English),

-Hey dude, give me a clue about you, your back ground, and music:

My full name is Vinh DANG TRAN and I'm born in Paris in november 20th 1977.I grew up and I live in Paris.I'm a composer , arranger and music producer

-uhhh, can you be more specific than that?

I grew up in a music family. My father is a piano player who is a student of Nguyễn Thiện Đạo. When I was 5, my dad decided that I will be playing the piano and got me studying it since then. We still have the piano which my dad got from his teacher Nguyễn Thiện Đạo. For 15 years, I had been practicing and playing mostly classical music but that is just for my chop. The music I was into and influenced the most was hip-hop and urban type electronica. I would say the neighborhood or part of urban Paris which I am living has alot of influenced on me. You know, hip-hop movement is very big in France.
-I did not know that, was there Vietnamese or Asian music in your neighborhood?

Actually no. My neighborhood mostly made up of African, Arab or Middle Easterners, and Europerean immigrants. I live very far from China Town.

-What else influenced you musically?

It is hard to pin point really. I listen to almost everything from jazz, soul, rock, to movie sound tracks. King Crimson, Chick Corea, Ennio Morricone , John Zorn , Isaac Hayes, Herbie Hancock, etc.

-Any particular producer or style of producing in music?

Well, lately it has been Ennio Morricone. He also a master at composition, the way he simplify thing which makes it pure, powerful, and especially his strange approach to musical instruments. I also love the works from DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Dr. Dre.

-So tell me has piano always been your weapon of choice and what kind of gears did you start out with recording and producing?

I was not borned rich and things are also very limited in Paris at the time. I started out with Cubase and an Atari computer for sequencer. Yes, you better believe it, an Atari running basic OS, window did not exist then. Then I saved up bought a Akai S950 sampler and Roland S330 sound module and that was the bulk of my studio at the beginning.
Now these days, I still stick with Cubase because I am so use to it. (Vinh continue to tell me about cracked and things free for PC...so I will not put it in this entry).

With classical back ground, I do work in MIDI alot and the sequencing in Cubase SX is dead on accurate for me. The new version now also come with audio recording and softsynth which are so convenienc for me now to put thing together without leaving my chair.

-Vinh, tell me about Unlimited Project.

This is pretty much a family thing. I meant family cause the cats I am working with now had been with me for a long time. Unlimited Project is the name of our first CD and also the name of my record label. It is my project and I am pretty much work things out my way regardless how others do it differently.




-Give me an idea how you work?

I am pretty much do all the arrangement outline in Cubase Midi sequencer. I then start record and replace tracks with real instrument. I did this all in my home studio and also where I record all the vocal tracks.
With Kiki, my trusted engineering partner, we would dump and mix everything inside Protools for more plug's in variety. For this particular project, we output the tracks thru a SSL and mix it down to a Ampex 456 1/4" 2-track to get that nice fuzzy feeling. After that, I took the mix down to Top Master, a mastering house in Paris, to have the mixes properly master.

-I got your Cd man, love it. That dam delay you use for almost every song, mind to disclose what kind of effects you used?

Not really, but here is the list in no particular order. Lexicon 480L, H3000 , Ensoniq DP4 , EMT Reverb , SpaceEcho Roland...and so on.

-Dam it Vinh. I really like the color of your vocal track. As an engineer, I am jealous. What is the chain here?

Very simple actually, for vocal I switch between two different mics, C2000 and C414 EB and see which one work. I used the C414 going thru the Langevin Dual Vocal Combo alot for this CD.

-Oh wow, the Langevin...why?

I used to own an Avalon 737 channel strip. That thing is cool looking but the sound are steril and...commonly bore. I sold that and bought the Langevin Dual Vocal Combo, kept it ever since. I found the Dual Combo to be transparent but also can give you color when you push the limiter a bit. The distortion is nice not too excessive like the Avalon and can be used for added color when record instrument. A work horse in my studio.

-What about dynamics?

I am not telling (smiling).
Note: check out Vinh's pix in his studio, Urei 1176 black and white face plus a couple of Distressors, Tubetech EQ, and something Yamaha or maybe those 90's thingy :o)

-So Vinh, what is your next plan?

I had finished the CD and it is being pressed as we speak. I am in the middle producing for a French artist name Anouk Aïata. I hope to push my Unlimited Project to what I would describe as an urban "Sounds of Paris" all over the world for everyone to hear. I would love to collaborate with Vietnamese musician whenever the chance comes up. And yes Duy let's make sure my music make it into the film would you?


Last word by Duy,
I am not such a great interviewer. I was not good at this but It was so fun to interview Vinh.
I found Vinh to be genuine and funny. I also can see that he is a very talent composer, producer, and song writer. It was such an honor for me to know and to have a conversation with Vinh. I love this job.

for more info and sample of music, you can check out Vinh and his Unlimited Project at

http://www.unlimitedproject.com
http://www.myspace.com/playloungeproject
http://www.myspace.com/vza1