Closing 2023 on a high note: Along with her "close collaborator" Hoang Thuy Linh, DTAP is the name that was mentioned the most at the Lan Song Xanh Music Awards 2023 (just announced on the evening of January 5) with overwhelming victories in 4 categories: Top 10 favorite songs ( See love ), Song of the year ( See love ), Mixing and arranging ( See love ), Album of the year ( Link ). Those scores also helped Hoang Thuy Linh win the Female Singer of the Year award. 7 songs: Promised land, Universe with you, Heaven's will, Phu hoa ball, Bo xi bo, Pushing the cow cart and The Fireworks Hugger produced by DTAP also entered the Blue Waves rankings with 5 nominations in the categories; The first season of the reality TV show " The Beautiful Sister Who Makes the Waves" - a reality TV show in which DTAP was the Music Director - won the Impressive Entertainment Program award at VTV Awards 2023...; and especially the song "See Love" and its dance became popular around the world... DTAP brought surprise when it was hard to believe that such a list of achievements was made by a music production group that had only been established for less than 5 years with 3 "amateur" members, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics and had never received formal music training.
"People see it as a fairy tale, but we see it as a story of effort," the three boys of DTAP unanimously shared with Thanh Nien .
What helped turn a weakness into a strength, even in time to make DTAP the most "powerful" music producer in Vietnamese showbiz today, the first choice of many A-list stars after less than 5 years of launching?
Like many of our colleagues, we have all been passionate about music since childhood, the only difference is that instead of studying music, we chose to pursue Economics. Turning our weaknesses into strengths is a long story. In the past 5 years, there has been almost no day when we have not diligently studied on our own, trying to update all the big and small movements of the world music industry as well as Vietnamese music, especially in terms of technology. Every opportunity to collaborate with our seniors is also an opportunity to learn and gain experience.
In addition, the thinking of Economics graduates also helps us to visualize more clearly our steps in the story of how to make music. Sometimes even weaknesses can be... strengths when there are creations that if they were professional artists, they would not necessarily do, but we do, and many of those "reckless" actions are considered creative. It can be like when people love each other, understanding each other too much is sometimes not necessarily good! Partly, perhaps because we belong to generation Z, a generation that dares to play and take responsibility, is not afraid of making mistakes and when necessary, will always dare to go beyond the framework.
How could a group of 3 unknown young men gain such quick access to A-list stars in such a short time? The knowledge they learned in business school about the art of marketing?
At first, we… asked this person and that person for the artists’ emails, and only dared to knock on the doors of young people, not daring to approach the older ones, to send out our demos. But the result was that our first marketing venture was a miserable failure: most of the emails were either not responded to or rejected. But we still persisted in composing and diligently sending them out. Until one day, Ms. Hoang Thuy Linh noticed us and the hit De Mi noi cho ma nghe and then the album Hoang was formed, really brought about turning points.
From the beginning, we were not chosen, and to become chosen, we had to try harder. Maybe our starting point was not as good as those who were trained in music school, but the only thing that made us confident was to keep trying every day, so that we could become better, at least than yourself. In the end, it's all about attitude. Attitude sometimes leads to skill.
Is there, a formula for a hit, to be able to establish so quickly, a dense list of hits?
Observing the path of famous stars in our country as well as in the world, we can see that the story of musical personality is very important. A musical product is tailored for each artist, first and foremost, it must highlight their musical personality, must optimize their personal mark, so that it cannot be mixed up.
The topic seems so big, but in fact, when we start working, we often start from very small things that are close to us, like everyone else. For example, familiar sayings, games, lullabies, or a character in a literary work that everyone has learned... For example, the hit song Bo xi bo simply started from a saying that we kids often said to each other when we were angry with each other and threatened to "stop playing", not play with each other anymore. So now, let's say, if someone "cuckolds" us, then instead of being heartbroken, we will Bo xi bo, stop playing with each other...
We don’t really think too much. There are things that seem complicated but are actually very simple, it’s just that in the world of adults, they tend to complicate things. Maybe because we’re young, sometimes there are still many childish traits in our personalities, and even in our writing.
Den Vau said: "Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again, so that when I run away, someone will come looking for me." As for DTAP, what is the point?
To start a music project, or when planning the steps for an artist, the producer is forced to use his or her own reason, the reason of an "adult", to think deeply about the standards of the product, the path of the product..., but when entering the world of creativity, we want to be most relaxed, and are always willing to allow ourselves to be relaxed, with the mindset of a child. There is a saying that we really like: "Do great things with the joy of children".
Teamwork is often considered one of the weakest skills in Vietnamese workers, let alone in the creative field, where personalities can easily clash. In Vietnam, music producers are often independent individuals. So how has DTAP been able to maintain the addition of 1+1+1 =… 1 for the past 5 years?
It is true that in Vietnam, the music production model consisting of a group of 3 people like DTAP is very rare, but in the world it is extremely popular, even some groups have up to 10 - 11 people. There is a saying: "If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together", which is true for DTAP because this team model helps to take advantage of each person's strengths: one person takes care of the lyrics, one person takes care of the melody and the other person takes care of the arrangement. To be excited enough to go together, of course each of us has our own personality. But when we devote ourselves to raising our common child, we will put our egos aside, and at that time there will only be one ego, which is DTAP.
At the time when Hoang Thuy Linh's show was about to start, the main character's "slip of the tongue" had somewhat adversely affected ticket sales. As the show's producer, did DTAP feel any hesitation at that time? What helped the crew "turn the tables"?
Standing in showbiz, the way we choose is usually not to pay too much attention to social networks. The same was true when we did the Vietnamese Concert for Linh, we also almost did not post anything, read anything, to know if there were any disadvantages or not. We only need to know one thing: Music itself is a connection, and we believe in the special things that we have reserved for that important show of Hoang Thuy Linh. What people see is just a milestone at the end of the road, but that is the result of a long preparation from a long time before.
In her dark days, Mi in Husband and Wife A Phu used to look out the window at the hazy white space, not knowing whether it was fog or sunshine. So if "let DTAP tell you", what will help people reach "the place of sunny dawn"?
This question is really interesting, because it is also the image that DTAP was haunted by when reading A Phu's Wife , and in the end, we found a way to bring Mi out of that narrow window to see the sunlight with the vibrant lyrics and melodies that we have heard together. When choosing the image of the sea hibiscus flower for the theme song of the show " The Beautiful Sister Who Rides the Wind and Splits the Waves" , what DTAP wants to tell you is the same: Even if you were born from a dry sandbank, always turn towards the light and know how to lean on each other to have enough strength to welcome the waves that will come in your life.
From 3 college students sharing 3 vegetarian lunch boxes and now "huge" orders in less than 5 years, with DTAP, what is a lot of money for?
The money is mainly reinvested in music, so that after 5 years of establishment, from a modest first studio of only 10 m2 , in a slum attic, surrounded by cockroaches (but still daring to receive Ms. Toc Tien, Mr. Lam Truong), DTAP has now built 4 international standard studios. Music production is not only investing in technology but also investing in people. Without waiting for the "changing of the guard", DTAP has now built for itself a successor team of 35 young people, the youngest of whom is still from the Alpha generation, in the hope of building the most complete music complex. So that one day if we let go, DTAP will still be there. For us, that way of spending money brings much greater happiness than spending money on luxury goods.
DTAP and Hoang Thuy Linh
Exactly 20 years ago, diva My Linh and her team , when making the album Made in Vietnam, also had the dream of "going to the sea" but then stopped there because "in the end, it was still due to language and cultural barriers that made me more or less hesitant and lacked the necessary boldness...", as the singer once confided. When her hits have gone further beyond the border, will a typical representative of the Gen Z generation like DTAP dare to dream further?
For nearly a year now, and especially after the moment of hearing and seeing See tinh on Blackpink's stage, we began to think further about the responsibility of us young people, with the desire to change something for Vietnamese music on the world music map. Compared to My Linh's time, today's flat world has helped break down many old barriers, combined with the "recklessness" of the Gen Z generation, so the opportunity for young Vietnamese artists to "go to sea" has also begun to become more open. We think we dare!
But for something as big as that to happen, other waves are needed. We are building a boat, and are constantly looking for new sailors who can go with us, and above all, have the spirit to ride the waves. Need Be well prepared, because you never know when the wave will come, and when it does, have a boat big enough to ride it.
The biggest obstacle for DTAP is whether we ourselves are really good and have enough confidence to "cross the ocean" or not.
A wish for the year of the dragon?
Wishing everyone a year of the dragon where no one has to struggle or go around in circles!
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