HCMC band COCC on keeping it sincere
COCC are Hanoi promoters The Onion Cellar’s ‘personal favourite Vietnamese rock band’ and on the 13th September they’re bringing them to Hanoi Rock City
They describe COCC’s music as being: ‘At times mellow, more often than not bursting with unadulterated rage, but always, always sincere and unmistakably and proudly Vietnamese – from the field recordings of the streets of Saigon on Giao Thông (an angry ode to Vietnamese traffic featuring screams that come straight from hell) to Phuc’s singing in a pure heavy Southern accent (neglected by most if not all professional Vietnamese singers who happen to come from those parts – why?) to the subject matters of their songs which deal almost exclusively with the low-lives often overlooked in modern society (kid beggars, cyclo-drivers, abandoned children etc), one feels as if this music was born out of a Saigon underground last depicted in Trần Anh Hùng’s Cyclo: dark and chaotic and yet ultimately humane.’
Hưng Trần from The Onion Cellar interviewed the band on behalf of & Of Other Things
Photos and Illustration by Ki
&: Your debut album ‘6 Giờ’ (6 O’clock) did not get an official release-permit from the authorities, did the decision to self-release it come easily? Do you face any difficulties with this DIY distribution process?
COCC: We didn’t actually find it important whether 6 Giờ would be given an official release-permit or not. We respect our own creation and would never want to compromise, to have things changed just for a permit. And so the distribution process has been rather amateur-ish. As with many underground bands around the world, we have been promoting the album via gigs, the Internet and Facebook.
&: Lyrics-wise, where did the inspirations for the album 6 Giờ come from? Most of the songs seem to have been inspired by everyday observations, fleeting moments and experiences, from Vietnamese commuting stories to ‘eyes-closed, drifting to Pink Floyd’ moments.
COCC: From the beginning we have always wanted to write songs about Vietnam, in Vietnamese, for the Vietnamese. Our inspirations could come from any sort of situation, usually our songs are not what you would describe as ‘uplifting’, but they were all born out of inspiration, out of what genuinely moved us, what made us really want to sit down and write a song about.
&: Some of my foreign friends, all genuine music-addicts, are really into the band. Have you ever thought of taking your music into foreign territories? In this age of Bandcamp and Soundcloud and the likes, I imagine it would be a lot easier to approach potential audiences through the Internet – although obviously one might end up with too much music…
COCC: No, the band has not thought about it. Obviously we are happy when someone (no matter where they are from) enjoys our music, and we would be keen on going on tour if there is an opportunity to do so. But our utmost priority is trying to keep our passion alive and to keep making new music, the rest will come when they come.
&: Phuc, years ago you used to be in Hero In Danger (one of the earliest Saigon rock bands of the current generation). You have been part of this scene for a really long time, have you noticed any changes in the scene compared to those early days? In terms of bands, audience, organisers.
COCC: Nowadays there are a lot more bands – new bands who want to play their own music and to explore a much wider range of sounds and ‘genres’, which is an incredibly positive sign. Gigs are organised in a more organised manner, with better equipment and gear, the contents more varied, the scales larger.
Some of the older audience seem to harbour a nostalgia for those primitive years of Vietnamese rock music: they think people were ‘crazier’ back then and there was a lot more energy. It’s true, in a way, considering the situations of those years and all the difficulties one would face in finding and discovering music; kids would be hanging about at these cafés (that play-back’d noisy rock stuff) just to listen to that music, and the shows, organised by the fans for the fans, were born out of people’s genuine need [for live music], so they would happen on a regular basis.
These days, with things developing and branching out into all directions there has been a great deal of audience segregation. Now people go to shows in search of an exchange, an affirmation, an interaction of ideas and ideologies between bands and audience. It’s no longer only about sounds.
(Hero In Danger, a Vietnamese cover-band Phuc used to be in circa late 90s – early 00s. This video is an interesting window into these early years of contemporary Vietnamese rock music)
&: Any plans for the future that you could maybe share with us? Will the fans ever get to listen to a COCC 2.0 record?
COCC: We’ve been working towards our 2nd album, and we think this too will be an edgy one, with a lot of character. For our upcoming show in Hanoi we will be playing songs from 6 Giờ, songs from our 2nd album, and songs that will never end up on any album.
