Magical Nights – Saigon Surf Twist & Soul (1964-1966)

Housed in a 6-panel digipack, with two 32-page booklets in English and Vietnamese, featuring extensive liner notes by Hannah Hà and Mark Gergis, exclusive photos, album and sheet music art, original magazine and newspaper extracts, nightclub advertisements + more
First ever retrospective of Phuong Tâm, the groundbreaking Saigon teenager who became one of the first singers to perform and record rock and roll (known in Vietnam as nhac kich dong, or, action music). 25 tracks spanning Phuong Tâm’s recording career: early rock and roll, surf, twist, soul, blues and jazz ballads recorded in Saigon between 1964-1966, featuring electric guitars, contrabass, lush brass, saxophone, drums and organ, and rich backing vocal arrangements
Produced by Mark Gergis (compiler of Sublime Frequencies’ 2010 compilation Saigon Rock and Soul) and Hannah Hà (daughter of Phuong Tâm). Audio restored and remastered from original records and reel tapes. A family story – as told by Hannah Hà, whose dedication to discovering and sharing her mother’s musical legacy, is helping to put Phuong Tâm back on center stage after 55 years. Adds critical context to the fragmented understanding of Vietnamese popular culture at the time. First western-issue single-artist retrospective of a pre-1975 Vietnamese artist