Red Axes ‎– Trips #2: Vietnam

A year after Red Axes’s musical adventures took them through the sounds and scenes of Africa, they return with a second EP in the Trips series that finds them exploring the rich rhythms of Vietnam.

This project is a multi media venture combining music, film and travel in pursuit of extra ordinary collaborations. It finds the esteemed pair made up of Niv Arzi and Dori Sadovnik explore local cultures and traditions, link up with local musicians and record them playing indigenous instruments as well as presenting workshops for youth music schools. It comes after the Garzen Records bosses have established their unique mix of synths, guitars and genres as diverse as house, acid and leftfield experimentalism on vital labels from Phantasy to Dark Entries.

Opener ‘Ho Chi Minh’ is a brisling track with funky bass loops and the hustle and bustle of a market square infusing the organic house grooves. Local percussion, jazz keys and vocal coos all add to the richness of this most uplifting beat. ‘Hanoi’ is even more exotic thanks to the enchanting lead vocal, jungle bird calls and low slung bass, while ‘Phu Quoc’ gets more rave, with phased bass riding up and down there sale, an intoxicating lead line that sounds something like a didgeridoo and a manic synth that darts about the mix with disorienting effects. Closer ‘Hue’ is a blissful and almost Balearic beat with a shimmering lead melody line and layer upon layer of wind instruments, claps and hits that speak directly to your soul.

The accompanying film captures the essence of the trip, shows some of the recording sessions and local life in Vietnam, from beach parties to incense rituals via communal dances in public spaces, all of which inspired and infuse this record. As such it is a fantastically colourful and immersive EP that takes you to the other side of the world with real authenticity