“I want to sing my songs without having to worry about what to wear or how to put on beautiful makeup,” says Le Cat Trong Ly

The limelight doesn’t dazzle 21-year-old singer-songwriter Le Cat Trong Ly since her music is for those who listen, question and contemplate.

Not yet anyway. Fancy clothes, makeup and other accouterments are distractions from what she wants to do.

Write and sing songs. Not just any song, but those that are thought provoking, raising questions and doubts in the mind of the listener.

And it comes naturally to 21-year-old Le Cat Trong Ly, who is the new phenomenon of the underground music movement in Vietnam.

Ly wowed the judges of the Bai hat Viet (Vietnamese songs) music competition last January with her modern folk song Chenh venh (Precarious), sung by herself with just a guitar.

The song, inspired by a romantic love story from a Vietnamese fairy tale, grabbed the most important award in Song of the Year.

But Ly insists she is no professional singer and that she is not ripe yet for big performances. She is also not interested in singing contests. Her prize is music, and her association with it began at a very early age.

In the blood

Ly cannot remember not being passionate about The Beatles’ and Johann Sebastian Bach’s music. She studied music by herself in Da Nang before she met her father’s friend Hoang Minh Triet, a guitarist who was taken aback by her strange middle-pitched voice.

“From the first time I heard Ly singing I knew she was born to be an artist, and I was right. She learned fast and appeared to be the smartest student I’ve ever taught” said Triet.

Ly took her teacher’s advice to prepare for the entrance examination to HCMC Conservatory of Music to study the viola.

“In fact, I wanted to be the best violinist in Vietnam. But my teacher is right, when you master the viola, the violin is no longer a challenge. The more I learn about the viola, the more I love it,” says Ly.

Ly wrote her first song when she was nineteen and over the next two years, has introduced about eighteen songs singing at several bars in Ho Chi Minh City.

“Those who come to Ly’s performances are relatively young. They normally come to listen, seeking something peaceful, something that needs to be explained rather than something that is entertaining.

“Listeners ponder over her mysterious lyrics as she sings and when the music stops, they don’t even realize the song has finished. They are hypnotized by Ly’s music!” says Yen café manager Dinh Huong who organizes regular performances for Ly on Tuesday and Friday nights at 7 Ngo Thoi Nhiem Street, District 3, HCMC.

However, Ly told Thanh Nien Daily her songs are not deliberately written to challenge listeners or to attempt a distinctive style. The words just slip off her tongue and naturally turn into music.

“I’m not seeking anything strange or new. I just simply do what I have to and what comes from my blood. In fact, my music is simply for listening and if someone understands a song from his or her perspective, they can create a new concept for it. Once the writer and the listener find each other in the same concept, I call it empathy,” says Ly.

Simple and straight

Dressed in T-shirt and blue jeans, Ly couldn’t feel more comfortable singing at Yen café where she has performed pieces such as Mua yeu (Season of love), Thuong (Love), Nghe toi ke nay (Listen to my story) and Cuoi Adam (Laugh at Adam).

“I want to sing my songs without having to worry about what to wear or how to put on beautiful makeup. I do want my music to touch more people but I’m not ready for it. I’m still a fruit that hasn’t ripened for big performances,” says Ly adding that she loves the peaceful atmosphere at Yen.

Besides Vietnamese songs, Ly also pleases the crowd at Yen with hits from Bob Dylan, The Beatles and The Killers.

“I’m really impressed. An acoustic performance does require skill and inner strength since synthesizers are not used. Ly is absolutely the right singer for a performance like this. She doesn’t need to dance or get dressed up like a princess on the stage. Her voice, her music and her guitar can say everything,” says 23- year-old audience member Thai Huy, after listening to Ly for the first time.

Though she has been recognized as a young singing talent, Ly says she is not very interested in singing contests where she can show off her talent and start a singing career with a lot of hype.

“I would not call myself a professional singer or a professional songwriter. I’m just trying to sing my songs and I will continue to do that.”

She does have many dreams, though, and is working hard to fulfill them – release a music album, become a renowned violinist and make a trip to Tibet.

Reported by Mai The