All members of the band are of Vietnamese background or have a strong connection to its culture and heritage through loved ones and their time spent in the country. Their music focuses on compositions that fuse Vietnamese lyrics and sounds with influences of western rock, soul, bolero, tango and other popular genres of this time period. This project strives to revive this beautiful musical heritage of Vietnam which represents an important cultural bridge between east and west.

Debut Album: Họa Âm Xưa (2019)

With support from the British Council’s FAMLAB Fund initiative, the band began composing original material in the spirit of Saigon’s pre-1975 sound. Their debut album, Họa Âm Xưa, produced by Jan Hagenkötter, was released in 2019 on the Saigon Supersound imprint.

Recorded in Vietnam, the album features notable guest artists including legendary pre-1975 singer Mai Lệ Huyền and popular Saigonese rapper Blacka (finalist of the TV show Rap Việt in 2022), blending the historic sound of Saigon with its contemporary voice.

Traditional instruments such as the Đàn Nguyệt (played by Indy Laville), as well as the Đàn Tranh and Đàn Bầu—performed by the renowned traditionally trained musician Nguyễn Thị Hải Phượng—add depth and authenticity to the recordings and live performances. This fusion of old and new distinguishes SSR’s sound from the original recordings of the 1960s and 1970s.

Mối Lương Duyên (2024)

With their second album, Mối Lương Duyên (2024), SSR presents a journey through eight original compositions and three cover versions of Saigonese Nhạc Vàng.

Nguyễn Anh Minh’s seductive vocals glide through a richly layered, multi-stylistic soundscape. Moving beyond universal themes of love and heartbreak, the album explores how destiny is shaped through personal experience.

“Everything and everyone that enters your life, every event—whatever comes and whatever goes—happens as it is meant to be. We cannot choose our physical body, our family, our happiness or unhappiness, or our place in the world. But we do have the power to accept and embrace our destiny.“

The track “ĐÁM CƯỚI NHÀ EM” from the album is featured in the HBO mini-series The Sympathizer, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen and starring/produced by Robert Downey Jr..

The single “Ai Thật Lòng Yêu Ai” entered the annual charts of Radio 1 in Berlin. Its official music video was selected by the Philharmonie de Paris (Cité de la musique) for inclusion in its permanent museum collection, highlighting the use of traditional instruments in contemporary contexts.

In 2025, SSR released “Con Tim Và Nước Mắt,” a tribute to the legendary rock group CBC Band, marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the war (April 30, 1975) and celebrating Vietnam’s reunification and cultural heritage.

The renowned U.S. radio station KEXP recorded a live performance by SSR in 2024 and has been streaming it since March 2025.

Chốn Ta Về (2026)

In 2026 Saigon Soul Revival returns—quite literally—with their new album Chốn Ta Về (“The Place We Return To”). Recorded once again in Ho Chi Minh City.

Building on the sonic foundation of Mối Lương Duyên, SSR expands their musical palette through the inclusion of more traditional instruments such as the T’rung (a bamboo xylophone from Vietnam’s Central Highlands) and the Sáo Trúc (bamboo flute), featured among others in the album’s only pre-1975 cover, “Hoạ Mi Ca” (Mộng Long).

The album features two renowned Vietnamese guest musicians: Đinh Nhật Minh, a young virtuoso known for combining traditional Vietnamese instruments—including the Sáo Trúc—with contemporary sounds; and Trần Mạnh Tuấn, widely regarded as Vietnam’s leading jazz saxophonist.

As on previous albums and many live performances, Nguyễn Thị Hải Phượng appears on selected tracks playing Đàn Tranh and Đàn Bầu. Guitarist Indy Laville once again performs on the Đàn Nguyệt.

The making of the album is documented in the documentary That Saigon Soul Sound by filmmaker Louis Corallo and the Cake Collective about SSR.

They also contributed the title Vỡ Mộng Ân Tình to the official James Bond video game „007 First Light“ and recorded a new arrangement of “Sài Gòn Đẹp Lắm” for the documentary Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon

DISCOGRAPHY

Album
2019 - Họa Âm Xưa
2024 - Mối Lương Duyên
2026 - Chốn Ta Về 

Single
2020 - Nào Ta Cùng Hát
2021 - Hào Hoa
2024 - Ai Thật Lòng Yêu Ai
2024 - Đám Cưới Nhà Em
2025 - Con Tim Và Nu ̛ o ̛ ́c Ma ́t
2026 - Khúc Tình Yên Vui
2026 - Trúc Xinh

Miscellaneous
2026 - Sài Gòn (song - Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon