Yearly Archives: 2022

Soundtracks of the Diaspora

We’re excited to present our first special issue of diaCRITICS!

Coda

To listen to Sinn Sisamouth is to have a romance with oneself. 

Where Are You From?

I wanted to explore my Vietnamese roots and possibly blend them with my American roots. How could I incorporate that into my music and into my sound?

Fierce Viet German

I wanted to create a new strong, independent picture of an Eastern or South Eastern Asian woman.

More Than Friends, Less Than Lovers

The beginning of the music video asks: “If life is a train of time, which year would you go back to change the most important thing?”

Thet-thet-tha-ret-thaa

Kick up the volume and switch on the microphone: green light / activating my father's stage presence.

Pause, Re-Wheel

Since relistening to several Vietnamese diasporic songs a few years back, I’ve begun to interpret the lyrics as conveying a sense of tragic optimism, a pathos in Vietnamese diasporic music.

Aural Breadcrumbs

“Let’s sing it again,” she whispers, launching us into another round of Socratic dialogues.

Notes on Dance

I learned how to dance from Cô Dung. She ghosts my skin.

The Piano Movement

I washed my hands twice to get the dirt out from under my fingernails. I wanted clean hands to touch the piano.