Hien in Bloom — Unpublished

Vietnamese-born, Hungarian-raised, and Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Hien is beginning a new era of her career with Bloom. The music video, set in the Mnong village of Yang Tao, Vietnam, conjures imagery of carefree girlhood. Hien’s ethereal vocals and laid-back production create a delightful dreamscape, truly capturing the bliss of youth. Hien, who has been singing and performing professionally since a teenager, has undergone her own journey in finding her voice as an independent artist. In an Unpublished exclusive, music writer Ly Hagan had the opportunity to sit down and discuss belonging identity, and change.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Could you start off by introducing yourself?

[HIEN]: So I’m a songwriter, producer, and designer. I’ve been singing forever, but I started my professional career at age 14. I went to Berklee College of Music then I moved to New York after graduation. So yeah, this is where I am right now.

[UNPUBLISHED]: How did you get started in the industry?

[HIEN]: I was in a talent show in Hungary and after that I was signed to a Hungarian record label and started to perform across the country. I was signed for a long time and I’m really grateful for all the opportunities I had while being signed. I think, though, that my music had changed a lot since the first few albums, so I decided to stay in the United States. and go independent.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Tell me more about music school.

[HIEN]: I think the years I spent at Berklee were some of the best years of my life. I met a lot of good friends who I’m close with to this day, and we still make music together. I learned a lot, not just about music but also about other cultures. I was just exposed to so many genres and styles. It was a great way to get to know each other and communicate through music.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Seems like you’ve lived in vastly different cultures. How was that for you?

[HIEN]: I’m not gonna lie, it caused a lot of confusion with my identity. I was never Hungarian enough or Vietnamese enough, you know? As a kid, you can’t really make sense of the whole thing. You ask yourself: “Why am I so different?” Especially living in a place that is more racially homogenous, it is easy to feel judged and misunderstood. When I was young, I felt like there was something wrong with me and I couldn’t distinguish why. It took much later into my adult years to process that isolation.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Your Vietnamese heritage really comes through in your latest video, ‘Bloom.’ Tell me more about that.

[HIEN]: So the story behind the music video is that I met a really sweet guy named Sol. He is from the Mnong tribe, an ethnic minority in Vietnam. It’s a very different societal structure from what we’re used to in the West, and the Mnong tribe is actually a matriarchal society, so I’ve always been interested in visiting their community. I visited Sol in a village called Yang Tao, and through Sol I got to meet the young girls who are featured in the music video.

So I was awarded the New York City Women’s Fund by the New York Foundation for the Arts. I got this award to make an artistic project centered around female perspectives. I wanted to represent the experiences of Mnong girls and celebrate the diversity within Vietnam. I think a lot of people in the West think that being Asian is a single identity. It was important for me to show that we are more than a monolith, and just in Vietnam, there are 54 ethnic tribes with their unique language, costume, and tradition.

[UNPUBLISHED]: What was it like visiting Yang Tao village?

[HIEN]: It was like a dream, really. The nature there is beautiful, and Soul took us to waterfalls and the rainforest. It was also butterfly season. Like, in the music video, the scene you see of girls running through the butterflies, it was like that everywhere in Yang Tao. It was like a movie and it was just amazing, especially after spending so long in lockdown in New York. I think during quarantine I really started to succumb to the pressure and mental health issues that come with modern life. Spending time in the countryside of Vietnam was very healing. Life is just slower and food is healthier and you’re closer to nature and it really feels like you’re in your motherland. It’s amazing. I could see myself growing old there.

[UNPUBLISHED]: What was the writing process like behind Bloom?

[HIEN]: I started writing the song back in 2019. When I first started writing it, I wanted to dedicate the song to young girls. I wanted to capture that magic and purity that comes with your youth. In my head, it was a bunch of young girls surrounded by nature and being themselves. This song is very special to me because I think it represents another leg in the journey of finding who I am. Bloom feels like a new chapter. I think I’ve spent a lot of my life doubting myself, but I’ve finally reached that point of, well, blooming. I want young girls to hear this song and feel inspired, to recognize their potential and power. I have so much faith in the next generation of girls.

[UNPUBLISHED]: How does it feel seeing this song turn from an abstract idea into a complete music video?

[HIEN]: It’s crazy. I still don’t think I’ve fully processed it. It’s been a difficult few years, for everyone but I also experienced a lot of hardship in my personal life. So seeing this all come to fruition means the world to me. It’s really like this piece of my soul that I get to release to the world. This is a new chapter and the first project, I think, that really captures who I am.

[UNPUBLISHED]: What inspired you while you were working on the EP?

[HIEN]: I listened to all sorts of genres while working on the album. I found that my artist friends inspired me the most, and I learned a lot from them. I also drew inspiration from my Vietnamese and Hungarian heritage and was listening to a lot of traditional music. I also think that moving to the US allowed me to experience more American pop culture, so I was influenced by RnB, soul, and hip hop as well. I started to dig into electronic music after I moved to the USA, and I’d say rave culture inspires me.

Also, my grandparents on my mom’s side play the acoustic guitar, the violin, and đàn nguyệt, which is a traditional two-string Vietnamese guitar, and my grandmother used to be a singer in the folk theater. I grew up listening to their music and watching them record demos on little cassette tapes. So my grandparents very much inspired me.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Was your family supportive of your music career?

[HIEN]: Not always. They were never fully against it, but I think they would’ve preferred I went to college and picked a field that was more, I guess, sustainable. I think at some point, they realized that I was completely dedicated to music. They were able to see this is a passion and really all I can see myself doing.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Let’s talk about your earlier work. In particular, I was interested in the music video for Boy.

[HIEN]: I really love that music video. It was the first video we shot in Vietnam. I wanted to make something to represent the LGBTQ+ community. While in recent years there has been progressing for gay rights in Vietnam, there is still a heavy social stigma, especially among older generations.

Really, I just wanted to tell a beautiful love story about two people who happened to be gay.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Watching that video was very emotional for me because I feel like I’ve never seen people who look like me in many gay love stories. Like, they are usually about white people, thus lacking that intersectional experience of being gay and a person of color.

[HIEN]: Definitely. I feel like in Vietnamese culture there is an emphasis on being discreet and not talking about our emotions or feelings. That presents itself in the patriarchy too, where Vietnamese men have a lot of pressure to be very masculine. It ends up really affecting the way we grow up. Even in the music video, you kind of witness this pressure to appear very masculine and badass, but eventually their softer side is revealed.

[UNPUBLISHED]: I am also very curious about the visual aspect of your music. So, what inspires your “look”?

[HIEN]: I am a big fan of visual art, and I especially love collaborating with visual artists. I’m constantly inspired by what I see like sometimes I will go on a walk and notice something and think “this could be a cool project.” Especially when I moved to New York I would just constantly go on walks. Walking alone is like a ritual to me.

[UNPUBLISHED]: How has your experience been collaborating with other artists?

[HIEN]: I used to have a lot of anxiety with collaboration. It’s almost like dating, you never really know how to express how you’re actually feeling, and a lot of the time you feel like you have to play it cool. When things don’t go well, it’s hard to communicate with them. Over time, though, I started collaborating with friends and became more open, allowing me to see the magical side to it all.

For the EP I have so many wonderful collaborators, including some great poets and writers specifically for Bloom. I wrote the lyrics with Ore [Asonibare], who I reached out to because I loved his poems. There are so many great artists to be featured on this EP so I am very excited. It feels more complete now that people are involved with me in the process.

[UNPUBLISHED]: What have you learned from this collaboration?

[HIEN]: I think what I learned is that there are many talented people out there, but if we don’t like them as people, then it will never have that magic. I think the best experiences I’ve had were with the two producers I worked with on this EP and, well, my roommates who had never even written music before. But I think it’s important to create a space that has genuine love. If the space is supportive and genuine, then the outcome will be much more rewarding.

[UNPUBLISHED]: You’ve been making music for over ten years now. How do you think you’ve changed since then? What would you tell your younger self?

[HIEN]: This is cliche but I’d say: trust the process. Looking back there were always moments where I felt misunderstood and out of place, particularly in creative environments. There are so many milestones in my life that make me think I’m getting closer to a place where I can really express myself, and Bloom is definitely a step in that direction. So yeah, I’d tell my past and even present self that I have to trust the process, be patient, and just keep pushing and working hard. My music will lead to spaces that are for me.

[UNPUBLISHED]: What are you most grateful for?

[HIEN]: I’m very grateful for my family. I’ve been far away from them for a long time, but I am so grateful for their support. I’m also really grateful to have a space where I can just create freely. So those are the two things I’m grateful for.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Final question. What are you looking forward to?

[HIEN]: I’m looking forward to my future music releases because I think that it will answer a lot of questions I have about myself and guide me on where to go next. Hopefully, it will create some opportunities or open small doors for me, but more so it’s more of an internal experience. In the process of creating this EP, I had so many times where I was completely exhausted, like emotionally, mentally, physically, everything. I just really hope that, after this project is out, I can focus on the next chapter, next song, and next journey.

Make sure to stream “Bloom” out now