Doldrums

Join Toby Martin and Ðang Lan as they present their debut collaborative album 'Song Khúc Lu?n Bay (Two Sounds Gliding) – a melding of traditional and modern sounds ranging from epic Viet-Psych jam outs, to more intimate moments of gentle storytelling. It’s a gorgeous show exploring the diverse experience of modern Australia and features Lan and Toby singing and playing dan bau, dan tranh and guitar. They are also joined by renowned musicians Matthew Steffen on bass and Bree van Reyk on drums. Bree van Reyk will also be performing a solo show in support, along with an opening set from Doldrums. Ðang Lan arrived in Australia in 1975 as a refugee from Vietnam. She was a renowned musician and singer in Saigon, and once settled in Sydney continued to work as a singer of traditional Vietnamese folk song and an in-demand performer on the instruments dàn tranh (zither) and dàn b?u (monochord). TobyMartin, born in Melbourne in 1975, is an acclaimed songwriter, rock/folk musician and singer/guitarist in the rock band Youth Group.  Lan and Toby met while working on the Songs From Northam Avenue music project in Bankstown, western Sydney, in 2015. During a residency with Urban Theatre Projects they began experimenting with songwriting and combining their musical styles. They wrote a series of songs about journeys to and from Australia, about family, and about belonging. They also re-arranged traditional Vietnamese folk songs as folk-pysch-rock songs. They sang these songs in a mixture of Vietnamese and English. The resulting album 'Song Khúc Lu?n Bay (Two Sounds Gliding) represents a meeting place between two people and two musical traditions and is due out on AMC Music on February 16th. Lan and Toby have performed together at Casula Powerhouse for Sydney Festival, Bankstown Arts Centre and for the lunar new year at the Phu?c Hu?  Buddhist temple in western Sydney. They are often joined by rockin’ rhythm section Bree van Reyk (drums) and Matthew Steffen (bass), who also played on the album, which was produced by Bob Scott. The first single Qua C?u Gió Bay (The Wind on the Bridge) is a well known traditional song of Vietnam. It has the universal themes of secret romantic dalliances, and lying to your parents. In this version we raise the distortion levels to find some darker overtones, as Lan wails on the dàn b?u! The second single God's Will  is a song co-written by Lan and Toby and based on a long conversation between them. The song is about a dream Lan had about having a son - a dream that turned out to be true - and is a cosmic investigation into deep maternal love.