2022 is a successful year for KURROCK. Rock band The first Vietnamese in Japan not only continuously introduced new songs, but also released their first music video and had a successful tour in Vietnam.
Currently, KURROCK is pursuing the goal of making music a Vietnam-Japan bridge and is expected to release their first album with Vietnamese-Japanese music concept and lyrics in 2023.
Founded in 2020, KURROCK currently has 6 members, including 5 Vietnamese and 1 Japanese (Daisuke plays drums), led by friend Nguyen Huu Manh Khoi (stage name KJO) as the leader.
In the beginning, KURROCK mainly covered popular songs like “Pretender,” “Neko” hay “Little things,” and performed at stages for indie artists in Tokyo. It was not until the end of 2021 that this band released their first music product, a single “Pass.”
Talking to a VNA reporter in Tokyo, Manh Khoi said the song “Pass” talks about the difficulties that Vietnamese people, especially young people, face on the way to realizing their dreams in Japan.
Through this song, KURROCK I want to send a message to Vietnamese young people in Japan that “Try, you will overcome those difficulties.”
[Ban nhạc rock đầu tiên của người Việt ở Nhật Bản ra mắt MV]
After that first product, in 2022, KURROCK continued to release 3 other singles including “Cold,” “Redemption” and “Escape.” Notably, last August, the band released the first music video for the song “Pass.”
At the end of the year, KURROCK continued to release the second MV titled “Dream.”
KURROCK team leader Nguyen Huu Manh Khoi gave an interview to the VNA. (Photo: Dao Thanh Tung/VNA)Both productions are produced under the direction of director Watanabe Tomonori. Two different performance styles have made both MVs resonate in the music community.
“Exit” voted as the most favorite rock ballad song of 2022, while “Overcome” was voted in the Top 2 of the most popular Vietnamese rock songs by VN Rock magazine.
Sharing about the production process of his first MV, Manh Khoi said that this MV was filmed while Japan was still applying many restrictive measures to prevent the COVID-19 epidemic. Therefore, director Watanabe Tomonori decided to shoot entirely on a green screen, then direct the production remotely for the post-production team in Vietnam.
The MV is set on the roof of the Nagoya Mode Gakuen building, recreating the overhead scene of Shinjuku at dawn, expressing the meaning of “a new day will come again,” true to the spirit of the song.
After the successes of 2022, this year, KURROCK plans to release its first album with Vietnamese-Japanese music concept and lyrics with the goal of connecting the two music industries of Vietnam and Japan with the music-loving communities of the two countries. water.
Manh Khoi shared: “In 2023, KURROCK still pursues the goal of using music to connect Vietnamese-Japanese culture, especially on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan. I really hope that myself and Vietnamese music will be a bright spot on this anniversary.”
Despite their musical successes in Japan, Manh Khoi and the other members of the band KURROCK always look to their homeland. They always aspire to contribute to the development of the country.
At the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, KURROCK conducted the first tour at 5 points in Vietnam as a greeting and gratitude to the domestic audience.
Loved and warmly received by the music communities in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the band once again affirms its mission of connecting Vietnam and Japan.
Manh Khoi confided: “I have been here for more than 14 years. The feeling of being an expatriate child has never changed. I always go back to my hometown. And it’s also a bit fortunate that recently, the Vietnamese community in Japan is increasing, that nostalgia has also somewhat eased. But there is really no place like home. So I told myself that I still have to try and make more efforts to not only build a stronger and stronger community here, but also build a more beautiful Vietnamese country and people, and the image of Vietnam. become really close and sympathetic in the hearts of Japanese people as well as in the world”.
The band currently has 6 members, including 5 Vietnamese and 1 Japanese (Daisuke plays drums), led by friend Nguyen Huu Manh Khoi (stage name KJO) as the leader. (Photo: Dao Thanh Tung/VNA)Thanh Tung-Pham Tuan (VNA/Vietnam+)