Wandering singer of vast highlands of Tay Nguyen: Keeping Ede people's rustic essence
WVR - The following is a note of the Vietnam and Wold Report’s journalist on Y Jack Arul, an outstanding singer, an ethnic Ede from Central Highlands, who strives to reserve the tradition of his Ede people and conserve environment for the next generations.
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Being a socialite and having a good acquaintance in the music circle, singer Kim Dung invited me to the place where she and singer Y Jack Arul and the music band were preparing to perform. It's been a long time since this guy left his village to come to Hanoi.
Passionated with his wild fire-filled voice from the song Finding Lullaby to the Sun (Y Phon Ksor), to the passionate voice that captivated with the song "Love Story on the Plateau" (Tran Tien) which won the Gold prize of the ASEAN voice contest, so I accepted invitation immediately.
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| Wandering singer of vast highlands of Tay Nguyen: Y Jack Arul, an outstanding singer from Central Highlands at his performance in Hanoi. (Photo: WVR/Minh Hoa) |
The rustic essence of Ede people
Unexpectedly, at a sudden, I heard the familiar voice again, the voice full of wild fire from that immense plateau, and now was angonizing in the song Who is with whom (Trinh Cong Son). With a wide-brimmed hat, that Ede guy brought in his rustic and loving nature, touching all the hearts of Hanoi artists being at his and his friends' concert. Hanoi night seems to be quieter to hear the full voice of this man from the Central Highlands.
Finishing Trinh Cong Son's verse, letting go of the guitar, his voice was far away in recalling: "Singing this song of Trinh Cong Son, I misses him very much. Trinh Cong Son's works are like paintings of Y Jack's life. Mr. Son is very kind to me! ". Y Jack Arul recalled many memories on his moments sharing with Trinh Cong Son.
Few people know that singer Y Jack Arul and musician Trinh Cong Son were close like brothers, having the same birthday, and held the birthday party together twice. Trinh Cong Sơn considered Y Jack Arul as his "spiritual brother". He was always very close to Y Jack Arul. They had been together and sang songs together many times. He recalled composing room, where Trinh Cong Son gathered friends like brothers to write music, to paint paintings and drink together.
As the conversation went on, I just learned that Y Jack Arul is the son of the legendary village Elder/Chief Ama H'rin, who crossed the M'Drak steppe to find the "promised land" and built the A'ko Hdong village, a model village of the Ede people in Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak province. The village was also depicted in a famous literature work on Central Highlands. Perhaps inheriting the strength of his father and the majestic immensity of vast highlands, his singing is so powerful and immense.
Y Jack Arul shared: “During the COVID-19 pandemic, I stayed in the village and taught my children and grandchildren to sing. Young people now sing many songs and even compose themselves on the computer proficiently, but why can't they sing the KUT tune, the folk tune of our Ede people? KUT is meant to tell story, to sing rustic and sincere, but now few can sing. So I've been hanging around in the village since then".
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| Y Jack Arul singer (cental) and Kim Dung singer, the band members at the music night dedicated to Trinh Cong Son in Hanoi. (Photo: WVR/Minh Hoa) |
It turns out that the quality of the voice we just heard him sang, full of depth and simplicity, is the KUT quality of the Ede ethnic people - the rustic, genuine, singing as he said. It is profounder when that KUT substance is imbued with the ups and downs of the life of the son of the legendary village chief, born in the time of stray bombings and bullet firings, growing up in the cold of the jungle and the warmth of laughter besides the simple potato, cassava tubers.
The quality of KUT that he now worries about is the voice of young people singing in the village, as they sing like many market singers who are "superficial and have no quality".
Internal substance strength in exhaling breath
I have also met Y Jack Arul more than once at the concerts of famous musicians.
This time of his coming to the North, Y Jack Arul had just visited friends and relatives and met his friend like brother - musician Le Minh Son to discuss doing his first album. “Before COVID-19, we were almost done, but the pandemic put the project on hold. This time I went to Hanoi to continue the project.”
"This time is actually an album of brotherhood, including 14 songs relating to me and my three other brothers, Mr. Trinh Cong Son, Tran Tien and Le Minh Son. I am the spiritual younger brother of Mr. Trinh Cong Son. Mr. Tran Tien and I are together "Du ca" (singing wandering) for a lifetime. And Le Minh Son once composed the song Elephants lost tails, expressing my heart, speaking for my village regarding environmental issues, not only Vietnam but the whole world is very interested in.”, he shared.
“We have selected 14 suitable songs, which are more like confiding songs. How the life is, the works of the three brothers reveal it so. Our brothers and sisters want to make an album of a lifetime, bringing out the essence of the Ede people and the three brothers," said singer Y Jack Arul.
Y Jack Arul waited nearly half his life as a singer to feel he was mature enough to release an album. He hopes to bring songs full of KUT quality, simplicity, with narrative breath and heartfelt sounds of the Ede ethnic group and imbued with the material of life and poetry of the brothershood souls.
Looking at me, he smiled and was inspired: "Especially, in this album, Le Minh Son's song Elephants lost tails is contemporary and translated into English so that people at home and abroad can also raise their voices, singing for environmental protection".
Saying goodbye to Y Jack Arul, giving back the art space and time for him to complete his project, I was extremely touched by his sharing. Just like the rarity of KUT in the voices in his Ede village, the way Y Jack Arul makes music is also very personal and responsible. Don't run after anything, go slowly, slowly, and it will come and come convincingly. I believe his expectations will really come true one day.
