Interview with Vincent Trinh
Vincent Trinh is a first-year medical student at UofT and a music producer specializing in electronic, jazz, and hip hop. He is lucky to have collaborated with rappers, topliners, and other producers in creating R&B and K-pop demos which have yet to be accepted. With the help of some recognition he received for his more personal music side-projects, such as a feature on SOHO Radio and other Youtube channels, Vincent is now determined to work towards his first official release, a beat tape blending his eclectic music taste. Despite how uncertain and competitive the music space can be, Vincent continues to find joy in the creative and explorative nature of music-making.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your experience with the arts?
My intro to music was piano class, which I started when I was probably five. On the side, I played some guitar, but it was not as in-depth as piano. I did piano up to around RCM grade 10. I learned the usual RCM stuff—Classical, Baroque, and Romantic, but jazz was something that really made me want to learn more.
It wasn’t until the middle of high school that I stumbled across some music-making program on YouTube, and I just fell down a rabbit hole. I decided to give it a shot myself. I got FL Studio, and I went ham; I pulled all-nighters and ignored school to make music. That was a lot of fun. Originally, I would just send it to my friends, but eventually, I turned to Youtube. I started posting very amateur stuff, but people would comment and be super supportive about it.
It all came alive in Grade 12 when I started to recreate other people's songs. I remade a bunch of dubstep songs because that's what I listened to. I remember listening to Bruno Mars’ new 24K album. It really stuck out to me, so I decided to remake “That's What I Like” from that album. I posted it, and that blew up unexpectedly. It almost got 100k views, but it was taken down. People were super supportive about it. Some started commenting to see if they could use the song in their other videos. I’d see myself pop up in other people's videos and on pretty big channels like Frugal Aesthetic and Bart Baker. My friends kept telling me that I should sign a contract, but it felt weird to imagine getting money for songs that weren’t mine.
After that, I did a few songs that people requested in the comments. A whole new chapter began when a producer from Sweden heard my version of Bruno Mars’ “Finesse” and reached out. He said that BTS needed a song similar to “Finesse” and thought that I was pretty good at producing in that new jack swing style. I helped him put together a submission, and then, for the next few years, every time JYP or other K-pop labels would send out a call for a certain style of song, we would spend a few days making a demo. We did disco pop, trappy pop, and all kinds of styles. I would send [the producer] songs, and he would add parts. Then, we’d send it to a top-liner, who would write the lyrics and add the melody. They never sold, but supposedly the songs are still being pitched to publishers.
Q: That sounds like quite the journey, from making music on your own to sending demos to K-pop labels. Have you made any songs recently?
Sometimes when I make music uninterrupted for too long, it can start to feel uninspired. This was not the case [for a piece I recently created] for Portfolio though. I was digging deep and that came out in the song. It’s called “Imposter Syndrome.” I played it for my friends, and they were quite impressed by the emotion. That song is sitting unlisted on Soundcloud right now, and my original plan for it was to put it on a beat tape on Spotify. A beat tape is a long-term goal for me. However, a rapper recently reached out to me saying he wants to collab, so I’ve sent that song and a couple others to him to work on. We’ll see.
I also recently got a placement with Tory Lanez! The manager of the producer that I collaborated with from Sweden knows Tory’s engineer; we've been sending him beats pretty much every few weeks to land a placement, and it finally happened! We're going to continue to send him beats in the meantime, but we hope Tory feels comfortable enough to release that one soon! The funny thing is the beat that Tory sang on was one that we made probably 2 years ago that was intended for someone else. We never thought it would go anywhere.
Q: Do you have a favourite project?
I think it’s one that I am working on right now that isn’t released yet. A lot of my work is inspired by other songs. This project is inspired by a jazz piece that oddly has a melody that sounds like it is from a Vietnamese ballad. I had never thought of jazz and Vietnamese music like the kind you’d hear in Paris by Night—which is a Vietnamese variety show—connecting very well. I liked the vibe of it and wanted to try something in that realm. This project has Vietnamese melodies with some contemporary jazz rhythms and chords.
Because things have been busy, I've been working on this since August. I ended up [collaborating with] a guitarist as well, because I don't play guitar very well. He is also waiting for me to finish it, so hopefully I can finish it soon.
Q: You mentioned working with the producer from Sweden and a few others; can you tell us about the music-producing community and anyone else that helped guide you in your creative journey?
The really cool thing about the music-producing community is that nobody's too big to talk to. The producers I looked up to in high school started Discord [channels]. I’d join the Discords, and they’d share their tips. These were people like Lophiile and Anomalie, who were making really good music.
A lot of the people I’ve met during the pandemic have been online. There are some for whom it makes sense to meet online for practical reasons. For example, the producer from Sweden and I met on Zoom. With some of these people, the plan is hopefully to have a jam session or something once we can be in-person. There are a few other producers in our class actually. One uses the same piano and software as me; it’s cool to feel like we can speak the same language.
Q: You mentioned that you are often inspired by other songs. Is there a particular way that you look for new music?
I usually find new music through Spotify playlists. My producer friends will send me songs. I have one friend that always sends me stuff that is super out there that I’d never normally listen to. And of course, just Youtube recommendations… they always seem to know what I like.
Q: How do you feel music and medicine intersect in your life; do you notice any challenges navigating the two worlds of medicine and music?
That is something that has popped up in conversations a few times. Practically, music has probably helped me to do things like listen to heart murmurs. In a more abstract sense, I wonder if making music helps me think in a different way—maybe it helps me disassemble things a bit easier or solve problems. I also think that being involved in the arts in general is helpful for being a little more in touch with people's emotions.
To me, music and medicine feel pretty separate, although there might be some subconscious overlap. I definitely need to do both to stay mentally healthy. I can’t do music by itself or [I’d] feel burnt out; I don’t have enough creative energy to sit in front of the piano for 24 hours a day like some people do. At the same time, I’d feel the same with only medicine. In that way, they both give me the energy to do the other.
Q: That’s insightful. What would your advice be for somebody that's starting music production?
Give it a shot, and don't be afraid to do things! In terms of software, I started on my own with FL Studio; now, I use Ableton Live 10 Suite, and if you use Apple, Logic Pro is pretty good. It’s cool because a lot of big-name songs are made on software that is accessible. It shows that anyone can give it a try.
It's really easy to feel like an imposter, and that you're not good enough, especially when you hear other people's music. This seems to be a shared sentiment amongst music producers. That’s why it’s nice when they talk about it publicly; it makes you feel like you're not alone. Also, you shouldn't feel like you need to adhere to a certain genre or music style. Just do whatever you want to do. Even if it doesn’t sound exactly the same as what you hoped [for it to sound like], at least you made something. And who knows? Maybe someone will like it, and you could start a whole new genre.
