PERFORMER MAGAZINE REVIEWS SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA

RECORD REVIEW: Michael Nhat
Swimming To Cambodia
By: Kristin Thomas

With moments sounding like Portishead, crossed with El-P shaken in a glass full of Dada, and served on a heart shaped plate of emotions, Nhat’s Swimming To Cambodia transcends any genre you would try to put it in. It’s an album soaked in enough pain, sadness and confusion to make any suburban teenager reconsider what it means to feel a miserable existence…. READ THE REST HERE

I Hope I Die on April Fools Day by Michael Nhat

photo: Michael Nhat

“I Hope I Die on April Fools Day”
by Michael Nhat

Just because you can doesn’t mean you have a right to
Just because you have the right to doesn’t mean you should
Everyone has a story to tell
Here’s where we argue on who is next to murder
Her price on love depends on what you look like
Kill yourself to get away from your feelings for someone who doesn’t love you
Apologizing for my existence
Maybe when you comeback to life you’ll be nothing like you were before, did you think we just met?
No one misses you when you’re there everyday
No one wants you unless someone else does
No one wants you when you’re alive
When I was 21 I thought people at 27 were old
When I was 28 I thought 21 year olds were self-centered
I thought undeniable chemistry was enough for her to be with me
She thought making things was enough for me to not need anyone
Latex is not sexy
Linda wants a cat named Moscow (no one unscrambled it in last one)
Normal people rarely make history
I’m sorry I don’t show how I feel, I’m scared you won’t like me
I Hope I die on April Fools Day (so it can be unbelievable)

DIACRITICS VIETNAMESE ARTISTS INTERVIEW

Diacritics Vietnamese Artists Interview

by Jade Hidle

In a track titled “Burn Out Your Eyes” on Swimming to Cambodia, Nhat shares—interestingly, via the voice of a guest female singer—the story of his journey from Việt Nam to the United States:  “Michael Nhat, originally named Van, was born on November 12th, 1974 in a village outside of Sài Gòn in Việt Nam . There is utterly nothing known about his mother, Minh Nhat, or his father. On April 30, 1975, Van and Minh were in an airplane crash from Việt Nam to San Diego, California. Van was sent to an orphanage in Sài Gòn  and adopted by Frank and Beverly.” This autobiographical bit about Nhat’s origins is immediately followed by narration about the first musical recordings he completed. It is through this juxtaposition that it becomes clear Nhat is an artist creating music for generations of Vietnamese-Americans—or any individual, for that matter—who are not or do not want to be defined by the struggle for identity or overburdened by the past, because it is okay, if not important, today. express who they are today.

READ HERE

The Interview on Acid (literally)

by Isaac Takeuchi

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing the inimitable Michael Nhat for a good four years now, and he’s certainly one of the most prolific and unique artists in Los Angeles. Once called “the Ariel Pink of Los Angeles hip hop,” Nhat’s sound has a breadth equal to its innovation. He has seven albums recorded, the first of which—a self-titled 12″ on How to Be a Microwave—came out last year.

Tonight, Nhat’s newest, Swimming to Cambodia, will be released on upstart Annie Hall records. (Pizza!, Halloween Swim Team, and Tik///tik are also on the bill. Full details at the end of this post.)

If that weren’t enough, Nhat plans on releasing continue reading here

Being Myself is Getting me Nowhere

“Being Myself is Getting Me Nowhere”

by Michael Nhat

question things among yourselves but always trust your dentist
invite her to lunch tomorrow
(even though a month later she’ll say “just friends”)
make a resume based on things i care about like falling through roofs
imagine back then so you don’t forget the meaning of generosity 
learn to read bad handwriting
no one eats bat anymore
name your curtains in case they ever talk back
always hope the worst for people it gives you self-esteem
i first talked about hate in 1993
love traditions they are good for your joints 
i always eat pho on my birthday
The line of crooked teeth
my shoes are black
(Unscramble)
adnil tsaw a tac nmdea wcomso
what leaves you speechless?
Marvel multiplied to an infinite degree yet you’re losing yourself to the common cold
(I’ve lost count)
“no word could exude life like an image could”
make them die slowly
no one knows how miserable i am because i’m too embarressed to write it
but i know my fate
ignored in my lifetime like david hume
and get famous after i die in the plane crash i was suppossed to die in along time ago
(i want in on the bets)
i am proud to die saying i have never been to disneyland
i am proud to die saying i have never been to a stripclub

the only thing i have learned from trying to meet someone new is how to get shot and not bleed anymore

don’t commit suicide or you’ll never get your deposit back on the apartment
 
being myself is getting me nowhere
(maybe i should take up acting)