Dan Nguyen once again revives the forgotten era of Vietnamese new wave

Vietnamese artist Dan Nguyen is back celebrating his culture with a trio of projects that pay homage to Vietnamese new wave — including a remastered remix album, an exhibition, and a book.

The series spotlights Vietnamese new wave (Vwave), a sound born in the 1980s from Vietnamese immigrants who relocated to Southern California. Amid anti-Vietnamese sentiment following the Vietnam–American War, this music became a source of identity and unity—a vibrant form of self-expression and cultural resilience.

Each song chosen for Dan’s compilation series, titled ‘Vwave 3 - Rare Vietnamese New Wave from the 1980s-90s, is a hidden gem, handpicked from over a decade of digging.

These aren’t the polished new wave hits many might recognise, but the raw, street-level versions Dan grew up with—the sound of living rooms, bootleg tapes, and community parties.

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Some tracks were salvaged from bootleg cassettes, others from scratched and burned CDRs, and even low-quality internet rips from the early dial-up era of the ’90s. A few came from the very tapes Dan inherited from his cousins in the mid-’90s.

To revive these recordings, Dan meticulously reconstructed them, isolating frequencies, repairing damaged sections, and adding subtle new elements, all while preserving their vintage authenticity.

The result feels like a time capsule, dusted off and brought back to life. Each track adds something distinct to the compilation, creating a nostalgia-soaked listen that flows effortlessly from start to finish.

To accompany the release, Dan is hosting a three-day pop-up exhibition titled Vietnamese New Wave: The Lost Art, Fashion, and Sound of the 80s and 90s.

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Running from November 22-24, the collection showcases Vietnamese new wave cassettes and CDs from the ’80s and ’90s, all drawn from Dan’s personal archive. What began with a handful of inherited tapes evolved into an obsessive hunt across decades and continents—a treasure trove of cultural preservation.

Adding to the immersion, archival footage from 1990s Vietnamese-American television—including commercials, music videos, and film clips—will play on a vintage CRT TV, keeping the lo-fi aesthetic true to its roots.

Dan is also reprinting his previously sold-out art book chronicling these cultural artefacts. The 55-page book, complete with never-before-digitised photos and artwork, will be available for purchase at the exhibition, with remaining copies to be sold online soon after.

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There’s also a t-shirt available at the exhibition, composed of rare imagery and cover art from the collection.

Speaking on the project, Dan shared: “I want to show the strength of our people when we come together—how, in a foreign land, we built something entirely our own. Vietnamese youth in the 1980s and 1990s were not just adapting; they were innovating. They created new cultural movements, blending Western influence with their own sensibilities, and in doing so, gave birth to a vibrant Vietnamese-centric fashion and music scene that shaped Southern California and continues to inspire artists around the world today.”

Listen to Dan Nyugen’s ‘Vwave 3 - Rare Vietnamese New Wave from the 1980s-90s’ here.

Henry Cooper is a Writer at Mixmag Asia. Follow him on Instagram.

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