REPRESSED!Phương Tâm: Magical Nights – Saigon Surf, Twist & Soul (1964-1966)CD available and in stock.2xLP version is a pre-order for USA customers . Repress orders will ship mid-December 2022.International orders are shipping now.Sublime Frequencies is honored to present the first ever retrospective of Phương Tâm, thegroundbreaking Saigon teenager who became one of the first singers to perform and record rock and rollin 1960s Vietnam.By chance in early 2020, Hannah Hà (USA) learned that her mother, Phương Tâm, had once been afamous young singer, performer and recording artist at the heart of Saigon’s music scene in the early 1960s.The family had heard some mention of their mom as a singer at the time, but the extent of her legacy andthe many songs she had recorded came as a big surprise. Further investigations soon led Hannah toproducer Mark Gergis, compiler of Saigon Rock and Soul (2010, Sublime Frequencies), enlisting him tojoin her on a journey of discovery and recovery. The result is this essential document of Phuong Tam’s briefbut prolific career, and at the same time, reuniting the long-lost music with its singer.The unique strengths and qualities of Phương Tâm’s voice, coupled with her commanding stage presence,had swiftly elevated her to top billings on Saigon’s nightclub stages. Parallel to the brutality and uncertaintyof an already protracted war, South Vietnam’s music and recording industry were developing at a rapidpace in the early 1960s. Globally, musical trends with wild, ephemeral dance crazes were being thought upweekly; the twist, hully gully, the mashed potato – none of them a problem for Phương Tâm. She sooncaught the attention of Saigon’s leading recording companies and composers (Y Vân, KhánhBăng, Trường Hải, Thanh Sơn, Y Vũ and Mặc Thế Nhân, among others). Her energy translatedunsurprisingly well in the studio, backed by electric guitars, contrabass, drums, lush brass sections,saxophone, piano, organ and rich backing vocals.Between 1964-1966