Kim Sinh

Born April 2 1930 in Hanoi, is a blind Vietnamese musician who plays and sings Cai Luong, a popular song style with strong folk roots. He plays 10 kinds of Vietnamese traditional instruments, including the traditional Dan Nguyet, plus the violin, a slide guitar and a European acoustic guitar with scalloped fret spacing to increase the note bending. His music evokes the blues at times, but he insists he never heard American blues before he began making this unique music. Kim Sinh is one of the first artists who were awarded the title "Vietnam's artist of merit" by the Vietnam State in 1983, and he has also strongly appealed to western musicians like Ry Cooder.