Mile-high hair. Synthesized sounds. Teenage rebellion. As Vietnamese refugees began new lives in the West in the wake of the US/Vietnam war, a generation of youth struggled to adjust on foreign soil. Many of these young people found a community and a new identity in New Wave music, a type of synth-pop called Euro Disco, that became enormously popular throughout the community. New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora by Elizabeth Ai celebrates the rebellion, reinvention, and rebirth of joy in this young generation in cultural limbo. Featuring essays from prominent Vietnamese scholars, critics, and stars, New Wave is a love letter to the first generation of Vietnamese punks and rebels who came of age in the 1980s. As the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon approaches in April 2025, it is more important than ever to highlight the voices of Vietnamese people.
The music of this generation, featuring artists such as Lynda Trang Đài, Trizzie Phương Trinh, and Thái Tài, was a symbol of resistance against both mainstream American culture and traditional Vietnamese expectations for the “1.5 Generation,” refugees who were born in Vietnam but largely raised in the US. New Wave became more than just a genre or a style; it was a powerful statement of identity and a catalyst of a creative counterculture for Vietnamese youth who were grappling with the profound impact of the war while trying to establish their new lives and make their mark around the world.
Featuring rare archival images from New Wave artists, community members, fans, and record labels, the book is a much-needed record of photographs and ephemera that were nearly lost to time. Ai worked with the community to unearth materials that had been hidden away in shoeboxes, scrapbooks, and family archives, and brought them to light in this gorgeous book that is also a visual treasury, a community archive, and an act of historic preservation. New Wave pulls these elements together in a bold, innovative design and layout by Mã Linh Triệu Nguyễn, an award-winning, second-generation Chinese Vietnamese American designer who is the founder and creative director of STUDIO LHOOQ.
