SEASOUND
Southeast Asian Indigenous Orchestra
SEASOUND is a long-term research and practice project — building the first orchestral model centered on the indigenous instruments of Southeast Asia. Not modeled on the Western symphony orchestra. Not a museum reconstruction of traditional music. But the development of a new instrumental language, one that emerges from the distinctive sonic logic and internal knowledge of the region’s indigenous instruments.
Initiated by composer Nguyễn Nhất Lý in 2006, formalized as a project in 2016, and first performed in Hanoi in 2017 under the name Seaphony. SEASOUND was relaunched with formal investment in September 2025 in Ninh Bình by Alluvium Production. The project is currently in its first year of a five-year roadmap.
- 2006Initiated by composer Nguyễn Nhất Lý
- 2016Formalized as a project
- 2017First performed in Hanoi — Seaphony
- 9 / 2025Relaunched in Ninh Bình — SEASOUND (Alluvium Production)
- NowYear one of a five-year roadmap
Led by composer and artistic director Nguyễn Nhất Lý, the ensemble brings together artists performing the indigenous instruments live.
Nguyễn Nhất Lý
Founder of SEASOUND and creator of its debut work — THỨC.
Alluvium Production
Backer of SEASOUND and of the Alluvium performance space in Hoa Lư.
The SEASOUND Ensemble
Those who still know how to listen — playing instruments of bamboo, reed, bronze and leather.
THỨC
SEASOUND’s first voice — not modelled on Western forms, not museum pieces.
Individual profiles (name · role · instrument) are being updated.
Bamboo, reed, bronze, leather — four indigenous materials, handcrafted, each with a voice of its own.
Bamboo
Bamboo pipes give a clear, warm tone — the foundation of many works in the performance.
Reed
Slender reed gives the first, primal timbres — opening the earliest silence of the night.
Bronze
Gongs and bronze instruments carry a deep, lingering resonance, keeping time for the whole ensemble.
Leather
Leather drums form the heartbeat — the drum of a long-past ceremony, returning in THỨC.
The instrument collection
Tap an image to enlarge. Photos: SEASOUND.
THỨC is the first performance to emerge from the SEASOUND project.