Dang-Thao Nguyen, Kadri and I

Dang-Thao Nguyen, Kadri and I

Dang-Thao Nguyen or 'Thao' and I have known each other for over 20 years and sometimes you strike a chord with a fellow musician where they are like brothers in arms.

Thao came to Australia as a refugee from Vietnam after the war. He was in the Air Force there and a famous musician. 

He was one of the most popular folk and pop musicians of his time there. He studied music in Vietnam and later at Adelaide university completed a Phd in musicolgy.

We formed a band in the 1990s called Bamboo Ochre which I have referred to in this blog before. We were quite successful and toured interstate and did local folk music ethnic music concerts.  It was in an era when world music was coming into vogue.

Thao is an extraordinary guy with a huge capacity for empathy and communicating with his music the feelings of freedom, love, joy.  

Kadri came to Australia from the Soviet Republics after the breakdown of the Union.