Today we’d like to introduce you to Quang Nguyen.
Hi Quang, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia. My dad had already put me on piano lessons as soon as I turned five years old. I remember I had this love/hate relationship with playing the keys; I really liked it, felt very entertaining and relaxing but also really hated that I had to take lessons like three times a week. I would at times make up excuses not to go to piano lessons or just skip them and go hang with the kids in the neighborhood, so that’s why I wasn’t really consistent with it. Until I was 13 when my parents decided I didn’t have to take piano lessons anymore, and all of a sudden my passion with music started growing bigger and I wanted to take music more serious, which was very odd. For one summer, we had this lil band; me, my older brother and a couple of our homies would get together like every week to jam out and practice in my dad’s yard, not only did I get to improve my piano skills, my senses with music were improving as well.
When I was around 16, as I was exploring and trying out new things with music, I got really hooked with DJ-ing. My dad was really supportive with my passion at the time and got me an old DJ controller so I could practice on my own. I eventually got good at it and I landed my first show for Saigon H.O.G (Harley Davidson Owners Group) Anniversary Party after a couple of months DJing. I was DJing here and there for school parties, proms, private events and product demo shows throughout my high school years and after I graduated. One of my biggest shows was DJing for JBL Professional Audio at Prosound 2018, one of the biggest audio shows in the country. I was also working as a pro-audio and live sound technician for a minute after high school and the job really helped me see and understand the many sides of audio and music and helped me realize what I really wanted to do. “I wanna make good music for the people, I wanna work in a recording studio” – as I told myself.
Having lived the majority of my life back in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I finally came over to LA when I was 19 for college. I attended the Los Angeles Recording School to pursue my associate’s of science in audio production degree. I really had a good time back in college and did really learn a lot of things from there, I saw a lot of things and knew things I’ve never known about. We also got free studio time and all that stuff was really fun! College really helped me understand the process of making music, why good music sounds good and how important audio engineers are to the music industry. I finally graduated and got my degree last year in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic. It kinda felt terrible because to be honest, I didn’t know what to do, how I was gonna be able to find a job. I desperately applied to recording studios here and there at the time and hoped I would get a response. The Mintroom Studios (in Glendale) hit me back not so long after and said they would like me to come in for an interview for an unpaid intern position at the studio. I remember It was one of the best days of my life. I finally got the internship at the studio, but still got more to prove. The Mintroom Studios really took me under their wings, helped me improve and taught me things I couldn’t have learned elsewhere. The internship ended after two months and I got offered to be their in-house Audio Engineer.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It wasn’t really that easy. Man I remember leaving my home to come over here, being away from my family living on the other side of the world for the first time, everything was new. I’ve dealt with a lot of social anxiety, it was hard trying to fit in and adapting to this new environment. In college, I remember there were moments where people would look down on me and didn’t think my words were valuable just because I’m not from out here. It really got me thinking “Man am I really good enough to be here?”. But I already knew I had come this far and it would be a waste of time, money, and effort giving up halfway.
As naive as I was back then, I still knew this would not be the only challenge I faced as my career had just started. Working unusual hours is not irregular when you work at a recording studio. After a couple of weeks, I found myself losing appetite, wasn’t able to eat and enjoy meals like how I used to. I would also doubt myself every time a session doesn’t go the way I wanted, makes me think again “Man am I really good enough to be here?” and it would be in my head for weeks. As time went by, I had adjusted to the new “routine” and also with the support and guidance I got from my peers and co-workers, I had finally got to a point where I am really enjoying my work. I should always be happy because of the fact that I work at a recording studio and in the music industry which is what I always wanted to do.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My name is Quang but a lot of people know me as Q. or Chris originally from HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM; yes I always like to make it loud and clear to people where I’m from. I’m an in-house Audio Engineer at The Mintroom Studios and the place has been like a second home to me. I’ve worked with numerous West Coast Rappers and Hip Hop Artists and have worked on projects and albums for artists Drakeo The Ruler, Rucci, Rob Vicious, Baby Smoove, Ralfy The Plug, DW Flame, P1 and the list goes on. My biggest work to date is probably the entire album I recorded for artist/rapper Drakeo The Ruler that he released at the end of 2020 called “Becaused Yall Asked”.
I’m very confident, efficient and quick on Pro Tools (software used for recording and audio production). This allows me to always stay a couple of steps ahead of the artists, which really helps when it comes to keeping them comfortable while they’re in their creative zone trying to deliver the best performance. Being confident and quick also helps me navigate sessions better; they say the engineer is the pilot of the session and you always wanna know where you are heading.
I’m most proud of the fact that I’m one of the few from my country that gets to be a part of the biggest music and HipHop scene in the world; contributing my skills, craft and time, making an impact and growing the market even bigger. This is also an opportunity for me to represent the people of my country in the scene; putting more Vietnamese talents on the map, getting more recognition in the field.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
One of my good people at the studio, Uncle Tee, was always there looking out for me, preaching, giving me advice and blessing me with knowledge not only about the music industry but about life as well.
Big ups too to my Studio Manager Mickey too for putting me on in the first place and for trusting my skills and work. He had also provided me the guidance that I much needed at the beginning of my career.
I also wanted to give a huge shout out to my fellow engineers at the Mintroom Studios Adrian R and Julian G for always showing me the love and support since day one and having had taught me lots of things about audio and engineering.
Lastly, shout out to my family for always being supportive of me and my journey even though they live on the other side of the world. I could’ve never done this without them.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris.wav_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notchrisnguyen/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2BHiFAmmQNP5fNLok08Oof
Image Credits
Kevin Thai, @crimecityfilms, Yi Hou, Mintroom Studios, Chloe Nguyen
