Aaken is the stage name of Tôn-Thât An, a French born Vietnamese singer, composer, songwriter and pianist.
His first album Circlesong (2005) blends down-tempo, classical music, electronic, indie pop, trip-hop, rock, Indian music, his Asian roots and a cinematographic approach to music.
'Hyperbody', his second album was recorded in Paris, Taipei, and Chicago and features collaborations with Portuguese songstress Bévinda as well as Beck's übercool mother, 'Hyperbody', his second album was recorded in Paris, Taipei, and Chicago and features collaborations with Portuguese songstress Bévinda as well as Beck's übercool mother, Bibbe Hansen.
Beside his solo act, he also developed as a composer for the stage in the late 90's, first for theatre, then more significantly, for dance: Régine Chopinot for 'W.h.a.' (2003), Gang Peng for his hip-hop contemporary ballet 'Sur le Fil' (2007), Taiwanese dance wunderkind Huang Yi for Symphony Project (2010) and Double Yellow Line (2012), and with Japanese choreographer Jo Kanamori and his company Noism. This encounter gave way to a fruitful artistic collaboration: 'NINA - materialize sacrifice' (2005), which toured in major cities around the globe, 'PLAY 2 PLAY' (2007), and 'Les Contes d'Hoffmann' (2010).
He has also collaborated with Taiwanese fashion designer Johan Ku on 'The Hole' (2011) a conceptual short film directed by Tsai Ming-Liang, as well as a video installation bearing the same name, which presented Johan Ku's 2011 autumn/winter collection.
Current work includes 'Fukaeri' a duo album with Bévinda, the score for Bryan Kuo's film 'Pierre est heureux' and 'Thanh Giong' a piece commissioned by the Berlin Symphony Orchestra.
