This chapter discusses Vietnamese soundscapes with a particular interest in the politically and culturally embedded complexity of their history. An account of the history of sound art practices in Vietnam is drawn from interviews with artists who have been central to these developments. Further, the authors argue that these practices have emerged out of an engagement with the rapidly shifting soundscapes of the country, also often triggered by a wish to activate memories of lost sounds.  Finally, the chapter also refers to the authors’ collaboration with the filmmaker Trịnh Minh-hà, on the music for her most recent film, Forgetting Vietnam, the making of which spans the short history of sound art in Vietnam, and which engages with memory and forgetfulness in ways that are coloured also by the particular perspective of diaspora. 

   The chapter gives special attention to what Schafer would call the ‘lo-fi’ character of much of the soundscapes found in the natural environment in Vietnam. The density of imprints from human activity is high, also on the Vietnamese countryside. In the city, on the other hand, the soundscape is also characterized by the sound of guestworkers from the countryside, providing yet another perspective on the multi-layered sonorities of Vietnam.