Vietnam has a vibrant pop music scene. Karaoke and nightclubs flourish in the country's major cities. And stars like Cam Ly have legions of fans. Vietnamese pop combines western sounds with Traditional instruments and vocal styles. A new CD provides a survey. It's called "The Rough Guide to the Music of Vietnam." Producer Paul Fisher put the CD together.

SCHACHTER: Describe the music scene in Saigon, officially known as Ho Chi Minh City.

FISHER: You hear music everywhere. It's a very lively place. Taxi drivers are playing music, restaurants, bars and it seems there's always an outdoor event going on as well. There are Vietnamese versions of Britney Spears but, I think Vietnamese people like a different sound, a different melody than in America. They also incorporate a lot of traditional instruments even within the pop music.

SCHACHTER: You mentioned traditional instruments. Talk about the dan bao.

FISHER: The dan bao is a single stringed instrument, just one cord. You might think it's easy to play, but it's actually very difficult to play. There's a device at one of the end's of the instrument and you bend the notes.

SCHACHTER: The song "Blue Requiem" has a bluesy quality to it. Something I wouldn't expect. Do the Vietnamese have their own blues tradition?

FISHER: Well there is the Mekong Delta. So you could say it's kind of a delta blues. That track by Blue Asia is a co-production with a Japanese and Malaysian group and they went to Saigon and collaborated with local musicians. I don't think there is a tradition in bluesy dan bao, but you can certainly hear it on that song.

SCHACHTER: The one thing I do not hear on your CD is rap music. Is that taking off in Vietnam?

FISHER: Yeah, I think it is. I didn't include it because I didn't particularly like it and I think the words have more meaning if you can actually understand them.

SCHACHTER: What got you interested in Vietnamese music?

FISHER: Well, I lived in Japan for about 11 years and I spent a lot of that time traveling around. I spent a quite a lot of time in Vietnam. The last time I was there was in 2006 and I think in the last five years or so the music quality has been getting better and better.