FEATURE: Spotlight: CHAI — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

CHAI

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I will bring in…

a couple of reviews for WINK in a minute. It is the new album from the rising group, CHAI. Even though the group formed in 2012, I think they are starting to produced their best work and break out worldwide. Consisting Mana, Kana, Yuuki and Yuna, the group released their debut studio album, PINK, in 2017. Formed in Nagoya, Japan, they are creating such bright and interesting Pop music. It is experimental yet accessible. There have been a couple of great interviews published this year to promote WINK. I want to look back at a couple of interviews published around the time of PUNK. I think CHAI are one of the most exciting groups around. Their blend of Pop, Rap and other styles is unique and full of nuance. They are an incredible force that are going to go on to be icons of the future. I think there is a lot of terrific Pop coming out of Japan and South Korea. It is a fertile and exciting time for music that is far less conventional than what we hear in the mainstream. The first interview that I want to bring in is from NYLON . Apart from introducing the group, we learn more about NEO-Kawaii:

“Like most women, the members of Japan's post-punk quartet known as CHAI learned very early on the supposed code of conduct for being female. For them, it boiled down to the concept of Kawaii—the term used for anything cute or adorable in their native Japan. Outside of the country, Kawaii has become a marker of Japan's prolific entertainment industry and a staple in its commercial sector, where stores and shops are often dominated by adorable, bite-sized mascots that aim to attract customers with their innocuous looks. Beyond the realm of capitalism, though, Kawaii has also inspired a restrictive social template that women in Japan are often expected to adhere to.

"Kawaii is the best compliment [for a woman] in Japan. Usually, that means long legs, small waist, skinny, pale skin, small face, big eyes. That is typically Kawaii," explains bassist Yuuki, as the band — Yuuki, drummer Yuna and sisters Kana and Mana — congregates around a computer for a Skype call on a Sunday morning. Getting ready to fly to their next tour stop with Whitney, the girls are dressed in matching outfits, makeup-free, and much too chipper for this time of morning.

"Those [Kawaii] people are on TV or more like celebrities in Japan," Yuuki continues. "It's very specific what kind of people or looks is Kawaii. Other than that, everybody [who does not fit in] is not Kawaii."

By the age of 10, the members of CHAI had realized that they fell in the latter category, and reconciling with that fact took a toll on them. "We grew up with a complex because we were not in that category," Mana explains. "But at the time we didn't know how to change."

The band has termed their resistance as NEO-Kawaii. The bedrock of their oeuvre, it's a world where the only criterion for being cute is being you. Far from the reach of the "lipsticks, treatment, highlight cheek, eye-shadow" — as goes their song "I'm Me" — NEO-Kawaii is CHAI's quasi-camp realm where you don't hide your weight, put butter on your steaks, and always feel pretty. Your complexes are your charm; they are what make you cute.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jackson Bowley for CRACK

"Everyone has a different complex, but they all have these insecurities," Mana says. "Once we started the band, we realized that maybe this was not only us, that there were a bunch of people feeling like us. That was the point. We wanted to spread the word— you can be who you are, even if you are not in that category. You are okay. You are beautiful."

These insecurities are a universal thing. It's not only in Japan.

To the members, the visual language of this message is of the utmost importance. One would think the path to resistance is seldom paved with pink satin and flowers, but this clash between ideology and presentation is what singles NEO-Kawaii out from other acts pushing against traditional cute culture.

"The basic [idea] is the same as people who play with punk and rock: wanting something to change," says Yuuki on why the band so heavily incorporates commonplace Kawaii elements in their videos. "However, people who are not Kawaii already have a complex, which is already negative. We wanted to change the negative into the positive."

Diving into a CHAI song is, in turn, a multifaceted lesson in dismantling social systems. The traditional Kawaii elements are ever-present — endearing juvenescence, babydoll dresses, and vibrant colors, most prominently pink — but this time, they've been stripped to their bare essentials and reconstructed with a more inclusive perspective. CHAI has weaponized its native elements to become more accepting of shortcomings.

This repositioning extends into their sound, where love-letters to gyozas, body hair and catchy English phrases — a residue from the early commercialization of Kawaii — blend in with their voraciousness to never quite stick to a genre. They alternate between frenetic post-punk and sweet, slow funk, pop, and traces of R&B. Collectively, they've named this melting pot of sounds CHAI. "We want to pick the best of them and create a new way," Mana says. "A CHAI way".

I think that their latest album is their most astonishing and compelling release. I love PUNK and their debut, PINK - I would urge people to dig them out. I cannot wait to see if they come and play in the U.K. very soon. There will be a lot of demand for the Japanese group. Before getting to reviews of WINK, I want to source from an interesting interview CRACK conducted with the exciting and hugely lovable CHAI:

“The Neo-Kawaii ethos is woven through CHAI’s entire creative process, but the music video for N.E.O., from the girls’ debut album PINK, is perhaps the easiest introduction to it. It starts with a burst of fuchsia and Mana’s high-pitched vocals in all-caps on screen as she affirms: “YOU ARE SO CUTE, NICE FACE, C’MON, YEAH!” The video goes on to show details not often brought attention to – hairy chests, freckled faces, pudgy bellies.

What really drives the message home is the genuineness in which it is delivered and lived by the four girls in front of me. For CHAI, none of this is a marketing device or a disingenuous way to be perceived as “accepting”. It’s a philosophy they are living, creating and learning, both as a group and as individuals.

CHAI’s hard-to-miss image – a hyper-saturated, playful and almost cartoon-like take on girlhood – is as carefully curated by the group as their philosophy, with Yuuki at the helm illustrating their website and album covers. Today at the studio they are happy to wear what’s on offer, throwing on frilled neon dresses and metallic silver skirts, taking selfies with CHAI painted across their faces. But onstage the four-piece always rock up in matching pink outfits. The concept was initially inspired by Devo’s kitsch aesthetic, but the choice to wear them at every show goes deeper than that. “Pink is a colour that is often thought as only suitable for little girls,” says Mana, sighing. “We want to change the image of pink, to show that pink can be very cool and fashionable, not just cute.”

Their first album was named after the shade, followed by the latest, PUNK, which the band describes as “the future” of CHAI – a portrait of the band they want to be. It’s cheerful electronic rock, where swirling synths meet an undoubtedly punk rock bass and Mana’s punchy vocals. When asked if they enjoy any punk groups specifically, the band laugh. They tell me the title was chosen due to the similarity of the words, rather than a specific interest in the genre. Instead, they cite the likes of Brazilian group Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS), tUnE-yArDs and Justice as their musical inspirations. “We like music we can dance to,” explain Kana and Yuuki animatedly. “It’s about the feeling. Not about being cool.”

CHAI’s music is a reminder that the universal experience of girlhood is not about needing to be “cool”. To them it’s about learning to love yourself as you are. For that, CHAI are the coolest girls around”.

This year has seen some phenomenal albums released. I think that WINK is among the very best. The world is becoming more aware of groups from Asia. The likes of BTS and BLACKPINK get a lot of airplay in the U.K. and U.S. CHAI are another group who put their name in bold and deliver music that is vivacious, captivating and new. Not to say western Pop is lacking in desire and surprise. I feel the most interesting variety is emanating from Asia.

The reviews for WINK have been hugely positive. In their review, this is what The Quietus had to say about a remarkable album that is jam-packed with highlights:

“But of course, the reality of that togetherness necessarily changed during the pandemic. We’ve been living through a period in which we’ve been forced to isolate, taking a step back from our innate need to be around others, all for a greater good. The pandemic, for all its draining exhaustion, has given many people time to pause and ruminate. It has meant time alone, forced to accept ourselves. Notably, it’s also a pause which has given time and space for more people to become politicised and radicalised – time to spend reading up on social justice, on solidarity. Protests have felt more galvanised than in recent years, with more and more young people reading up on solidarity and prison abolition, with a new generation becoming aware of the importance of collectivism.

It’s within this backdrop that WINK, arrives, making the case for “we” – celebrating the group and it’s listeners in equal parts. It’s their first record working with external producers, and tellingly pushes the group to a wider sonic scope than ever. It pulses with an excellent hip-hop and R&B polish, blending waves of sheen with their proclivity for brash pop and the cascading dance-y punk energy of a group like Le Tigre. Take ‘It’s Vitamin C’, which shimmies with the echoes of the dancefloor while also playing with breezy jazz hip-hop inflections.

After self-isolating last year, the group’s return has its foundations in Zoom calls and remote Garageband productions. There’s certainly an introspection presumably born out of that time at home, and the record starts off more lush, silky and laid-back than we’ve heard from them before. Take opening track, ‘Donuts Mind If I Do’, the floaty love song dedicated to baked goods (“Hello, hello, would you like any donuts, honey?”), which is sprinkled with all the effervescent, sweet lightness of a blanket of icing sugar. Or there’s the breathy, tactile ballad ‘Maybe Chocolate Chips’ – after a year at home with perhaps more time contemplating our bodies, it’s a sexy ode to moles and appreciating yourself, featuring swoon-worthy bars from Chicago rapper-singer Ric Wilson (“Your moles are what deem you special / And if he can’t see don’t settle”).

But while there’s an undercurrent of that sugary softness, sensual love and powerful femininity that permeates WINK, this is a record that’s still just as defined by the exquisite propulsion of their earlier work. There’s ‘ACTION’, which specifically channels political energy and solidarity – they’ve said the writing was inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer, and although the phrases used are arguably somewhat hackneyed (it features lines like “Action is more than words” and “Be the change you want to see”), the simplicity here is the charm. It’s a punchy, jerky call to arms that gets you pumped.

Standouts also include the brash, skittering heat of the excellent ‘END’, or the spangled game console sounds of gloriously upbeat ‘PING PONG!’. Even gentler tracks, like the Toro Y Moi-style ‘IN PINK’, featuring producer and artist extraordinaire Mndsgn, or the wobbly bass of ‘Nobody Knows We Are Fun’, have a discernible strut to them.

WINK is CHAI’s most comforting listen to date, but that doesn’t mean they’ve left behind the fun or the bold, animated bite of it all. Instead, it’s a record that builds on everything they’ve done before, understanding their strengths together as a group and then growing something more immersive and insightful from it – all while remaining deliciously joyful”.

I am keen to wrap things up in a minute. Before then, I want to source CLASH’s review of WINK and what they had to say about the Japanese group’s third studio album:

“And with the societal limitations that CHAI have emerged from, a call towards freedom seems appropriate. As with most women, across the world, CHAI have faced many a challenge due to their gender, with Japanese culture specifically leaning towards an expectation of cuteness rather than progressive creatorship and intelligence.

Exhausted by the labels they run from, but still determined to make a creative stamp on the world around them, CHAI push back. With their eccentric outfits, buoyant personalities and superb lyricism, they’re breaking down the wall brick by brick.

‘Maybe Chocolate Chips’ is a very appropriate self-love anthem, the product of YUUKI’s journey to see her moles in a different light, rejecting “beauty myths” and finding her own truth.

2020 saw them rethink a lot more than their self-perception, with the change in circumstances dually leading to a shift in production. Accessing software such as GarageBand and writing over Zoom, the four managed to thrive where others may have struggled. And with Ric Wilson, YMCK and Mndsgn coming on board, the band’s collaborative effort to produce a rebellious and determined album has been able to come to fruition.

With such a strong determination to create work that disputes any possible risk of these girls being seen in a reductive manner, WINK is used to address important issues. ‘ACTION’, a response to this “year of action” addresses the mass movement the four saw towards a more equal world, with causes like BLM taking precedent throughout 2020 and hopefully beyond.

Personal favourite, ‘END’, addresses what we’ve all being looking towards, an end. But to what? Whilst we’ve been battling with the fear of what is next, CHAI channelled their observations into an incredible production of anger and movement, exploring the idea that an end is not necessarily a negative thing. With their placement of the track, in the first half of the album, furthering this perception that an end isn’t always the end”.

If you are not aware of CHAI, then go and follow them on social media and check out their music. One does not have to be aware of J-Pop, the scene in Japan or the group’s backstory to appreciate albums like WINK. The young group are destined for very big things. I think we will see a lot more music from them. They seem to have this incredible bond and affection among them. The music is bright, bold, cutting and eye-opening. I have heard WINK a few times and I come back because it is such an engrossing listen! Spend some time to investigate…