Dyan Tai is an artist telling their own story via a hyper-pop salad of sparkling synths, pumping rhythms and tongue-in cheek lyrics in their new single “LGBT!”
“’LGBT!’ is a tongue-in-cheek take on my awkward coming-out story. I remember asking Mum about Queer people when I was little. Like most Chinese parents, she changed the conversation because we don’t like to talk about uncomfortable things, ” laughs Dyan.
We had the chance to chat to Dyan about their approach to music, songwriting and their own sonic preferences.
Dyan, thanks for taking the time. Sonically, visually, aesthetically and culturally – you’re doing things your own way. How do you describe what you do?
I make electronic music that is a sonic fusion of club and hyperpop and East/Southeast Asian soundscapes. I am also a cabaret and performance artist but whenever I perform in those spaces, it is always to music that I produce.
Your new single “LGBT!” combines a lot of genres and sounds, culminating into something verging on hyper pop, hip-hop and industrial sounds, before switching into dreamy, poppy sounds. Who are some of your musical heroes?
I’m glad you noticed that! “LGBT!” starts with a hard hitting hyperpop sound design but there’s a sweet disco pop centre which is kind of unexpected. While I get inspiration from artists like Sophie, Charli XCX and MIA, as a music producer I also get really excited listening to Skrillex, Fred Again and local artists like Ninajirachi, Lupa J and Moktar whom I really look up to.
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How do your visuals and your style influence your music and vice versa?
I’m really interested in the intersection of arts and culture so my music is all about bringing Asian pop culture, queer culture and Eastern music to club and arts spaces. I want to amplify voices of underrepresented communities and through music, show the rich heritage of diverse communities in so-called Australia. The only drag I am interested in doing is Chinese operatic drag which I expand by incorporating Y2K/cyberpunk aesthetics. I want to show the history of drag and my Chinese heritage through my music.
How does a Dyan Tai song start?
As a music producer, I think it is so important to commit to songwriting and experimenting with sounds every week. I try to do 4-5 sessions a week. Most of what I make is rubbish but then you’ll get gems every now and then.
I use Ableton for my production and I make most of my songs in arrangement view. Most of my sessions start with finding new sounds, sample packs and plug ins. I’m obsessed with metallic hyperpop percussion and sound FX which I usually get from Splice. I get most of my synth sounds from Omnisphere which I love to automate and make them move and grow with the track.
Vocal production is really big part of my songwriting. I record and produce my own vocals. I guess I’m quite meticulous with my own vocals. Every single note and syllable is pitched, treated and processed with Melodyne. You will never find me apply an Auto Tune plug-in over entire vocal takes.
In a typical session, I usually have about 100 tracks or more with at least 20-30 vocal takes stacked on top of each other, EQ’d, panned and processed differently.
You’ve performed live with a keytar – does live performance influence your songwriting or do you just write and figure it out later?
Sometimes I feel like I have a split personality because while I love writing three minute pop songs, it also gives me a lot of joy to produce longer form music for extended live shows which allows me to experiment and produce music that is less commercial.
Because of my cabaret and performance art background, when I write music for live shows there is always a narrative. I make a spreadsheet with time points. The music produced for each time point has a different theme and references which I would further expand by adding details like stage lights and colours for the live shows. I always think of the journey, e.g. highs and the lows; and how I can expand the soundscape and where I’m taking the audience before a euphoric finish.
You’re incorporating more traditional Eastern and Asian instruments with modern production. Are you actively trying to create a dichotomy and contrast or is it simpler than that?
I like to find unique qualities in each sound and genre. Hyperpop, in my opinion, has very distinctive metallic percussions and experimental sound FX which I try to pair with Eastern music instruments like the Gamelan. Or I might scatter a Guzheng or Beijing opera samples every 8 bars. I am obsessed with saturating Taiko drums and layering them with wet, reverbed kicks. The kicks you hear in my production are usually a combination of kick samples layered with Taiko drums.
What does the future of Dyan Tai look like?
I want to continue pushing the boundaries of electronic and world music in Australia. There is a chance people might not get it and I’ll fail miserably… or that makes me a trailblazer. And I think I’ll be ok either way.
Dyan Tai is embarking on a tour that will arrive in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Brisbane and Adelaide throughout August, September, October and November + more to be announced. Keep up with Dyan here.
