I suspect that you may be wondering what ‘Kawaii’ is? OK then, here goes…
Imagine a world that is filled to the brim with throwaway pink plastic and vivid colours, where everyone is obsessed with everything that is cute and innocent and adores ‘Hello Kitty’ and ‘Pikachu’ and talks in a high-pitched voice like little girls excited on first seeing tiny pink kittens, well certain segments of the Japanese society go in for this sort of thing. They even have a word for it, which is ‘Kawaii’, which goes along the lines of meaning ‘cute’, ‘adorable’ and ‘lovable’. The Collins English Dictionary in the UK in 2014 entered “kawaii” into their then latest edition, defining it as a “Japanese artistic and cultural style that emphasizes the quality of cuteness, using bright colours and characters with a childlike appearance”. Well, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, cats and dogs, welcome to the pink coloured hyper-animated world of CHAI.
The Japanese band CHAI cast a spell on the world in 2017, when they released their debut album, ‘PINK’, a collection of songs that introduced us to their singular brand of playful pop. The jubilant and enthusiastically feminist follow-up, ‘PUNK’ dropped in 2019 and it raked in accolades from the music press and fellow artists alike. They headed out on tour which included a concert here in Brighton at Chalk on 30th October 2019. The Brighton & Hove News Music Team were in attendance, you read our review HERE.
The band hail from Nagoya and released their third long player ‘WINK’ in 2021, which CHAI made via remote Zoom sessions, a limitation that became a strength since it allowed Kana (on guitar and vocals), her twin sister Mana (on keyboards and vocals), and their close friends Yuki (on bass and chorus) and Yuna (on drums and chorus) to collaborate with artists abroad. On ‘WINK’, CHAI looked beyond their immediate surroundings, and the confines of home, to create a work that found catharsis in their international community.
On 22nd September, CHAI will release their dazzling self-titled fourth album worldwide from Sub Pop, and in Japan and Asia through Sony Music. The tracklist reads as follows:
1. ‘MATCHA’
2. ‘From 1992’
3. ‘PARA PARA’
4. ‘GAME’
5. ‘We The Female!’
6.’ NEO KAWAII, K?’
7.’ I Can’t Organizeeee’
8. ‘Driving22’
9. ‘LIKE, I NEED’
10. ‘KARAOKE’
In support of this forthcoming album, (which will be available HERE) CHAI will be heading out on tour across North America in September and October, and then CHAI will be heading across to Europe and the UK in November. Thankfully they will be appearing in Brighton. Their venue of choice is Patterns (located at 10 Marine Parade), this time around, so no doubt this will quickly sell-out based on the amount of folk attending the last Brighton gig. Therefore it would be wise to snap up your tickets as soon as possible. The date for your diary is Thursday 9th November.
Purchase your tickets from the promoters (FORM) HERE or obtain them from HERE.
