CHAI have shared a new track from their upcoming album WINK. ‘PING PONG’ features Japanese chiptune band YMCK and it arrives with an accompanying animated visual. Check it out below.
“We’re channelling our inner playful selves, challenging ourselves to fun, and bringing you that nostalgic-feel with this song!” CHAI said in a press release. “There’s just something about old video games that’s super cute, a little tacky, yet at the same time fancy. Something that you think is “old-school” but at the same time super refreshing. YMCK collaborated with us on this and created the ultimate 8bit World of CHAI!”
“The theme for PING PONG is exactly as is, ‘ping pong’,” they continued. “In Japanese culture, there’s this routine where Hot Springs or ‘onsen’ and playing PING PONG go hand in hand. When the four of us hit the hot springs, we always wear a Yukata (unlined Summer kimono), drink a cup of milk, and go right into some PING PONG! It’s very Japanese, something we don’t think exists overseas and that’s exactly what we want to share! You can hear it in the lyrics and you can feel it in the music video!”
YMCK added: “It was our first time creating something from start to finish remotely but everything turned out amazing with each member’s character shining through! Don’t miss this ever-so free and forever dancing world of CHAI!”
WINK is set to come out on May 21 via Sub Pop. It includes the previously released singles ‘Maybe Chocolate Chips’, ‘Donuts Mind If I Do’, ‘ACTION’, and ‘Nobody Knows We Are Fun’.
