PRAISE FOR ‘MASSIVE CHECKS’
“It’s another masterclass in unhinged, eccentric punk.”
– Hysteria Magazine (AUS)
Melbourne-based DIY post-punk artist KAI CULT has just revealed his warped new single ‘Massive Checks’ – produced by the artist himself and mixed by Ashwin Rao from the Singaporean Garage Rock band Knightingale.
Opening with grinding bass lines, atmospheric guitar vibrato and commanding sung-spoken lead vocals, ‘Massive Checks’ is a party punk anthem for the dystopian present. Foreboding tones scatter across the record as the track takes a momentary dip, before launching into an eccentric outro, full of piercing guitar solos.
KAI CULT talks about the inspiration behind ‘Massive Checks’:
“’Massive Checks’ is a post-apocalyptic dance-punk song, apt for these dystopian times. I wrote it in jest to the irony of millennial living, where the work-life balance is grossly unbalanced, and we’re just working to acquire more and more materialistic goods while we descend further into debt. I also wanted to combine my love of hip-hop to a dance-able post-punk beat.”
In conjunction with the release, KAI CULT will reveal the accompanying video clip, filmed by the DIY artist across his Melbourne neighbourhood through two lockdowns. He mentions, “the film follows me as I navigate a post-apocalyptic city in flames – not too dissimilar to the one we exist in right now. 99% of the clip was the original content I created myself. I filmed the backgrounds with my phone and my camera against a green screen, and created my animations using After Effects”.
KAI CULT is the garage-noise-meme-punk project of Louis Fuji, combining diverse influences from Asia with the jarring sounds of garage-rock and post-punk, taking cues from luminaires Nirvana, Amyl & The Sniffers and IDLES. Louis continues, “I grew up in South-East Asia, and I am the product of their vibrant underground scene. I wanted to incorporate elements of internet memes and aesthetic culture into the video as I feel a lot of rock bands are trying to capture the visuals of the past”.
Previous releases, as part of former projects, have seen support from the likes of ABC’s Rage, Hysteria Magazine and Melbourne tastemaker radio 3RRR.
‘Massive Checks’ is available worldwide now
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