Whai Talk Mountain Peaks and the Draw of Creepy Gas Masks Ahead of Nov 17 EP Release

Near the summit of Wudang mountain in Hubei province, Zhang Wei listened to demos from the new EP he had been working on. While listening to the opening track, a serene instrumental with soothing synths and buzzing riffs, the frontman for Beijing avant-garde trip-hop band Whai decided to use the track to pay homage to the Golden Hall on the famed peak.

That song, “Golden Top”, kicks off Whai's new eponymous EP as a bold departure, a steady and peaceful counterpoint to the more abrasive songs to follow, not to mention the more volatile and psychedelic tracks from prior releases. “It subverts the attitude of my music entirely,” Zhang says ahead of Whai’s Nov 17 EP release party at Beijing hutong venue Soi Baochao, which caps off a nationwide tour to promote the new project.

The diversity between “Golden Top”, and the EP’s more abrasive tracks, “Sky” and “Drugs”, was mostly achieved through synths that were analog, rather than digital alternatives that would’ve made such variations easier. “Digital synthesizers have many settings to make them play by themselves, which shrinks my initiative,” he explains.

And be it surmounting a famed summit like Wudang, or deliberated taking the tougher route via older hardware, Zhang and his Whai cohorts have an equally dogged work ethic when it comes to performing his songs live, something he’s eager to show the audience at Soi Baochao at the EP release.

"Every enthusiastic audience inspires us and makes us work harder. They are our soil, they are what we used to be when we were fans watching band, and more importantly, they keep us going when we’re on the road,” describes Zhang.

Before wrapping up our interview ahead of the Soi Baochao show, I had to ask Zhang: what’s with the gas mask in Whai’s logo, and in all the band’s promo photos? His answer was thoughtful and direct: “In this society, everyone has a mask of their own. Whai chooses a gas mask, so we can be free from any poisons and pollutants.”

The release of their new EP represents another summit surmounted for Whai, but adds yet another layer to the band's multifaceted life behind the mask.

Whai will perform at Soi Baochao on Nov 17 alongside String and Xue Feng. Tickets are RMB 60 advance or RMB 80 on the door. For more information, click here.

For this week's music happenings, click here.

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Images courtesy of Whai