Chai - No More Cake/Ready Cheeky Pretty - 7-INCH SINGLE [7 inch Vinyl Disc]

The Japanese band Chai cast a spell on the world in 2017 with their debut album, PINK, a collection of songs that introduced their singular brand of playful pop. The enthusiastically feminist follow-up, PUNK, raked in accolades from the music press and fellow artists. That led to WINK, which Chai made via remote Zoom sessions, a limitation that became a strength by allowing MANA (lead vocals and keys), KANA (guitar), YUNA (drums), and YUUKI (bassist-lyricist) to collaborate with artists abroad to create a work that found catharsis in their international community. Unlike WINK, the band's new self-titled album finds Chai returning to their roots, drawing inspiration from city pop, J-pop, and their Japanese heritage. The album might be the perfect distillation of Chai's ethic it urges listeners to keep moving through this life with joy and passion. Per MANA InchIt's not about winning or losing as competition, but about what you need to do, personally, to feel you've won.Inch Album Tracks 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

Since breaking out in 2018, Chai have been associated with explosive joy. At their live shows, the Japanese four-piece of identical twins MANA (lead vocals and keys) and KANA (guitar), drummer YUNA, and bassist-lyricist YUUKI have become known for buoyant displays of eclectic and clever songwriting, impressive musicianship, matching outfits, delightful choreography, and sheer relief. At the core of their music, Chai have upheld a stated mission to deconstruct the standards of beauty and cuteness that can be so oppressive in Japan. Following the of 2019's second album PUNK, Chai's adventures took them around the world, to music festivals like Primavera Sound and Pitchfork Music Festival, and touring with indie-rock mainstays like Whitney and Mac DeMarco. Like all musicians, Chai spent 2020 forced to rethink the fabric of their work and lives. But Chai took this as an opportunity to shake up their process and bring their music somewhere thrillingly new. Having previously used their maximalist recordings to capture the exuberance of their live shows, with the audiences' reactions in mind, Chai instead focused on crafting the slightly-subtler and more introspective kinds of songs they enjoy listening to at home-where, for the first time, they recorded all of the music. Amidst the global shutdown, Chai worked on Garageband and traded their song ideas-which they had more time than ever to consider-over Zoom and phone calls, turning their limitations into a strength. Their third full-length and first for Sub Pop, WINK contains Chai's mellowest and most minimal music, and also their most affecting and exciting songwriting by far. While the band leaned into a more personal sound, WINK is also the first Chai album to feature contributions from outside producers (Mndsgn, YMCK) as well as a feature from the Chicago rapper-singer Ric Wilson. Chai draw R&B and hip-hop into their

Vinyl LP pressing. On the streets of Kinshasa, Africa's 3rd largest capital city, a radical new scene is thriving amongst the political instability. Fongola is the highly anticipated debut album from Congolese collective Kokoko!. They're best known for creating a contemporary aesthetic all their own by rewiring and upcycling materials such as metal, cans, engine parts and plastic containers into vital and resonant dance music. Kokoko!'s distorted fast rhythms and spontaneous lo-fi electric sounds provide the chaotic soundtrack for the cities harsh yet abundantly creative realities.