WATCH: Guji 咕叽 Shares Video for “I Like to Hang Out in China”

Debut EP from New Wave quartet due out on August 25th

July 26, 2023 Ron Hart 0 Comments Chachy, China, EP, Guji 咕叽, I Like to Hang Out in China, Round Eye

Still from “I Like to Hang Out in China” (Image: YouTube)

The debut EP of Guji 咕叽, a quirky synth-driven New Wave quartet comprised of Chinese nationals Klaire (synths), Alex (bass), Stacy (drum machine) and American guitarist and singer for Shanghai punk band Round Eye Chachy will be released August 25 by Floridian label Godless America on cassette, digital download and via streaming platforms.

The EP was produced by frequent Modern Sky Recordings producer Li Wei Yu, and was largely conspired during the notorious lockdown of Shanghai during China’s “0-COVID Policy” that shuttered businesses, closed schools, canceled public events and shut the borders for three years.

Guizhou native Jiang Zi Xiu (Klaire) and Craig Englund (Chachy) were stuck in their home for months as a makeshift wall of plywood and bamboo rods was raised at the entrance and exits of the alleyway outside their door. Guards in hazmat suits were placed to conduct daily PCR tests and make sure no one came in or out.

It was under these conditions that the couple decided to fill their time and their walls with the double lead harmonies, jangling B-52 styled guitar and cheesy drum machine pulse of the sardonic bubblegum-arpeggiated synthpop of Guji 咕叽.

Heavily influenced by the aesthetic of 80s DEVO, B-52s and My Little Pony, the duo channels their frustrations and observations into vivid DIY videos channeling the work of Chuck Statler and blast humorously sardonic synthpop jams lined with pastel colored neon lights.

With their first self-titled EP, they turn their anger into childish jeering fun in an overwhelmingly hostile political landscape and with songs like “I like to Hang Out in China,” the video of which Rock & Roll Globe is proud to premiere today on the site.

“‘I Like to Hang Out in China’ is our extremely cynical love letter to China and a celebration of its weird societal nuances,” explains Chachy. “Recorded all throughout the city of Shanghai, this is our anthem of self-awareness and the tongue is very firmly in cheek.”

“China is a place where only positive voices can be heard,” adds Klaire jokingly. “I like it! China is number one!”

Fans of Wet Leg and Le Tigre should also take notice of Guji 咕叽 and check out the video below.