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Taiwanese Allies in DIY Projects
As you expand your DIY activities, I believe Shao-Tzu (廖小子), who has been involved in designing all the album artwork and tour posters since your first album and performs as the iconic Sabahi Man (虱目魚男) during live shows, is also part of the Sorry Youth family. What kind of person is he?
Weni: Shao-Tzu is an active graphic designer, and we met online shortly after we formed the band. At that time, he was posting unique kung fu illustrations on the internet, which left a strong impression on me. After becoming friends, we started asking him to design our album artwork and merchandise. When we finish demo tracks, we send them to a few people for feedback, and he’s one of them. I truly trust him both as a colleague and a friend.
In “Noise Apartment,” you feature three artists: Eno Chen (鄭宜農), Olivia Tsao (曹雅雯), and She Ming-Yu (謝銘祐). All three have been recognized with awards at major music festivals in Taiwan, making for a stellar lineup.
Chung-Han: That’s right. First of all, while Yitan Zhou is a great producer, he actually doesn’t speak Taiwanese. In contrast, the three vocalists participating this time all share the common trait of being able to sing in Taiwanese. For example, She Ming-Yu is a senior of ours, and we had him contribute the chorus to the ninth track, “世界第一戇 / The World’s Biggest Fool feat. 謝銘祐.” He helped adjust the finer details of the lyrics, elevating their meaning to a deeper level.
The collaboration has strengthened the resonance of the Taiwanese language.
Giang Giang: Yes, exactly. For the fourth track, “共身軀完全放予去 / Letting Go Together feat. 鄭宜農,” we collaborated with Eno Chen, who was recommended by Yitan. We were already acquaintances. In fact, we extended the offer when the song and lyrics were nearly finalized, and she agreed immediately. As a professional singer, she provided us with advice on part division and vocal techniques to enhance the overall sound.
Weni: We got to work with Olivia Tsao after participating in one of her album tracks, which led to her joining us for the sixth track of our album, “袂赴啊 / Too Late feat. 曹雅雯.” There are fewer female artists of our generation who can sing in Taiwanese compared to male artists, so she’s quite valuable. Olivia and I often discuss themes like “How can we present a new perspective on Taiwanese?” and “How can we promote the Taiwanese language more to the younger generation?”
