LA-based music collective Kai Tak, led by Chris King of Cold Showers, have released their new single “Flood The Harbour” ft Olivia Lee of There’s Talk and Tamaryn.
The track, co-written by Kai Tak’s Chris King, Olivia Lee, and Tamaryn, features on the upcoming debut album ‘Designed In Heaven Made In Hong Kong‘, out June 21 via à La Carte Records. It follows previous singles, “Blush,” “Jalen Rose,” and “Villains In My Mind.” Pre-order your copy here.
Named in homage to the now-retired Hong Kong airport known for its harrowing approach through the city’s skyscrapers, Kai Tak sculpts moody soundscapes that pull sonic inspiration from shoegaze, trip-hop, and electronica. King is also known for his production work for artists such as Tamaryn, House of Harm and Fearing.
Initially conceived as a love letter to both the stylized fictional version of King’s birth city portrayed in John Woo and Wong Kar-wei films, as well as its real life vibrancy, the project features a number of different collaborators, who each bring their own unique perspective to the songs, and the resulting mix would serve as the perfect soundtrack for wandering the restless city’s gritty alleyways.
Reflecting on the inspiration behind “Flood The Harbour,” Chris King shares:
“The music for ‘Flood The Harbour’ was written on the same day I wrote ‘Blush.’ After feeling uninspired for a long time, I spent the day repeatedly watching Fallen Angels on mute while messing around with instruments, and 90% of both songs were written in a few hours. Whenever I’m working on something new, I always give the songs a temporary working title of the neighborhood that inspired the tune, or that I’m using found samples from, and this song drew from Yau Ma Tei. Formerly a little fishing bay, Yau Ma Tei has been built extensively upon reclaimed land. Because of Hong Kong’s limited usable land and massive population density, land reclamation has been a central part of the city’s growth over the past century – over 60 km of land has been added to the city from land reclamation projects, including part of the old Kai Tak airport, and just thinking about land reclamation and its endless ripples helped shape the song.”
Olivia Lee of There’s Talk adds her perspective, stating:
“I aligned on inspiration with Chris – the lyrics came to mind after simmering on the working title for the song, Yau Ma Tei, as well as hazy neon-lit montages from Fallen Angels. Sinking into the broodiness of the song, images of a revolution on the heels of the end of the world engulfed in flames and flood came to mind. Perhaps a meditation on the consequences of colonialism and corporate greed, and who will have the last word.”
Take a listen below.
Tracklist:
- No Better Tomorrow (ft. Chelsey Boy)
- Flood the Harbour (ft. There’s Talk)
- Sleepwalking (ft. Chelsey Boy)
- Villains in my Mind (ft. Foie Gras)
- Midnight Pretender (ft. Chelsey Boy)
- Jalen Rose (ft. Draag)
- Blush (ft. Dol Ikara)
- Waste It (ft. Chelsey Boy)
- Until We Leave From Here (ft. Chelsey Boy)
Photo credit: Chelsey Holland
