come on in my taiwanese kitchen! is a mixtape of musical flavors with a variety of sonic spices including american folk blues, taiwanese folk song, 1960s surf rock, and lofi girl chillhop. each course is a delicious taiwanese dish with an audiovisual component — song + animations. the menu consists of 2 covers of songs from the taiwanese drama 《俗女養成記 the making of an ordinary woman》by taiwanese folk rock band 旺福 wonfu, a cover of a cover — khalil fong’s timeless faye wong cover, a rainy lofi rendition of a robert johnson delta blues slide guitar standard, an instrumental jam of booker t. & the m.g.’s stax records downhome boogie, and a modern arrangement of a taiwanese folk song about the traditional food of the dragon boat festival. the original songs 番茄炒蛋tomato egg stir fry and 茶點 tea time draw influences and ingredients from vintage surf to bedroom pop, acoustic blues, and chess records era electric blues.
i started recording these tracks last fall 2022 but the seeds had been germinating beginning with my investigation into taiwanese folk song and roots music. in my search i was delighted to discover so many culinary references in taiwanese folk songs, of course a people so emotionally attached to food would sing about their loves. i was surprised how much history the songs carried and revealed — in the melodies remnants of the japanese occupation, in the rhythms the power of indigenous grooves, in the instrumentations/arrangements fusions of east meets west winds and in the lyrics/verses the stories of the working class people proud to call the most beautiful island home. through these lofi beats and bite sized 3D digitally rendered stop motion claymations, i hope to share my taiwanese roots heritage and stories of taiwanese music, cuisine, cinema and culture.

i dedicate this mixtape to my ancestors who gave me steady stamina and enthusiasm this winter throughout the creative process while i recorded/arranged all the instrumental parts (slide guitar, harmonica, flute, 12 string, rubber bridge guitar, resonator, ukelele bass, keys, synths, hand/foot percussion, kitchen foley, tremolo harp, beats) and designed/3D modeled all the kitchen assets.
i feel the closest to my ancestors and at home in my body while singing in the mother tongue (taiwanese hokkien) and my wish is that when listening to these songs you can feel the way they made me feel while making this, held and nourished