Q&A: Sunset Rollercoaster

Over the past ten years, Sunset Rollercoaster has grown to become the darling of the Asian music industry after garnering a massive and loyal fanbase within the continent and outside its borders. After releasing two full-length albums and two EPs, the quintet returns with their third studio album, Soft Storm expected to be released October 30th. Sunset Rollercoaster continues their track record of absorbing classic American genres and styles and marrying them into smooth 80s city pop, “cute prog rock” and contemporary pop music. 

For the first single off of the album, Sunset Rollercoaster collaborates with South Korean musician, OHHYUK, on a pensive R&B track. “Candlelight” features a music video of a funeral procession; as the characters cry and mourn for a lost loved one through the pulsating rhythm, lead singer Kuo Kuo and OHYUK’s vocals intertwine together to end the song off on a crescendo. Described as representing the storm surrounding the entire album, this track marks an exciting meeting of two forces within Asia’s booming music scene. We recently had the chance to chat with the band about their new single, their unique collaboration, and the inspiration behind the album.

What was it like collaborating with OHHYUK?

It was like a journey of walking and talking with OHHYUK, we shared thoughts about music and life through making the music.

Were there any cultural barriers you all had to overcome or did the music speak for itself?

We totally let the music speak for itself, we know we are from different cultural backgrounds but we do believe music is a universal language and it can overcome those cultural barriers. 

What was the creative process for this single amongst the band members?

This song is split into half actually, we made the first half last year after a long jam, it’s now the intro of the album, as the same title: Soft Storm, which is a fully instrumental, psychedelic vibe of pentatonic scaling synth drones. The track represents the storm, and “Candlelight” is the story about a night hit by the storm.

The single is accompanied by a music video where a funeral procession occurs. What made you want to feature a theme that is associated with finality/closure as the opening visual for the album?

We do want to bury a part of us into the past, even though it was a great journey. But it’s time for us to also start something new. Making music should be a wonderful adventure.

Some people tend to get fully immersed into a body of work when listening for the first time. Where do you perceive yourself when listening to “Candlelight?”

I’m usually sitting in a big and quiet concrete room, getting introspective.

How did you guys conceptualize a rainstorm hitting a city as the narrative for your upcoming album, Soft Storm? What was on your minds then?

Typhoons hit Taiwan during summers quite often and we all collectively have those common memories of eating 'instant noodles' in the dark with our families and friends because of a power outage caused by a rainstorm hitting the city so hard. Soft Storm refers to our new music: a little melancholy, stormy and dark, but it also connects everyone who is listening to it, and brings the hope of a brighter future.

What are you listening to right now?

I’m listening to Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk.