Japanese group CHAI are sharing today “PING PONG!” a new single/video from their forthcoming album, WINK, out May 21st on Sub Pop.
The visual for the track featuring YMCK is an 8-bit celebration of the quartet’s love for the game of ping pong. As the press release notes, CHAI would play ping pong after visits to the public hot springs, called onsen.
Watch the charming music video for CHAI’s “Ping Pong!” above.
CHAI shared a statement with their new release:
We’re channeling our inner playful selves, challenging ourselves to fun, and bringing you that nostalgic-feel with this song! There’s just something about old video games that’s super cute, a little tacky, yet at the same time fancy. Something that you think is “old-school” but at the same time super refreshing. YMCK collaborated with us on this and created the ultimate 8bit World of CHAI!
The theme for PING PONG is exactly as is, ‘ping pong.’ In Japanese culture, there’s this routine where Hot Springs or ‘onsen’ and playing PING PONG go hand in hand.
When the four of us hit the hot springs, we always wear a Yukata (unlined Summer kimono), drink a cup of milk, and go right into some PING PONG! It’s very Japanese, something we don’t think exists overseas and that’s exactly what we want to share! You can hear it in the lyrics and you can feel it in the music video!
