Cede is the intense third single coming off Clot, the very promising sophomore record by New Zealand post punk trio, Wax Chattels. The new album arrives September 25th, 2020 via Captured Tracks and Flying Nun.
The choruses of Cede are in bassist and vocalist Amanda Cheng’s native language, Taiwanese Hokkien, and they're acute and politically conscious, partly dealing with Cross-Strait relations.
"I am angry, " Cheng describes. "Saying 'you don’t know who I am' in Taiwanese Hokkien is to say 'you don’t get to tell me who I am'. You don’t just scream like this to put on an album — you scream like this because it’s the only thing you can do.
"This song is an affront to the near-silent cultural genocide that’s taking place — the censorship, the militant threats — and the international community’s insistence on practicing diplomacy with economics at the front of mind. If it takes a loud song that’s half in an unfamiliar language for people to ask, "what’s that about?", then so be it."
Like the previous singles, No Ties and Efficiency, the song comes with a very creative and artistic video. Cheng explains: "I set out to make a video that was unenjoyable to watch; unhinging a domestic, ‘safe’ setting. To contrast the blunt lyrics, the thematic statements in the video are more subtle — there’s a geopolitical narrative there, but you’ll miss it."
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ZR