Guji
Guji
Godless America
Anyone who complains about Covid mask mandates in the US should have lived in Shanghai (or anywhere in China really), where the whole country was in lockdown for three years. It would be enough to drive people to something extreme. In the case of Roundeye frontman Chachy and his wife Klaire, it caused a deep dive into their Devo, B-52’s, and assorted ’80s synthpop records. Not content to just pogo around the flat for years, the couple started making their own sardonic synth-beat symphonies with a couple of their Chinese friends. That’s how Guji was born.
Using drum machine rhythms and programmed presets, Guji set out to dose Shanghai with a neon-glow sugar buzz. The candy colors may help the Chinese culture tsars overlook the snarky, sarcastic nature of songs like “I like to Hang Out in China.” Buoyed along by sweet surf guitar fills and Thomas-Dolby-esque keyboards, the song pokes fun at the social engineering in China. They sing in a blissful monotone, “I like to hang out in China, I like to eat food with sticks. I like to hang out in China. I like to be under control.” Equally snarky is their ode to a complete lack of fashion choices. Why be bothered with shopping and fashion trends when the Party has already approved the “Mao Suit”?
“Let’s Build a Friend for Me” takes the idea of surrendering personal autonomy one step further by imagining a time when your best buddy can be custom made from plastic and circuits. That’s much more efficient and predictable than the flesh-and-bone friend.
The beats may all be from a box and sound all New Wave, but Guji have the attitude of old school punk rockers. If you can make the kids dance, maybe the hall monitors won’t notice the cheeky things they’re singing.
