Taiwanese singer and actress 9m88 is gearing up to release her sophomore album. 9m88 Radio is due out August 8 via Jazz Baby Co. and Waves Collective, and today, she’s shared its opening track and lead single, “Watchu Gonna…?.” The new song is a multi-lingual exploration of self that finds the Taipei-based artist’s cozy vocal tones stretching and compressing in perfect synchronicity with a jazzy Rainbow Chan instrumental that ebbs and flows like the tide. It comes with a colorful, cinematic music video courtesy of Candice Lo, who complements the track’s timbral variety with a whirlwind of textures, from cotton to crystal to china.
9m88 Radio will follow 9m88’s 2019 debut LP, Beyond Mediocrity, which earned her the Best New Artist award at Taiwan’s 2020 Golden Indie Music Awards. The forthcoming record will feature a motley crew of collaborators including Oddisee, Arthur Moon, and Silas Short. “This is a journey of tidying up my bedroom, healing my inner shadows, and returning to one’s own-being,” 9m88 says of the project.
Watch the “Watchu Gonna…?” video above.