Dirty Beaches is the alter-ego of a gifted and prolific artist named Alex Zhang Hungtai. Originally from Taiwan, Hungtai has spent some time living in Montreal among other places and he’s earned a reputation for making some of the most challenging, noise-infused, song-based music of the decade. This past May, Dirty Beaches released two complementary records, the band and lyrically-based Drifters and the more solitary, instrumental endeavour that is Love is the Devil. Both are available courtesy of Zoo Music and the current Dirty Beaches tour includes Canadian stops at the Garrison in Toronto on Sept. 11 and Vancouver’s Biltmore on Sept. 26. In this in-depth Skype chat, Hungtai discusses why he left Montreal for Berlin, how being a nomad influences his art and might be a good challenge for anyone, loving metal, Wu-Tang, noise-rock, Springsteen and Suicide, fitting in vs. going your own way, his relationship with his audience, doing film scores and upcoming releases, the song “Berlin,” and much more.
Related links: dirtybeaches.bandcamp.com killzoomusic.com vishkhanna.com
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