Interview: Candy Monster's Labor of Love

Candy Monster's debut is like the offspring of a dainty demon. The EP laid dormant in the depths of record label limbo for three long, bloated years. Now, the Beijing alt-rockers have decided to induce its release. Dubbed Monster Party, the EP’s online version will come out kicking and screaming with a christening at School Bar on Friday (Aug 8).

"It’s like giving birth to a baby," front woman Bian Bian says with a rueful cackle about the album's delays, adding: "It’s not always a smooth process. There can be lots of complications. But in the end, you love it no matter what. Even if the process wasn’t easy."

Below, Bian Bian describes the joys and pains of her labor of love.

Why did it take so long for the album to come out?
At first, we thought it might be normal, that it might take this long for anyone. But after talking to other bands, we realized that wasn’t the way it should be going. I guess that the record label might  not have liked the CD very much, and thought they couldn’t make money off it. But we’ve cut them out, it’s just us and our manager now.

How did you cope with that prolonged delay?
We played the songs live as much as we could. Doing that made them evolve. On the EP, the songs are very detailed. All the hooks are all in line. But we've been performing them for so long now that, well we don’t really jam, but we go with the flow more. We'll stretch choruses out. Some of the songs have more power now. And we changed others in different ways. Like the song "Summer" on the CD it's a straightforward song, but now it has an element of swing live.

That must have had a unique effect on you as a performer
When we recorded I was younger, and had a lighthearted voice. But now, after three years with lots of alcohol, lots of cigarettes, my voice, it’s more crunk! I get crunk everyday! So there’s more power behind my voice.

Pardon? Did you say "crunk?"
Yeah! Crazy drunk. One of my foreigner friends taught me.

So how does it feel to take control of your EP and put it out?
It feels good. I just want to put it out, even though the songs mean a different thing to me now than when we recorded them.

How so?
When we recorded songs like "Gulou," none of us had jobs. We just ate and got drunk everyday. Now, when I sing our song "Tell Me," it feels like it's asking "Tell me about life, about what you want to do, what you should be doing." Or when I sing "Hero," now, I feel like it's about what kind of person I want to be. It's asking "How can I be like my hero?"

The meanings are also different because we had lineup changes. Our old keyboard player, Sha Fa, left to start his own band called Christmas. Recently I visited him to put finishing touches on /Monster Party/. He has a daughter now, she was crawling around the whole time. After we finished he said: "When we were in this band years ago, I never thought I'd one day be recording with you, changing my daughter's diapers between songs." When I heard that I wanted to cry, it was so moving. It's taken so long for the songs to come out — it feels like a different lifetime.

Candy Monster will mark the online release of its debut EP, Monster Party, with a gig at School Bar on Friday, August 8.