Yin: Taiwan Math Rock Trio Elephant Gym Glitch through Kaohsiung on “Half”

Yin (音, “music”) is a weekly RADII feature that looks at Chinese songs spanning hip hop to folk to modern experimental, and everything in between. Drop us a line if you have a suggestion.

After stopping down in Hong Kong to check in on David Boring in last week’s column, we’ll stay off the mainland for the moment and share a track from another artist currently in Austin for SXSW: Elephant Gym from Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

The (mostly) instrumental trio formed in 2012, with siblings Chang Kai-hsiung on guitar and Chang Kai-ting on bass, and high school friend Tu Chia-Chin on drums. Last November they released their second album, Underwater, on which each member’s instrument slots tightly together with piano, digital effects, and occasional vocals (as on mid-album standout “Bad Dream”). Very intricate, sharp arrangements that play out like the inside of a fine Swiss watch. Here’s my favorite track from Underwater, for which the band has just released an appropriately frenetic and fast-moving MV:

Great stuff. Buy/stream the rest of Underwater here, and if you’re Stateside, catch Elephant Gym on 3/18 at Empty Bottle in Chicago, 3/20 at Soda Bar in San Diego, 3/21 at El Cid in LA, or 3/22 at Slim’s in San Francisco.

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Cover photo: Elephant Gym (Bandcamp)

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