Sui Zhen

Sui Zhen – Infinity Street Video
Melbourne’s Becky Sui Zhen has that oddball pop-pitch down pat, evidenced in the lead single off her upcoming debut LP, Secretly Susan. Infinity Street starts off all warm syrup burbly, struts around for a bit like a fat tuba, and by the end, gets so manically cluttered I keep thinking I have multiple songs playing at once. But it’s not multiple songs! It’s just one Sui Zhen song! – Lizzie Plaugic

Infinity Street – Single
Following the release of delightfully strange singles and EPs like Female Basic and Two Seas, Australia’s Sui Zhen is gearing up to release her debut LP on the artist-run label Two Bright Lakes. Infinity Street is the lead single from Secretly Susan, featuring an airy, layered chorus and burbling, tuba-like synths that stab and rumble through Zhen’s sweetened vocals. Secretly Susan is set to drop sometime next year. For now, douse yourself in the unstructured warmth of Infinity Street below.


Australian singer and producer Sui Zhen will drop her debut album Secretly Susan on Two Bright Lakes sometime in 2015, but before that happens, she’ll unleash an EP, Body Reset, on the Tokyo-based label Eskers. Still Departure is the EP’s lead single, and like the track of the week contender Infinity Street, it sounds like a piece of salt water taffy melting on a hot dashboard. Listen below and scope the Body Reset tracklist after that. - CMJ

It all began with bathing. Last year Melbourne-based musician and multimedia artist Sui Zhen (Becky Sui Zhen) was going through a rough break-up. Whenever things felt too difficult, she ran herself a bath. Soak by soak, the concept behind her Body Reset EP gently drifted into focus. As Becky explains, "I wanted to capture that sensation of your body transitioning from stress and exhaustion into a heightened state of comfort - release and euphoria - both mentally and physically aided by the bathing ritual."

At the time, she was also planning a trip to Japan with her friend Eloise Rapp. Eloise was working on her new business Three Lives: a bespoke bathing and lifestyle goods store inspired by worldwide bathing culture (with an emphasis on Japanese aesthetics). Fully immersed, Becky began crafting the cloudy crystal techno-pop of Body Reset. "I set-up my home studio with a Roland TR-808, Korg M1, Juno 60 and my TC Helicon vocal effects and smashed the EP out over a couple of weekends," she reflects. With woozy beatscapes, watercolour synth magic, and delicate electric guitar taking the lead, Becky's dulcet vocal tones drift in the background. Much like the bathing ritual, Body Reset makes for a blissed-out miniature vacation.

As with her last EP Female Basic, her songs and the imagery around them play out within a relaxing-yet-eerie cyberpunk environment equal parts Australia and Japan. It's an interzone of nascent futurism informed by the works of authors and filmmakers like J.G. Ballad, David Cronenberg, William Gibson, Chris Marker, and Douglas Copeland. A futurism perhaps better described as "present day as a living science fiction." However, within that backdrop, Body Reset is primarily about the communication of sensation. "This time, for me at least, the process was more connected to my own emotional release. [It was about] the moment between wet and dry. A sensory experience, a cleanse for the mind and soul within a digital context – so data wiping, resetting our own internal default preferences, clearing our cache to make room for the new. The futility of applying this process within our own biology [while having it] mirrored by the immortality of our own metadata."

A Kung Fu practitioner, swimmer and runner, when it comes to music-making, Becky prizes physical processes. "Reconnecting with my breath and body has made me more in tune on stage and in the studio," she says. "Physical performance is something that influences the writing process – channeling and redirecting energy to convey the truest emotions and having fun within our bodies. Not just being a voice or instrument, but instilling the sentiments throughout our whole selves is what keeps me engaged in this whole thing."


Last November, I spent some time with Becky in Tokyo. We visited a fourth floor store bursting with vintage synthesizers and drum machines, wandered through Takeshita Street (Harajuku's teen fashion and pop culture epicenter), and knocked elbows with DJs at a crammed record fair. Later that night she performed to an appreciative crowd at a trendy multi-purpose bar/art gallery in the Aoyama district. Becky was friendly, funny and thoughtful - the type of creative who is as interesting as she is interested - comfortably confident and consistently inquiring.

Japanese culture and aesthetics have been a major wellspring of inspiration for Becky ever since she first visited the country on a student exchange in her early teens. Inspired by their efficiency and elegance, she began a deep investigation of Japanese music, art and design. In more recent years, Becky has returned regularly to collect records, play shows and soak up influence. Along the way, she's released Female Basic and Body Reset on cassette tape in Japan through Tokyo dweller Tim McGregor's record labels Teto and Eskers. "Tim was at the cross section of indie electronic acts both international and local to Tokyo that shared a similar approach to music making as a lifestyle. Our collaboration happened easily once we were connected," she says.

Becky connected with Tim through Eloise from Three Lives. At the time, she was recording and performing alongside fellow Australian producer/DJ Andras Fox. They worked together as Fox + Sui, the now defunct, but well-loved folktronica duo they formed after both attending the 2010 Red Bull Music Academy in London. Tim arranged shows for them in Osaka and Tokyo, and introduced them to the right scenes in Japan. "On my next trip there, we decided to take it a bit further and worked on a release together, a solo project of mine – that was Female Basic."

Since Female Basic's release, Becky has been spinning records as DJ Susan, performing solo as Sui Zhen, and playing full live band shows as Sui et Sui. She's also unveiled some beautifully surreal pastel toned Sui Zhen photo shoots and music videos. "I suppose I have a distant pipe dream to be a filmmaker," she admits. "I approach my visual output with a larger narrative in mind. I want to create the world and context first; then place the music within it."

Becky has been using this process to realise Susan, a persona who stars in her forthcoming album Secretly Susan. Becky describes Susan as inspired by Julianne Moore's role in Todd Hayne's film Safe, and Naomi Watts' turn as Betty Elms/Dianne Selwyn in Mulholland Drive. "Creating these colourful, surreal and staged landscapes allows me to separate myself from the music and allow pop music to sit within its own terrain," she continues. Secretly Susan also marks a return to more traditional vocal-led songs for Becky. It's shaping up to be an exercise in "dubby-loungey-bossa-femme feels" initially worked up on guitar and piano, as opposed to extended 808 beat jams. Where her EPs were "sensory and mood based," the album is about "character and personality." Moving forward, she sees Secretly Susan as a chance to bring more theatrical elements into her live performances. In the process Becky might just realise the genuine pop potential that underscores Sui Zhen's stunningly cohesive sound, look, and ethos.

Body Reset and Female Basic are available in digital download format via Sui Zhen's bandcamp page here. - The 405

Plenty of new music contains a lifetime supply of effects, like it’s there to distract or defend from what’s actually under the surface. With Sui Zhen, the story’s different. This Melbourne native could pen direct-as-it-gets pop giants, exposed beyond repair, but instead she coats simple hooks in dreamy, ‘80s nodding synthetics. It’s out of choice, not survival mode, and that’s what makes ‘Take It All Back’ a smart introduction. Debut album ‘Secretly Susan’ is out via Remote Control Records. - DIY Mag

Becky Sui Zhen is a member of NO ZU, Fox + Sui, and Hot Palms, but most recently she caught our eye with her solo project, Sui Zhen. Under this moniker, the Melburnian vocalist and producer makes lackadaisical synth-pop with a glossy, stylised finish. Her tropical debut single ‘Infinity Street’ is a sparse, effortless track that waddles in circles with gentle handclaps, wonky synths and layered, echoing vocals. In four relaxing minutes that feel closer to an hour, Zhen transports you to her pastel-coloured fantasyland while remaining effortlessly cool – all without breaking a sweat. - Tone Deaf

Infinity is a lot to think about. And don’t get us started on infinity plus one. We’re very happy to talk about "Infinity Street" though, the brilliant new song from Melbourne artist Sui Zhen. It’s a musical and visual meditation with unlimited appeal, appropriate for an artist with unlimited abilities. Sui Zhen’s impeccable taste is on full display in this mix, under her DJ Susan alias. An exclusive for THUMP, and a sample of the sounds Sui Zhen will bring to OutsideIn on November 29th. - Thump

Becky Sui Zhen is an artist whose talent is not limited by interest or field. Going under her alias Sui Zhen, Becky has embedded herself firmly within the Melbourne music scene, creating a distinct aesthetic that is both inspired and inspiring.

Performing in bands including as Sui et Sui, NO ZU and Hot Palm while also settling under her moniker DJ Susan; her work is compelling, unique and an intricate exploration into bedroom-pop. Immersing her dreamy Japanese post-punk tones and artistic focus, Becky’s talent has garnered support from a variety of independent directions like Two Bright Lakes, Remote Control, Teto Records, i-D and Pigeons & Planes. Amongst all this, Becky has also worked alongside perceptive photographer Phebe Schmidt and Joshua Aylett to help create the recent pink-hued realm of ‘Susan’.

Though her sugary mind is heavily poignant in her productions, it is in the work of being a creative producer that has guided her sensitivity and her passion for storytelling. From ‘Midriffs’ to Rainbow Chan’s ‘Skinny Dipping’, Becky has individualised her video production with experience and creative tactility, making her mark on the format. Recently directing the music video ‘Can We Work This Out’ for The Harpoons, the clip is a bold personification of her creative process that is rich in visual gradient, imagery and rhythm.

Becky 5

Q. How did you get involved with directing music videos?

I studied film production in my first degree, over ten years ago. Since then I have explored storytelling through various mediums, digital platforms and analogue forms. The intangibility of recorded music fills my mind with such intense imagery and the obvious format to capture those images and moody sensations is through making video. I made my first music videos in my late teens using 16mm film and stop motion animation techniques – but it wasn’t until 2012 after having worked professionally in documentary and digital production for several years, that I felt confident to direct something more formally. It started with ‘Midriffs‘, then Rainbow Chan’s ‘Skinny Dipping‘ followed by a series of interviews for Sugar Mountain Festival all in 2012.

“I aim to tap into your senses and play with them to make you feel both familiarity and repulsion, satisfaction, desire and humility. The result is often awkward but I like that.”
Q. The video ‘Can We Work It Out’ by The Harpoons has a confident aesthetic. Are you still trying to find your own style or is it ever changing?

I think I have a pretty clear aesthetic. I use colour, humour and considered pacing to explore the tension between the perverse and banal. I aim to tap into your senses and play with them to make you feel both familiarity and repulsion, satisfaction, desire and humility. The result is often awkward but I like that. My present influences are strong within my music work and they are beginning to come out in video works too. Post-apocalyptic, post-internet, sci-fi, retro- future Cronenbreg, Gibson, Ballard, Jarmusch, Godard, 70-80s stock video, instructional tapes, Kodachrome film… it’s all been absorbed into my mega drive, it is the palette I pull from.



Q. What’s your favorite music video or track right now?

I’m really into NO ZU’s Mind Tape that came out early 2014. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Craig T Cooper in my DJ sets. The next music video I will make will be for my second single off Secretly Susan, and then a NO ZU video.

Q. In all you work, there is a minimal elegance. Is there beauty in simplicity?

Yes, of course there is. Simplicity can only be arrived at after a longer process has taken place. Whether that is visibly a part of the creative process or the result of varied experiences in life. It may involve research, refinement, practice and interrogating your purpose to work out what you really want to say. In short formats I think the best you can do is to ask the right questions and leave the rest for interpretation.

“For me, video is more about sensory simulacra than the literal documentation of natural beauty. I like to use the locations in more abstract ways.”
Q. What would be your dream shoot? I’m talking location, music, people, anything.

I’m becoming more interested in creating interactive mise en scène and building upon my vision of the world into a constrained cinematic space. The shooting space need only be a blank cyc coupled with the right production design and expertise on set – then anything can happen. I’d like to continue working with Phebe Schmidt and Joshua Aylett. And perhaps meet someone to collaborate with on lighting. One day I’d love to shoot on Teshima Island in the Seto Sea of Japan. Or Jetty Beach on South Bruny Island in Tasmania. But then again, some of the best natural locations are best left for real life experiences. For me, video is more about sensory simulacra than the literal documentation of natural beauty. I like to use the locations in more abstract ways.



Q. You’re pretty embedded in the Melbourne music scene. Do you have any directors you want to collaborate with, national or international?

I like taking direction as a collaborative experience. If someone has a vision that I feel I could really work within, then I’ll try to work with that person. Timing is pretty crucial, it depends a lot on where the other person is at in their creative pursuit and if they are seeking similar things – if I can help them to fulfil those desires. I’m influenced by many film directors but don’t necessarily foresee possibilities or any necessity to work with them. I admire work from afar and take the inspiration into my own projects. I think the dialogue between two disparate artists works is truer communication in that sense. A face-to-face collaboration is a rare and beautiful thing. I cherish the musicians and artists I work closely with already, that is enough for now.

Q. What’s one music video, film or record that changed your perspective or creative direction?

It’s really the culmination of varied films, videos and records that have gradually influenced my approach. The film Tampopo is incredible. Eric Rohmer, Godard, Chris Marker; the way Jim Jarmusch uses sound and silence in his films. Despite how misogynistic and garish they can be, I did have some veil lifted when viewing music video works by the art direction team CANADA.

Becky 4

“The best thing is that it makes me happy. I wouldn’t be myself without music, it’s not something I could just end or stop doing, I think it’ll always be there.”
Q. Apart from directing, you make really funky/interesting music and art. What’s the best thing about being DJ Susan or performing onstage in a group?

Performing is the necessary social time for me as a self-producing musician. I like the daily activity of music, whether that is performing in a live band, spending an afternoon working alone in my studio or sitting in the background playing records that make people dance. The best thing is that it makes me happy. I wouldn’t be myself without music, it’s not something I could just end or stop doing, I think it’ll always be there.

Q. I read your music is very influenced by Japan in the 80s and the post-punk scene. Does this influence come into your video directing or design?

I think my music is influenced by futuristic predictions of Japan from the 80s, I know less about Japan in the actual 80s. Japanese design aesthetics do influence a lot what I do. Heightening sensory experiences and tapping into stream of consciousness tangents through video is an on-going pursuit.

Becky 7

Q. Any advice for anyone wanting to get into directing, publishing or just the local music scene in general?

Research what turns you on, collect lots of references and inspiration to maintain inspiration and create work that is meaningful to you.

Sui Zhen’s debut LP Secretly Susan will be out in 2015 via Two Bright Lakes / Remote Control Records, but you can find ‘Infinity Street’ now on iTunes. Becky will also be releasing her new EP Body Reset coming out this November via Eskers, with a few shows and videos coming out in the next few months. Becky will also be releasing her new EP Body Reset coming out this November via Eskers, with a few shows and videos coming out in the next few months. - Speaker TV

Album That Changed My Life: Sui Zhen's Soul Connection
Let Intrigue Record's 'Rough n' Ready' change yours too!

89 13 1 0 0
image: http://www.oystermag.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/article-image-650x580/images/Screen%20Shot%202014-10-17%20at%203.33.00%20pm.png


Becky aka Sui Zhen is a legend. The Melbourne musician is currently readying her upcoming album Secretly Susan (out via Two Bright Lakes/Remote Control in 2015) — but before that bad boy drops, she's playing Sydney's OutsideIn Festival in November alongside acts like The Pharcyde, Seekae and Pantha Du Prince. To celebrate, we asked Becky to take us through the Album That Changed Her Life and here's what she said.



My biggest musical influences have always been people that I know personally. On a micro level, it's the people that I align with philosophically, I admire their musical direction and the way in which it compliments or challenges my own. These people usually have a healthy attitude to their musical lifestyle that allows for a life outside music too. On the macro level it would be people with utmost commitment to their vision, willing to wholeheartedly work hard to bring it into fruition. In this instance, I form a connection and appreciation for the work but not necessarily person behind it.

image: http://www.oystermag.com/sites/default/files/16---sui-zhen.jpg



Then there is music that makes me feel relaxed, laugh a little and maybe start to dance. Music that I do not aspire to make for myself, that I could not possibly make myself – the music that I listen to for enjoyment only. Discovering this kind of music is what got me into DJing. Music that I wanted to listen to and to show other people – it's music that fills me with inner joy.

image: http://www.oystermag.com/sites/default/files/r-3283176-1323867409.jpeg



A record collector called Basso, who is based in Hamburg and runs a store called Growing Bin Records has shown me much of this music through his extensive online store. One day, he sent over a surprise LP called Rough n' Ready by Soul Connection, described as 'raw street soul'. It's subtle and super chilled and it changed me.



Every track on the LP is a winner. I've often bounced between Craig T Cooper, Robbie M and Soul Connection for an early evening DJ set. It's down-tempo modern soul with lyrics like "I'm gonna treat you like a lady, treat you like a lady should," up against a slow hip-hop laid back beat. Often the songs are about women, how to treat them right, to keep them, pining for them, learning from common human mistakes. It's simple but fun to sing aloud. You could clean the house to this, go on date and not be offended with the background music, eat a chilli crab, get a massage and so on. It's hard not to nod along and enjoy yourself with this record.



I am forever seeking this kind of album, where I love each track and feel like I'm in a direct dialogue with the musician behind it. I'm sitting there going, 'yeah, I feel you man' and 'go for it man, you can do it'. It's comforting but also fun. I picked up another copy of this record for four US dollars on eBay. Four dollars! That's a soy coffee. This record has helped me to maintain a chill vibe when things are getting hairy, like a well-timed visit from an old friend.

Read more at http://www.oystermag.com/the-album-that-changed-my-life-sui-zhens-soul-connection#SQdjqRmrKzfsCjJH.99 - Oyster Mag

Sui Zhen is back! Following up two free EPs released in 2014, the Melbourne artist, also known as Becky Sui Zhen, returns with "Take it All Back."

This song has such an innocent, almost childlike feel to it -- until you listen to the heartbreaking lyrics, that is. The glassy vocals are delicate and soft, embellished by stunning harmonies and complemented by a catchy, simple synth loops.

Sentimental and sweet, this is one of those deceptively light-hearted songs. Listen a little deeper than the candy floss atmosphere and you'll hear a story that sings of a lost relationship and deep regret. "All this time, I shouldn't been nice to you. How can I expect this to change? You don't owe me anything... I wanna make it right and take it all back."

Having just signed to Dot Dash/Remote Control, keep an eye out for her new LP, Secretly Susan, out on August 15. - Indie Shuffle

The multitalented multi-instrumental Sui Zhen goes by many names. Some call her DJ Susan, others say she makes up one half of Fox + Sui, several simply refer to her as Becky, and a select few have even hypothesised that she might in fact be Secretly Susan. But whatever name she goes by, her down-tempo minimal pop is back with her new track, ‘Take It All Back’.

Coming out as the first delicious taste test off her upcoming LP, Secretly Susan, ‘Take It All Back’ captures an absolute gorgeous mix of ethereal ambience and notably 80s electro inspired new wave synthpop. Much like other recent releases by Sui Zhen such as ‘Infinity Street’ and ‘Pipe Dreams’, ‘Take It All Back’ does a flawless job creating what a rich array of pastel pinks, blues, and yellows would sound like if they were translated into sound waves.

From the smooth poignant synth work, to the captivating drum machine patterns, to the endearing albeit surprisingly haunting vocal work that has been laid down – ‘Take It All Back’ manages to simultaneously create a track that is both a relaxing atmospheric experience as well as an all-encompassing rhythmic song.

With Secretly Susan not due to be released until August, ‘Take It All Back’ will surely manage to tide fans over until then. - Casual Band Blogger

Having turned some heads, including ours, with the oddly appealing song “Infinity Street” late last year along with two EPs , Melbourne-based Sui Zhen has returned with a more traditional ballad “Take It All Back”. The song revolves around the idea of regretting being a jerk to someone and is immersed in minimal percussion and gentle synths. It will appear on her upcoming debut LP, Secretly Susan, named after her DJ alias Susan slated to drop sometime later this year via Dot Dash/Remote Control. Listen below. - My Old Kentucky Blog

I say this is a return, but in fact it was only this past November that we premiered Melbourne-based artist Sui Zhen's superb video for "Infinity Street" — a perfectly surreal portrait in pastels, replete with fern fondling and the gobbling up of a pale pink brain set to airy, ultra-femme synthpop. Last year the multi-disciplinary artist dropped two EPs, Female Basic and Body Reset, and she's currently prepping to release her full length, Secretly Susan—named after her DJ alias Susan—out via Dot Dash/Remote Control before the close of 2015. Apparently this debut draws influences from Japanese lovers rock, 80s electro-bossanova and dubby-lounge pop. Sweet.

Below is a taster from this record. "Take it All Back" balances bassy synths with vocals as tasty as rainbow sprinkles on a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. And the premise? Well Sui Zhen is lamenting being a meanie to the person she loves. "I should have been nice for us… I should have made us food that night, I wanna take it all back," she sings. Well you can't. You never take anything back once it's out there in the world. Regrets are futile: moving forward in action is everything. - Noisey - Vice

Melbourne-based vocalist and producer Sui Zhen – real name Becky Sui Zhen and current member of NO ZU, Fox + Sui, and Hot Palms – makes slick and sugary synth-pop that’s as sweet as fairy-floss, but totally good for your sonic palette.

Prepping to release her debut studio album Secretly Susan some time next year through Two Bright Lakes/Remote Control, Zhen has unveiled its first single, ‘Infinity Street’.

The wonky, ear-worm track has an infectious soundscape where vocals are air-light and Grimes-level dreamy, bubblegum beats are summery and cucumber-cool, and everything is painted a different shade of pink.

‘Infinity Street’ takes you to a tropical destination that couldn’t be more inviting if it tried – which it doesn’t, by the way, because everything about Zhen feels completely effortless. - Tone Deaf

Ugh. Everything about this video and this song is perfect. But first, let's meet Sui Zhen (first name Becky) a Melbourne based musician whose talents are not limited to making music. She also DJs under the name Susan—so far so standard—and she directs, produces, and edits music videos (including the one above). And paints and draws. And she takes amazing pictures. Oh. So Sui Zhen is here to make us all feel that much more unproductive?

Au contraire! Sui Zhen was placed on the planet to make our lives better. "Infinity Street" is what I call clean-pop, the kind of music that revels in minimalist, synth-driven sonics, with vocals that are cute and coy without being too saccharine. Or, to put it comparatively, this sounds like early Lykke Li having a tea party with Grimes in Tokyo.

Visually this video is very Toilet Paper Magazine (the brainchild of Italian artist Maurizio Catalan), and very reminiscent of the Spanish director crew CANADA (whose work is best exemplified by possibly the best video of all time, El Guincho's "Bombay").

For her part Sui Zhen had this to say about the song and how the video came together: "'Infinity Street' is a song I wrote whilst looking out the window of my studio. Hickford Street appears to go on until infinity like many of the gridded streets in Melbourne do, and at a certain time of the afternoon the sun reflects on the glass panes so brightly I can see two copies of the sun.

"The song evokes a toned down Total Recall/Fantastic Planet inspired vision of the future where people, desperation, and vulgarity, interplanetary travel is possible and the world is no longer the rich blue and green we once knew it to be. For the video I wish to investigate the solitary existence of Susan within this world, the future that looks like today, only, something is not quite right."

Susan, if you haven't guessed by now, is Sui Zhen's alter-ego / imagined character. Sui Zhen's whole upcoming album centers around this said character. The video speaks for itself, but let me leave you with a few things I learned while watching it:

1. Color-coordinating your socks with your highball is so chic.

2. Facemasks from your local drug store are truly unsettling to look at once applied and ideal for scaring your roommates or boyfriend/girlfriend.

3. Cycling shorts are really just Spanx.

4. Neoprene pastel sweatshirts continue to be so hot right now.

5. Below is my favorite still from the video because it reminds me daydreaming about stuffing face at my desk. - Noisey – Vice

Melbourne based Sui Zhen has just released her long worked for visual escapade ‘Infinity Street’. An all-round artist and creative director who also likes to DJ’s under the name Susan, and in her spare time partakes in some painting and drawing, directs music videos and takes beautiful pictures, under Becky Sui Zhen.

‘Infinity Street’ is clean-pop, the kind of music that revels in minimalist, synth-driven sonics, with vocals that are nothing but Grimes-esque and cute. The video is a kaleidoscopic view into Sui Zhen’s alter ego -Susan. It features a fish on a dining table some fake brains and a whole lot of pastel.

Sui Zhen’s album, Secretly Susan will be released in 2015 via Two Bright Lakes. - Speaker TV

Last time we spoke to Sui Zhen, also known as DJ Susan, she had just released her Female Basic EP and was preparing for her DJ set supporting Peanut Butter Wolf. ‘Infinity‘ marks the start of a new wave of Sui Zhen goodness, being the first single from her forthcoming album out via Two Bright Lakes.

Sui Zhen maintains her well defined sound in this new track. Her dream-pop voice is as a sweet and palatable as I remember and her reverberating vocals are just as entrancing. Her production which is equally as sugary and charming completes the warm and attractive sound. What starts off as a fairly minimal sound gradually builds into a mesmerising stretch of limitless space. Have this one on repeat and let Sui Zhen hypnotise you down infinity street. - The Ripe TV

Australia’s been killing it lately with new, talented musicians and Sui Zhen is the latest. The singer has already built up a little buzz in Australia thanks to a few EPs in the last year, and now she’s readying her debut full length album. The first single off her upcoming LP is the irresistible “Infinity Street,” a dreamy, electro-pop track featuring Zhen’s Grimes-esque ethereal vocals. Secretly Susan is set for a 2015 release, but get familiar with her soft-disco sound by streaming “Infinity Street” below. - Pigeons and Planes

Straight out of Australia, Sydney born/ Melbourne based artist Sui Zhen has shared her newest offering under the title "Infinity Street." With a freshly inked contract with indie label Two Bright Lakes and a forthcoming album set for 2015, "Infinity Street" acts as the first single from the LP named Secretly Susan. A whimsical ensemble, the tune is the perfect moment of escapism as the balearic vibes glide against the dream-wave vocals of Sui Zhen. If in need of chill, catch a listen uptop and if you're looking for more you can do so here by way of her Soundcloud account. - Hypetrak

Sui definitely has a Japanese ear though and she's delved deeper into it than most, playing gigs in bathhouses and researching the history of Japan's train lines. It's evident that she is becoming a part of Japan's alternative music scene - her recent EP reminiscent of the post-punk genre coming out of Japan in the 80s. Rocking one of the coolest bags we've seen in sometime, and the frames to match, we sat down for Sui's first Melbourne coffee since her return.

So how was Japan and what was your favourite part?
Japan was awesome. My favourite part was Teshima, where we hired electric bikes and rode around the island. It's a bit derelict - not as fancy as Naoshima. The Art Galleries in Naoshima are still the best I've ever experienced but because of that there are still some places that are only for people with a lot of money - people who want to have a nice dinner and sit amongst the art, you know?

What did you get up to while you were over there?
I played a gig in Aoyama, which was very cool. There were a lot of trendy Aoyama fashion kids who partied really hard and got really drunk and made me drink tequila with them.

Sounds great. So in regards to your new DJ alias, DJ Susan, do you think you'll be blasting tunes at Coachella anytime soon?
Ha, I don't know, maybe. DJ Susan is quite fun. For my solo set I got my sister to stand on stage to dance and say things like, "I drink and then I dance, I'll dance with you" really loudly in French. The audience were flipping out. So anyway, we might turn my solo thing into a duo.

What's it like shifting between solo work and band projects?
I miss playing with a band. When I was living in Sydney, I was much more involved in the folky, garage rock kind of scene and I love that. I really like singing back up. I sang for Hot Palms recently with Emma Russack and also with NO ZU.

So you and your boyfriend, Andras Fox, wrote a song called "I Don't Want To Go" for your collaborative project. Is it hard to be so far apart now that you guys are starting to tour on your own?
It's kind of fun actually. It is strange travelling separately - we met overseas when we were both at a point of independence, so within our relationship we're both quite independent. I'm really happy that we can go away separately.

In regards to fashion, do you find Sydney a more colourful city than Melbourne? Did moving here change your style?
Yes. Look at me! I'm wearing all black now - you would not see this in Sydney! There I was wearing little denim cut offs and a pink singlet top and being like, "Hey man, I'm in Sydney, it's hot". In Melbourne you have more time to construct an outfit that's going to be right for the day and that you're going to feel fucking great in. It's the culture; I think it's very much the environment that makes people more fashion conscious.

Your new music has a pretty large Japanese post-punk influence. What attracted you to Japanese music?
It just feels like everything that I've been searching for. Something different happens when Japanese producers, like Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono, produce for singer/songwriters.

Apart from the Industrial Avant Garde fashion that's going on in Japan at the moment, did you notice any other trends?
Generally Japanese people dress well because it's affordable to dress simply and well. The subcultures over there are also really interesting.

I've heard that different subcultures are divided via different train lines.
For sure, I've just started to discover the tip of the iceberg. When I was staying on the Koenji line I met these Japanese people who assumed I was a 'Koenji person' because I said something about liking a guest house there. I was like "What the hell is a Koenji person?" and they told me it used to be a jazz scene but now it's turned punk. Over there, in many ways, your train line is your identity.

So I know that Harajuku has probably turned a bit more commercial since artists like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu really started to vocalise this new Kuwaii style. Where is the real underground over there now?
It's hard to find, you have to know people. A lot of people you see in Tokyo are not actually from Tokyo. There a lot of venues in Koenji that involve the punk scene, I just don't know where they are.

From the little we've heard from your new album, you've appeared to move away from your folk based music. What are we to expect from the new album?
I finished my Secretly Susan LP over the Christmas period but it was intercepted with the release of my Female Basic EP, which has come out on a Japanese label who I played a show for. I slammed that EP out in the space of two weeks, and in a funny way that's kind of what I wanted to produce the whole time I was making the album. I feel like the album is much more constructed - less of the raw post-punky stuff which is more of a recent outlet for me. I did a very constructed photoshoot with Phoebe Schmidt to convey that. I think the most important thing for me is that everything I make from now on I want to make much faster, and I think EPs are the best way to do that. I don't mind if I put out 10 EPs and no albums again, as long as the music is saying what I want it to say. - i-D Mag

With her new EP Female Basic, Melbourne (originally Sydney) based singer & producer Sui Zhen (government name: Becky Sui Zhen) presents a dreamy synth-pop soundworld intended to soundtrack a late night disco of the mind found somewhere between Australia and Japan (a country she has had a deep interest in since her early teens). Interwoven with the aesthetic she articulates this through comes a degree of social and technological commentary.

“The concept I was going off is the uncanny valley idea,” Becky explains, speaking to me via Skype from a grassy setting just outside Melbourne. “It’s when something is not quite human, but it’s so close to being familiar, and at that point of familiarity it actually repulses you. I was thinking about these vacuous female robots you seeing being developed in Japan, that sort of stuff… But anyway the name came from a vocal preset in [the] Garageband [home recording software] called ‘Female Basic’. There is also a ‘Male Basic’. I find them so funny. How can you gender a sound? It’s so bizarre.”

As a creative who makes music in her D.I.Y home studio with keyboards, guitars, drum machines, pedals, voice and sample pads, for Becky, giving songs life through physical movement is not just a vital part of her limitation-driven process, but also an important contrast with her working career as a multimedia producer. “I do music because it gets me away from the computer,” she admits. “I don’t want to make music on my computer. I use my computer to send emails and do work. I already have to edit videos and whatever visual stuff I’m working on with it. There is no way of avoiding that. So why the hell would I want to make music on my computer?”

“Owning instruments and gear is really important to me,” Becky continues. “It’s important to own things that force you to move. I think that movement is a really important part of the creative process. I don’t have a craft where I build things or garden or do anything outside, so I kind of try and move around in whatever I’m doing.” Like this suggests, she feels a genuine concern at the potential long-term effects of lives lived in an increasingly digital manner. “I’m at the point where I think I need a stand-up workstation,” Becky concedes. “I ride a bike everyday, but even then, I’m sitting down while I’m doing it. I think if you were confronted with the hours you spend looking at a screen or interface you’d be pretty depressed about it.”

Across Female Basic‘s running time, Becky uses her prizing of movement within creativity to communicate outside of the traditional “emotions, feelings and relationships” rooted songwriter paradigm. “I’ve found a new way of expressing myself,” she enthuses. “These days I’m more interested in communicating sensations. I’m trying to give a sense of mood or movement rather than just relying on language. I like dealing in things that are hard to express through the ways we normally communicate. I think movement plays into that.”

Presenting this new expressive frame via the palette afforded to her by her equipment and arrangement choices, Becky has essentially made the mental shift from simply crafting songs to building pieces of music as complete worlds of sound. Be it the waterfall melodies of ‘Pipe Dreams’, the moody stargaze textures of ‘Beige Dip’, or the evocative dreamscapes of ‘Stargate’, Female Basic drags the listener through impressionistic wanderings which while heavy with the weight of life experience, possess an equal degree of floating buoyancy, much like a waking dream. The overall effect is familiar yet unsettling, falling perfectly in line with the aforementioned uncanny valley theory.

During the creation of the EP, Becky visited Japan. While there she spent long sunny days wandering through Osaka, and nights in Shinjuku record stores hunting for music. Alongside this she studied (and continues to study) Japanese design principles. “It filters through to my music,” Becky says. “It sits in the background. It might not come out in the aesthetic, but it comes out in how I approach music’s place within my lifestyle, and what I do before or after making music.” Having performed and recorded music within different genres, scenes and acts for the last decade, she credits her research within Japanese design principles and philosophy with having helped her take her music to the next level in recent years. “I make sure what I’m doing comes from a really nice place. I make deadlines, meet them, package my music up, release it, and it’s done. I think in the past I might have had musical processes that didn’t account for the fact you have to finish and deliver it.”

As part of the delivery process for Female Basic, Becky released it in digital download and cassette tape format (with artwork by Sydney native Eloise Rapp) through Japanese label Teto Records. “I have a cassette player in my car and a lot of really good music is coming out on cassette tape lately,” she enthuses. “I mainly listen to music on physical formats… I don’t really listen unless I’m really going to just listen.”

While her attraction to physical music is in part due to the final object, it also relates to a desire to keep her life simple, and beyond that, understand her relationship with the objects she chooses to own. “People endlessly collect media and data,” Becky says. “You won’t always know if someone is a hoarder because their hoarding is digital. You could look like they have a simple life, but not, their desktop is a mess, and they have hard drives coming out of everywhere. I think it’s good to not have too many things, but it’s also good for the things in your life to have a physical format so you feel the weight of them. I think with digital media it’s really easy to absorb all this stuff and not really understand the effect it’s having on you.”

Much like Female Basic, Becky’s observations are familiar yet unsettling. Whether through conversation or sound, she’s making those who engage with her feel comfortable enough to think about some potentially unsettling issues, and hopefully unsettled enough to feel comfortable honesty considering whether any of her lucid observations have any genuine implications within their day-to-day lives. - Vanguard Red Magazine

A beautiful little pop song from Melbourne's Sui Zhen, drawing on the sweet yet melancholy-tinged '80s pop songwriting of the Cyndi Laupers of the world while filtering it through a modern house groove. - Dummy Mag

"Zhen has been credited as releasing one of the year’s best Australian records in Secretly Susan. While her eerie dub pop is fantastical and laid-back, she is a brilliantly high-concept pop star, playing to projections of herself and a male counterpart that play like The Truman Show for the internet age. She was the best of a ream of strong electronic acts at Bigsound" Laura Snapes - Financial Times UK

With equally strong visual looks and conceptual frameworks to pair the record up with, since its release via Remote Control Records, local and international opportunities have been rolling in. This month she's played a series of showcases at CMJ in New York. "I think it's because I put a lot of effort into building up the world of the album and the persona, so there is more to pique people's curiosity," she admits. "It's also my first proper vinyl release with a bigger indie label in Australia. Having the resources of their publicity arms got the word out and gave me more of a presence online." - Dummy Magazine

"Zhen has been credited as releasing one of the year’s best Australian records in Secretly Susan. While her eerie dub pop is fantastical and laid-back, she is a brilliantly high-concept pop star, playing to projections of herself and a male counterpart that play like The Truman Show for the internet age. She was the best of a ream of strong electronic acts at Bigsound" - Laura Snapes - Financial Times UK

It turns out the satin jumpsuit Sui Zhen is clad in — something an electro space princess might tote — after her showcase is multi-discipline: "I've got one for my day job too; I'm giving a talk at a conference in it in a couple of days," laughs the Sydney multi-instrumentalist. "It's become a marker. Someone actually hung around — because I arrived in it — because they wanted to see what my music sounded like. Like, 'I want to see what THAT sounds like'," she giggles.

Having flown through Perth to Melbourne to LA to NYC — she fell asleep at LAX and almost missed her flight — her first actual show came after a trip to NYC's amazing Museum of Natural History. "It's so good," Sui beams. "I was losing my shit in there; I bought a T-shirt! I walked through Central Park, and went to a stand up show. It's been, like, the most New York-y trip." That, says Sui, is all part of NYC's allure for artists and musicians. "It's a big city thing," she points out. "You get inspiration from seeing things, collecting stuff; you're not reinventing yourself, but you're feeding yourself inspiration of things you really like for the next couple of months of working or whatever, so you can get your head down and get back to work. I feel like I'll come back next year; it feels like a nice natural progression from Big Sound."

Her Secretly Susan album came out at the end of August, and with a couple of EPs already under her belt, Sui is optimistic about how her music is translating to the US. "A bunch of people I'd been in touch with have come to see the shows, and it's just starting to build up over here," she smiles.

- See more at: http://rollingstoneaus.com/music/post/10-australian-acts-who-kicked-ass-at-cmj-2015/2549-sui-zhen#sthash.kA7j7GOc.dpuf - Rolling Stone Magazine