Loi Loi is an electronic synth-pop duo of Kristie (vocals, keyboards, drum synths) and Ron (trumpet, bass synthesizer). Loi Loi started four years ago in China, where Kristie was living and working at the time. Since her time as a Peace Corps volunteer in China, Kristie had always dreamed about becoming a Mandarin pop singer; this turned out to be an easy goal to achieve while she was stationed in Guangzhou, China. She also successfully composed original lyrics in Mandarin, pairing pop compositions with occasional radical experimental sounds vis-à-vis vis her microkorg. Loi Loi continued to develop in Spain, where Kristie tried her hand mixing original Spanish lyrics with an eclectic background of rock and roll, R&B, electronic, and soul influences. The band went fully electronic when Kristie acquired a Korg Electribe drum synthesizer. Today, Loi Loi embraces a somewhat economical setup but maximizes on a suite of atmospheric effects, original samples, and a multi-tiered song structure.
Loi Loi’s inaugural EP, Viva La Vulva was recorded at BLIGHT.Records in March 2017, six months after Kristie’s return from Spain to Washington, DC. Each track represents a brick in the path of Kristie’s exciting cross-cultural escapades, simultaneously chronicling the hardship she encountered transitioning back to her home in the United States, which was vastly different than when she had left in 2011. Loi Loi’s full length LP, Dystopia, was released in early 2019, yet another new track from the sessions has surfaced.
Glide is proud to premiere that new track titled “Surge”(below) a divine synth-pop track reflecting daringly with the creative ambitions of Grimes and Lorde.
“Surge is a first post-album release track of ours,” says Kristie. “It’s the feeling one gets before a life-altering experience, a last-ditch release of energy. After you release an album there’s that temptation to look away from it, to stop creating, to let all things fossilize out. I was determined not to let that happen, hence the urgency of “Surge’s” choral structure and lyrics and dance rhythms.”
Photos by Jen Meller
