The garage-noise-meme-punk project of Louis Fuji, Melbourne-based KAI CULT's warped new single is titled 'Massive Checks'.
The DIY post-punk artist – who takes cues from Nirvana, Amyl & The Sniffers and IDLES – has created a party-punk anthem for the dystopian present."I wrote it in jest to the irony of millennial living," KAI CULT says, "where the work-life balance is grossly unbalanced, and we're just working to acquire more and more materialistic goods while we descend further into debt."
Who is KAI CULT... KAI CULT was a project I started after I spent years struggling to find a band that would leave the jamming rooms or living rooms, so I pretty much gave up and started making electronic music in my bedroom.
As I got better at production, I realised I still had a lot of rock energy left in me and decided to write rock songs again, but this time on my own terms, aided by all the cool technology I discovered while learning how to write electronic music.
I sound like... Nirvana but with a modern, Internet-tinged twist.
My first gig was... An open-mic night in an outer suburb of Melbourne called Fawker. Everyone was doing acoustic John Mayer covers and my guitarist broke a string 45 seconds into the set.
And then in the smokers, some bloke came up to me and said he used to manage Air Supply and told me to write longer songs. Totally legit.
When did you settle on the group's name, and was it a unanimous decision... Yeah, it was pretty clear-cut. 'KAI' is 'start' in Mandarin, and I wanted to 'start a cult' of like-minded people with my music and memes.
In the studio I usually... Take my time. I record in my bedroom in my sharehouse, so I have a lot of creative and financial freedom as I do everything myself. Highly recommend.
If I could tour with anyone... Oh, most definitely Tropical F... Storm, or Amyl & The Sniffers.
Social media is... Good in the right doses. Some people get affected by it and I understand, but to me it's a meme tool and I don't take it too seriously.
My favourite app at the moment is... Easypark, because we're coming outta lockdown in Melbourne and all of us wanna get free parking by the beach.
To date, my most embarrassing moment was the time... I played a New Year's Eve show with an old band and we totally cooked it and everyone was laughing at us. Ah well.
Life on the road can be... Pretty fun. I've been on tour as a photographer before and in-between the vast expanses of nothing, just travelling for the purpose of playing music is just simply a beautiful thing.
If you'll have me on your bill, all I ask is that the rider contains... Some tasty craft beers man.
The most scary scenario I've found myself in, was... When I hiked up a mountain and got caught in a storm, 80km/hr winds for about six hours until we found the campsite on the ridgeline.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be your spokesperson... Oh man, it's gotta be someone like Eric Andre. Just because they're walking memes haha.
If you had to live in a city abroad, where would you choose and why? Oh man, I'd probably try to live in New Zealand. Maybe Wellington or somewhere on the South Island. I'd really love to wake up to some sweeping, vast landscapes.
Three people you'd like to invite around for a dinner party... Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker, and Tom DeLonge. Because Blink-182 needs to get back together and write a good album again.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? I'd make you some tasty fried rice with pork soup on the side, just like how my grandma makes it.
No matter the expense, send me a case of... Hoegaarden. Such a great, floral taste.
The last time I saw the inside of a gym was... When I tried going to one four years ago and gave up immediately.
What's the one chore you dislike the most? I dislike most chores to be honest. I think it'd have to be cleaning my room. I know where most things are in the piles of stuff that surround me.
Do you have any phobias? Oh man, so many. I'm terribly afraid of heights, which is weird because I love going hiking in the mountains. I guess that's my way of overcoming it and I'm getting pretty decent at not having a freak out.
Would you ever partake in a reality show? I'd like to partake in a 'Ninja Warrior' type of TV show. Just so I can embarrass myself on national TV and bomb out spectacularly into a pool of mud.
If you could prank any of your friends, who's your target, and how are you bringing them down? I would prank my drummer Darcy. Probably put a fake spider in his kick drum or something.
