DYAN TAI

Malaysian-born, Chinese multi-disciplinary artist Dyan Tai’s releases their debut electronic  meets synth-pop EP Empress 皇后. Self described as the Asian empress of the gay streets of Sydney, Dyan's body of work comes from the artist's time at The Powerhouse Museum as a  Generation’s Music Fellow. 

At the forefront of all of Dyan’s creations is a quest to connect with the Asian diaspora and their  queer identity. Growing up in Malaysia, Dyan was trained in classical piano and violin while  exposed to the richness of culture and art from living in a multicultural society in Malaysia.  Despite their wonder, they often felt displaced as a minority in the country, and this sense of  unease grew more potent as they moved further away to Australia, with a longing for home  persisting alongside it.  

Channeling this sentiment, Dyan collaborated with fellow artists from the LGBTQI+ and BIPOC  communities across Australia to create the EP, including AnSo - a non-binary South-Korean  experimental pop artist, Salllvage - a First Nations queer electronic artist, producer and DJ,  Jamaica Moana - a Māori-Samoan-English rapper and ballroom community leader, and award winning Guzheng artist Mindy Meng Wang. 

Moving to Australia in 2009 Dyan took up contemporary vocal training and learnt to produce  music on Ableton and DJ in 2013. During this time Dyan was intimidated by the lack of diversity  in the scene finding it difficult to penetrate into the music industry. This led to a multi-year break  which saw Dyan focus on drag, performance art and cabaret. Later, returning to music production  in 2020 and incorporating elements of Asian art, including traditional instruments such as the  Guzheng, Taiko drums and the Gamelan, as well as Chinese operatic makeup and costumes in  their visual artistry. Bringing people into the entire world that makes up Dyan’s art form.

Since their re-entry into music, Dyan Tai has felt welcomed into a community of people pursuing  the same purpose with open arms. Some of their recent accomplishments include opening for  Electric Fields (Coastal Twist Festival), performed at Rina Sawayama's offical album launch, as well  as the Sydney Mardi Gras for Heaps Gay, Unicorns Party and more. They were also featured in the  "Chinese Australian" episode of award winning ABC show "You Can't Ask That" (Season 6). The  also performed at number of Melbourne Fringe shows this year including Worship Queer  Collective's Dynasty Drag and Dumplings which received a five star review by The Age: 

"Worship Queer Collective’s Dyan Tai curated an Old Shanghai-style evening showcasing queer  Asian excellence - and goddamn it’s fierce and sexy." - The Age