Watch CHAI’s Video for New Song “PING PONG!”

CHAI have released another visual for their forthcoming third album WINK. The new track is called “PING PONG!” and features Japanese chiptune band YMCK. Check out the single’s animated visual—inspired by 8-bit, Japanese public hot springs (onsen), and table tennis—below.

“We’re channeling our inner playful selves, challenging ourselves to fun, and bringing you that nostalgic-feel with this song!” CHAI said in press materials. They continued:

There’s just something about old video games that’s super cute, a little tacky, yet at the same time fancy.  Something that you think is “old-school” but at the same time super refreshing. YMCK collaborated with us on this and created the ultimate 8bit World of CHAI!
 
The theme for PING PONG is exactly as is, “ping pong.” In Japanese culture, there’s this routine where Hot Springs or ‘onsen’ and playing PING PONG go hand in hand. When the four of us hit the hot springs, we always wear a Yukata (unlined Summer kimono), drink a cup of milk, and go right into some PING PONG! It’s very Japanese, something we don’t think exists overseas and that’s exactly what we want to share!  You can hear it in the lyrics and you can feel it in the music video!

YMCK added: “It was our first time creating something from start to finish remotely but everything turned out amazing with each member’s character shining through! Don’t miss this ever-so free and forever dancing world of CHAI!”

WINK arrives May 21 via Sub Pop. It follows their 2019 LP PUNK and features previously shared singles “Maybe Chocolate Chips,” “Donuts Mind If I Do,” “ACTION,” and “Nobody Knows We Are Fun.”

Revisit Pitchfork’s Rising interview “Meet CHAI, the Eclectic Japanese Rock Band Redefining What It Means to Be Cute.”