BAO Unleashes Debut Solo Album, “Perpetual Heartbreak”

BAO, a California based singer, songwriter and producer unleashes his solo album, “Perpetual Heartbreak”. The album comes with 14 tracks and serves as his debut solo album (formally the frontman of Ming & Ping).

As BAO sits down and listens to each track on his album via his YouTube channel, he says, “I wanted to share my debut album ‘Perpetual Heartbreak’ with you in a way that I’ve never seen anyone else do. Perpetual Heartbreak is about giving yourself permission to feel and feel really hard. So I smoked a J and listened to my entire album, so that you can watch me react to every second of the music. I figured it’s a way to experience music that isn’t very common: To see the artist feeling their own work really hard. I want this to be a case study in reading emotion on faces. And it would be cool if this became another way for people to experience music.”

BAO was formally the frontman of the synth-pop band, Ming & Ping. He wrote and produced for them for over a decade which includes five albums. Now, he is recording music as a solo artist with his own name.

He expresses,

Releasing under my own name was scary at first, but I leaned into that idea to express myself without any insecurities about the audience’s reaction. I really hope this album’s honesty will encourage other Asian American artists to express themselves in their own most unique way. As I get older, one of my biggest passions is to encourage Asian American creatives to freely express themselves because I know first-hand how much pressure there is for us to stay in our narrow lanes.

BAO

As he talks about his process and concept of this new album, BAO says,

The aesthetic of this album was driven by the Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi, which Wikipedia defines as ‘the acceptance of transience and imperfection.’ Wabi-sabi actually goes beyond that to include intentional imperfection. That’s been my vibe for a long time as a person and a creative. I had three influential records that I wanted to fuse together into a musical love-child: Face Value by Phil Collins for it’s tight vocal hooks, emotive performance, and innovative production. Jon Brion’s soundtrack to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for its very human production, dirty recordings, and super emotional/visual instrumentals. As well as Starboy by The Weeknd and Daft Punk, for its mashup of vintage dance instrumentals with f*****-up lyrics.

BAO

BAO also reveals, “I love that I can weave different stories about my past romances, my immigrant roots, and my Asian American community all together into this theme. It takes effort to affect positive change, but it’s also necessary to just soak in the sadness sometimes. Sadness is something that one needs to be processed.”

It has been revealed that, “BAO treats each album as if it were a movie with different scenes or an exhibit with different rooms. A visual artist since childhood, he has exhibited artwork in galleries and museums in Los Angeles, Houston, New York City, and Miami. He is also a design professional with a science degree in Environmental Design from the ArtCenter College of Design, which informs the multidisciplinary approach to his musical projects such as Ming & Ping and now his debut solo album.”

BAO says,

It’s a snapshot of the subject matter I’m most passionate about: interpersonal relationships, culture and identity (mostly Asian American identity), and mental health. For my audience, I wanted to create a go-to album for when you want to bask in the glory of sadness. Personally, I have a few go-to records like this including: Ryan Adam’s Heartbreaker, Fiona Apple’s Tidal and When the Pawn…, Julia Michaels’ Nervous System and Inner Monologues Part 2, and Mac Miller’s Swimming. It’s no coincidence that several of those records were produced by Jon Brion.

BAO

So when BAO was asked how he feels the record fits into today’s musical landscape, he describes it as, “a pop record with thoughtful lyrics. I’m encouraged that pop music has been disrupted a bit lately, songs that sound more unpolished and organic – as evidenced by the success of artists like Billie Eilish and FKA Twigs, Troye Sivan, and Charli XCX. Also Solange’s ‘Cranes in the Sky’ and Julia Michaels ‘Issues’ winning Grammy Awards made me believe that thoughtful lyrics that touch on uncomfortable or vulnerable topics can and should belong in pop music.”

It has also been revealed that BAO was, “[b]orn to a single mom of five and immigrating to the United States when he was three years old, his Vietnamese American upbringing has profoundly shaped him. BAO explains, ‘My identity has never been well-defined. I don’t fit into either Vietnamese or American culture. All my traditions are mixed and my memories are reconstructed from family lore. ‘Far Away’ is a song about that. This struggle gives me a sense of purpose to uplift my immigrant and As-Am community.’”

Lastly, as he continues to speak in support of Asian-American artists, “I hope that this album can hold up to some of the incredible As-Am artists that have achieved success recently, including a few of my favorites: Mitski, Thao (& the Get Down Stay Down), Japanese Breakfast, and MILCK. These are people–coincidentally all women–who evidently poured their hearts and souls out into records that don’t fit neatly into any particular genre. I think as Asian Americans there’s pressure to either try to impress the big boys by mimicking a certain genre or to lay low and ‘pass’ as regular. It’s notable for me when an artist intentionally avoids all that and lets their individuality shine.”

Check out BAO listening to his tracks via YouTube:

Support BAO’s Music: HERE