It's Time To Upgrade Your Spotify Playlist!! (ZAN! #8)

five excellent songs from across the Asian diaspora, for every weekend mood

Happy Friday, all! ☀️

I’m working on some longer newsletters and essays at the moment, so I wanted to try this shorter format — a rapid-fire roundup of five songs by Asian artists.

And I do mean rapid-FIRE because these songs are all EXCELLENT if I do say so myself. (Many of these artists are younger or up-and-coming, and most of these songs came out fairly recently.)

Get ready to add these songs to your Spotify playlist, and let me know which one is your favorite.

---

for lounging on the beach and secretly feeling superior because of your elite taste in bluetooth speaker music… 🏖️

KIKI - Daydream feat. えんぷてい (emptei)

You can feel especially good about blasting this song and turning curious heads (ears??) because it just came out like, yesterday. It’s a collab between KIKI, a trio from Thailand, and emptei, an indie rock band from Japan.

---

for stepping out for a night w/ the gorls… 👠

Rhea Raj - Oops! Ur Single Now

Rhea Raj, an Indian-American artist who once competed on American Idol as a teenager, is definitely a rising pop princess. This song will make you feel like one, too.

---

for watching a perfect sunset while fireflies dance around you… ✨

Public Library Commute - Coyotes

Out of all the songs that Public Library Commute (aka Conrad Hsiang) has been releasing in anticipation of his first album, which drops in about a week, this song is one of the more contemplative ones. I’m anxiously awaiting the full album. (ANXIOUSLY, I TELL YOU.)

---

FOR WHEN YOU’RE JUST TRYNA DANCE… 🕺🏻💃🏻

Stephanie Poetri, Elephante & Zhang Yanqi - No Explanations

JUST HIT PLAY AND DANCE OK.

---

for reminiscing on your summer before everything slips away… 🥲

The Volunteers - Summer

(yes I am aware that this song is a few years old while everything else is new, but it is still relevant in my life and I feel that it should also be relevant in yours, thank you very much. & all hail yerin baek)

---

🙇🏻‍♀️ Now, it’s your turn!

There are four things you can do to support this newsletter.

1. Share it with a friend who might be interested (here’s a handy button below.)

2. Recommend me something to include on the newsletter. (You can email me at zan.newsletter@substack.com or DM me on Instagram at @rebeccaericsonhua. Don’t worry, I’ll give credit wherever it’s due!)

3. Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

4. If you’ve read this far and haven’t subscribed yet — now’s the time! :)

Until next time,

Rebecca