Like many musicians, JOHN TSUNG has spent the past few years collecting his thoughts while holed up at home. But rather than the result being another pandemic-inspired album, Empire Postcards, his latest collection of songs arriving this Friday, is the product of a research project that began before the pandemic hit, collecting stories from interview subjects that aim to subvert stereotypes about Asian American life, bolstered by production from PNW icon Phil Ek, whose work with Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, and The Shins defined an influential chapter in alt-rock.
With the record’s narrative in mind, TSUNG set up to perform two tracks from the new album in New York City’s Chinatown for his “Neighborhoods” set, playing “Eastern Standard” at the corner of Bayard and Mott Street, and “Pale Horses” on Canal at the base of the Manhattan Bridge. Both tracks recorded around midnight, the video is awash in the bright lights of the neighborhood as traffic and pedestrians bustle across the frame. Check it out below.
