GLOBAL NEWS—The debut album by Oregon’s own khai dreams, titled Absolute Heartbreak, was made available by AWAL Recordings. The 10-track debut full-length album from khai showcases their thoughtful and expert songwriting skills as they explore self-identity, romantic and platonic relationships, and what it’s like to hit rock bottom to the tune of self-described “unhinged bedroom pop.”
Coupled with Absolute Heartbreak, khai shares the lyric video of the song “Not Enough,“ including illustrations and animations from Yana Pan.
Absolute Heartbreak also includes the previously released pop country-tinged “Panic Attack,“ “Rats,“ which arrived with visuals directed by khai’s friend Ray McMahon and “Bugs,“ which arrived with the Yana Pan-directed animated video following a storyline created by khai.
Image courtesy of Stu Robinson
Hailing from Eugene, Oregon, khai, a non-binary, half-Vietnamese American turned to the internet to blossom and truly be themself while growing up. Sites like Gaia Online, Neopets, and Runescape gave them the space to be anyone they wanted. Music always had a similar, escapist quality for khai, too: YouTube wormholes, digital audio software like Audacity, and learning the ukulele helped create another comforting sphere where they could dream.
Following the release of their joint EP with Atwood, “Nice Colors,“ in 2018, the now-23-year-old artist started releasing music from their bedroom in 2017 with the breakthrough singles “I Hold You Close To Me“ and “Lost In You.“ In 2019, touring with mxmtoon and khai’s EP Now and Then which features the hit track “Sunkissed,“ which has garnered nearly 200 million streams on streaming platforms and has been used in over 140,000 videos on TikTok.
Image courtesy of Stu Robinson
The ‘Absolute Heartbreak’ Tracklist:
- rats
- not enough
- bugs
- may
- flowers
- panic attack
- overall
- heartbreaker
- good advice
- no company
“Absolute Heartbreak” is available for streaming at khaidreams.ffm.to/absoluteheartbreak, and the lyric video may be seen at khaidreams.ffm.to/notenoughvideo.