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“A queer, euphoric fever dream that you don’t want to wake up from.” The Age
“Tai’s a joyous performer, celebrating their multiplicitous cultures and communities with an infectious energy,” NME Australia
“Dyan is serving such a broad and sophisticated palette pop and hyper pop on their tracks reminiscent of Kate Bush, Gaga, George Michael, Arca-esque production in some moments,” The Rolling Stone
Artist bio:
Self-described Gaysian Empress of Sydney, Dyan Tai (he/they) makes electronic hyperpop music fused with Beijing opera and traditional Southeast Asian soundscapes.
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Named as one of the outstanding acts to watch at BigSound 2023 (NME) and praised by Flume for their sound design (Triple J Unfinished Top 5), Dyan makes ‘sophisticated palette pop" (Rolling Stone).
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From humble beginnings in Malaysia to finding a niche on Sydney cabaret stages and now evolving into an electronic artist, the trilingual Chinese-Australian artist’s captivating live shows have been described as “a queer, euphoric dream that you don’t want to wake up from” (5 star review, The Age).
Dyan has opened for Big Wett, Electric Fields (Coastal Twist Festival), performed at the Rina Sawayama’s official Sydney album preview party. They premiered their interdisciplinary headline show, "Permaisuri: The Gaysian Empress Rises" with support from The Inner West Council.
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As a performance artist and musician, Dyan has presented works at Powerhouse Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane Powerhouse, BigSound, Woodford Folk Festival, Sydney World Pride 2023, Mardi Gras After Party, Gaytimes Festival, Vivid Sydney 2024 with The Huxleys and recently performed alongside Lupa J at Biennale Sydney 2024 curated by Phoenix Central Park where they were described as "boundary-pushing" and Five Must-See Biennale Events of 2024.
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Music:
"Ni Hao" premiered on Pilerats and Triple J's Home & Hosed. Selected as Unearthed's Track of the Day and their Top 5 tracks of the week, Ni Hao music video was premiered on Kalblut Magazine and playlisted on Pedestrian TV/9NOW.
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"Hantu" fuses electronic dance pop with Malay and Indonesian soundscapes layered with delicate Tuvan throat singing. “Hantu” received Spotify editorial playlisting and was added to FBI Radio’s New Music playlist on rotation; with additional support from Triple J Unearthed, 2SER, Triple R, SYN and JOY949.
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“Freedom” was highly received and featured on ABC Queer and SBS Australia. Released in Nov 2020, “Freedom” included a music video which explores the history of drag in Chinese opera with a historic all-Queer Asian cast; and curated to be part of Warrnambool Art Gallery’s “Self Creation” exhibition.
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Awards and recognition:
Awarded the prestigious Generations Music Fellowship (Powerhouse Museum, Astral People, CreateNSW), Performance Space’s Queer Development Program, Red Rattler Artist in Residency, Australian Academy Cinema and Televisions Arts' Unsung Stories, APRA AMCOS Pride Songhubs curated by Troye Sivan.
Their dedication to music and community has seen them nominated for an ACON Honours Award and Inner West Council Citizen of The Year Award with a special recognition for their contribution to the QTPOC community and featured on the cover of Sydney Star Observer.
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Other works:
Dyan is also a presenter on FBI Radio’s Kings & Queens and was featured in the "Chinese Australian" episode of award winning ABC show "You Can't Ask That" (Season 6).
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As a DJ, Dyan has developed a niche in 2000s rnb/hip hop and pop anthems. They are well-loved as a club DJ with residencies across Sydney.
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As the founder of Worship Queer Collective, Dyan continues to raise awareness and visibility of the Queer Asian/QTBIPOC community as the founder of Worship Queer Collective which was recognised and cited as part of the global movement alongside New York, LA, San Francisco and Toronto.
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Under Dyan’s guidance, the Collective continues to champion the local Queer Asian Excellence movement in music and arts. Led by Dyan, the Collective announced a historic QTBIPOC artist and community led mentorship program in partnership with Big Thick Energy, Club Chrome, Bindi Bosses and Scary Strangers, supported by the City of Sydney.
The inaugural "Gaysian Stories" with keynote speaker, Benjamin Law was sold out within 24 hours. "Don’t Cha Wish You Yum Cha?” cabaret show featured a historic all-queer Asian cast and was selected as one of the coveted Sydney WorldPride official arts program with 6 x sold out shows across the Pride season.
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