Meet Lai Xu

We recently connected with Lai Xu and have shared our conversation below.

LAI, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?

I can’t say it applies to everyone, and I think it’s actually quite stupid, -It’s about forcing myself to do everything independently,
I think when I was in medical school but full of thoughts of being a musician, I was traveling a relatively specific path at the time, and not being efficient, I tried to find my own way by referring to other people’s successes, but the question is there’s so much information and reference to read, and when we go down the road that other people have gone down and find it efficient, we tend to forget that it can be internalized, forget it’s just a reference.
But is all about to figure out a way to move forward first, and while it may be relatively slow to run upfront, our system is not built on air, and if something goes wrong, we can find a solution from within ourselves without being stuck for a long time. It’s not always appropriate to be 100% in this mode, originality and efficiency need to be balanced, and every once in a while it’s necessary to go and revisit yourself and adjust the ratio. I really wish I could tell my 18 year old self these words because I didn’t figure out for a long time.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m an artist, experimental music producer, rapper, interactive sound installation designer, and a graduate student at Berklee College of Music NYC. My stage name is “x u,” and in China, I go by Xu Lai.

As music, I’m a hyperpop artist and producer, I coined the term “emo-glitch” to describe my music, putting sound design as the centerpiece of songwriting. I’m skilled at using sound design to evoke emotions, blending elements of hip-hop, electronic, glitchcore, ambient music, and contemporary music concepts.

In sound design, I focus on creating interactive installations that generate music through body movements. My work has been exhibited at well-known experimental venues such as Iklectik, 100 Years Gallery, and Goldsmiths Great Hall.

The concept behind my music is to create an alternate world that runs parallel to the one we live in today, the structure might remind you of the popular music you know, but with many extreme or interesting sound designs woven in. Next year, I’ll be releasing my debut album, “That Kid,” in the US.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think the most important qualities are ability to see clearly what you want and have concentration, these two points are so important that I don’t see the need for a third point in parallel,

The advice is just to know the importance of these things first, I guess, and think about it when you do.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I’m looking to work with people in the music business , people to manage many aspects of my music at the moment,
plus I’m always interested in cross-disciplinary creativity, so if you ook at my stuff or music and think we could do something together I’d be happy to get in touch.

my email :[email protected]
Ig: https://www.instagram.com/mr.x__u/

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Andy Li, yoo bee,

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