- Emotional Italo inspired by Taiwanese landmarks.
- Following several trips to Taiwan, Robert Yang hunkered down in his late grandmother's house to make a record. But away from his home studio, he was limited to a computer, samples and simple portable synths. The result is an EP that strips Yang's sound down to its core elements: regal melodies and driving rhythms.
The tracks on 府城 are named after locations in his grandmother's neighbourhood in Tainan. Sometimes, the titles seem to inform the music. "綠館三溫暖," named after a gay sauna, has a sweaty, claustrophobic sound and a staggered rhythm that evokes dark corridors. Other tracks are less literal. "林百貨" refers to a department store initially built in the '30s, but its surging sound brings to mind sci-fi rather than shopping. Yang also tries out new ideas. The title track is a trap-like beat adorned with glittering bleeps. "觀夕平台" is built from choral pads and samples of Yang's voice. The most familiar track is the opener, which hints at the Italo majesty of Yang's previous tracks. But this one is just a bassline, arpeggio and uneasy pads, more personal mixture than genre pastiche. 府城 might be Yang's simplest record, but its naked emotions—yearning, fear, nostalgia and uncertainty—say more than ever.
Tracklist01. 孔廟
02. 府城
03. 林百貨
04. 綠館三溫暖
05. 觀夕平台