Chinese-born and United States-based bedroom pop and lo-fi artist Yutao reflects Eastern and Western traditions in his music and everyday life. He now invites us into his self-curated universe through a series of singles; one out every two months, starting with the bedroom pop and lo-fi “Sensation” and now with his newly released dreampop and lo-fi “Overloaded.”
“Overloaded” explores the story of a hugging robot in the future, acting as a metaphor for the big choices we make in our lives. During its daily routine, the system malfunctions, allowing the robot to receive human emotion. But while the robot is experiencing human emotions for the first time, the robot cannot handle this much current. So the robot has two choices: reboot the system, or the system will get overloaded. He chooses the latter.
The concept is clear in the music video with Yutao as the robot. He analyzes human behavior and experiences it himself. The music reflects the robot metaphor as well, with lush synth sounds that recreates the perspective of the robot and even his malfunction at the end.
“Sometimes we all get stuck in the same routine, complaining that nothing will ever change,” shares Yutao. “If you want a different outcome, you might have to break the cycle like a robot, even though it’s risky and the journey will be turbulent. But it’s the first step for the change.”
Listen here:
Yutao felt music in his body before he created it. He came up as a break-dancer, but was sidelined for two years after an injury. Upon healing, he realized his moves weren’t as on-point as they were before the injury, and he longed for a fresh creative outlet. During this time, he started hearing and feeling hip-hop, R&B, and EDM in a new way. “The rhythms of this music gave me a rush—like the same sensation I had when I first started breakdancing,” he says.
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