otay:onii (Lane Shi) is a multifaceted artist originally from Haining, China, currently based in Berlin. Her artistic practice spans music, performance, installation, and film composition. otay’s work has received recognition and accolades, including the bronze prize for “Best Female Vocalist” from the Global Music Awards, and “Best Sound” from the Audiovisual Arts Industrial Incubator Awards. Performance pieces like “Unwrap!” at the Ming Contemporary Art Museum exemplify her innovative concept of “bio instruments.” She has performed at Harvard University and prestigious festivals like SXSW, Roadburn, CTM, Fusion, Creepy Teepy, LGW, Fekete Zaj, Full of Lava, and more.
“Music is a philosophy that requires a lifetime of experimentation.” You mentioned this in an interview. What does this experimentation mean to you, and how does it manifest in your work and approach to music?
Life experience is the soil in which the soul grows. It manifests in music through the way music unfolds a particular story. Music is like a journal—on a good day, it becomes a philosophy that guides us back to the soil.
Even though you are mostly active on the experimental scene, you studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. How do you recollect this period and institutional music education as such?
If our life experience teaches us the hard way what music truly is, then we must also challenge theories and ideologies imposed on us by others.
You were active in several bands during your studies. Can you talk about them and what led you to pursue solo musical ventures?
My first band, Dent (US), was always raging at the Boston house shows in a neighbourhood called Allston. I remember that we would throw shows in the basements of co-living apartment houses. If I had to choose my craziest musical memories, they would be these shows—basement ceilings were often super low, and when people started thrashing down, “ceiling-diving” or moshing, it would be absolute chaos. But at the same time, it was unforgettable. People like me learnt to care, to speak to the light, and to look people straight in the eye. Sometimes the spaces were so cramped that musicians accidentally hit each other with their instruments and bled all over the place. Wild times—never forget.
We also booked our own shows, tours, hitting up every possible venue or house we could play at, without any outside help, without labels, just friends. Two or three bands would team up, travelling from Boston to Texas and all over the US. In 2015, I brought Dent on tour in China, playing 14 cities. We travelled on high-speed trains, creating laughter and so many stories along the way. If anyone is curious, we have a documentary:
This period of time shaped my faith in music. It made me realise that this is what I want to do in this life—period.
And yes, other bands came after, such as Elizabeth Colour Wheel (US). Now I’ve also joined Fórn (US) and started a band in Berlin called Hugging (DE). Bands come and go, and I will always carry the good memories and wisdom deep in my heart. However, otay:onii, my solo project, is the one that truly expresses my own perspective—without compromise. And safe to say, it’s the one that will live on until my last breath.
Apparently you were influenced by books and films before venturing into music. Do certain narrative structures and imagery influence your sonic work?
All narratives are interesting to listen to—they allow us to live another ten lives simultaneously through other people’s storytelling, offering experiences we wouldn’t otherwise have. My work, to some extent, is a response to many films that shook my brain and reshaped my heart.
Your latest album, ‘True Faith Ain’t Blind’, combines opera with Chinese folk music. What role does tradition play in your work, and how did you juxtapose these two seemingly antithetical music disciplines?
Since I have always been deeply involved in the heavy music world, I had never created a piano-and-voice album that flowed so freely. So this album fulfilled that desire at a time when I needed clarity.
Even as a Chinese artist, I am still absorbing the philosophies behind “The Book of Changes”, working to answer questions that cannot be answered, and allowing the body, mind and heart to align, chase and follow each other—always including space and time as elements. This might be the most accurate depiction of True Faith Ain’t Blind.
It’s difficult to pinpoint a live action that relates to a past life experience and leads to the creation of a new one. Hell, I could say I’m playing metal music, couldn’t I? After all, I’m literally striking the piano keys that link to these big metal mechanics behind the bar.
In the aforementioned interview, you also mentioned that once a week, you go dancing for several hours—either at a club or at home. What is the importance of movement and dancing for you?
Remixing. Dance movements simply remix the music being played live.
Can you talk about the performative part of your work, which is quite singular, featuring masks and various shifts in dynamics?
I used to hide behind a mask because I carry the trauma of being an Asian immigrant living in the US, that is, of course, too great to measure ;). I was living in the US under a visa called “Aliens of Extraordinary Ability”, and I thought, Shit, that’s it—we really are more like aliens. Fun fact: the visa has an official name—eb1. And the extraterrestrial alien has a similar one: ebe. So, I wanted to play shows with that idea in mind, most importantly, with no associations with my race in front of an audience. I wanted to leave no room for female or Asian fetishisation, just to appear as a regular ol’ alien-looking person. The mask, by the way, is from a performance piece I did back in 2021 called “Unwrap!包裹之外” in China (more info on my website).
What are you currently working on?
A new otay:onii album, writing a script for the music video, organising schedules, plus a million other things (oh, you’ll see).
What are your dreams?
Peace and love on earth.
Interview: Lucia Udvardyova
Lead image: Lex Hockey