Bianjie

[journey]

Pinggu Shugiya, a pop and rock queen and one of the most decorated Bianjian artists in recent history, together with a legendary lead vocalist of the Fudasi Comcok (Rebellious Bunch) band, Alin Naiki, recorded a joint song "The Beast Underneath", which, according to Shugiya, is about how crazy but exciting life is for humans.

Ever since Shugiya posted on Hatoyu a video of her in the recording studio, with the screen showing "naikivoice2.mp3" file, many fans were, quite frankly, going crazy online, discussing the video to the slightest detail, what kind of song would the collaboration between the two major Bianjian artists be, how did it even come to the point that two well-regarded musicians decided to record a song together, but in the end, most were simply excited, especially as neither Pinggu or Alin gave any clues or information about the song up until its release on Miru video sharing platform.

From its very first notes, The Beast Underneath invites the listener into a world both strange and intimate. The song opens with Alin’s signature raspy voice, before melting into Pinggu's delicate layers of almost whispery harmonies. There is something feral here, coming from Alin, and yet deeply human, coming from Pinggu: a soundscape that feels like wandering through a fever dream of memory and instinct. And despite all that, the song really gets you moving, pretty much like it does both in the music video.

Talking about the music video, just like the song, the MV is full of everything everywhere all at once, as some may say. Dance, snow, traditional clothes, set in a tunnel with a huge mirror, reflecting the very same two sides of life, is all a very great representation and signature style of Pinggu and her whole discography. Fans have taken to social media with raw interpretations of the music video, with some seeing the song as a metaphor for mental health, others for cultural memory, and still others for queer liberation, and it does not help when Shiguya said that she will leave the lyrics and MV "up for personal interpretation".

A week after the release, critics have already called the song one of the most important cultural collaborations of the year, even with just a month and a half left before the year ends. Many debate that Pinggu might have to wait a bit longer to win any awards for the song, especially the Kumun Award, as the song is released in November, when most major awards have closed their applications, but it is still expected that any Pinggu song will be rewarded highly regardless, as it already has been charting in the first place for a week now.

[Video: https://youtu.be/tIe-kXTmj3E?si=Qv8w6kOQuklMnM44]