A unique band formed in the city of Toronto with a mesmerizing and captivating sound.
By Rienne Mendoza
Tiger Balme, a four-member alt-indie Asian-identifying, female and non-binary band based in Toronto, released their self-titled debut album, produced by Paul Chin, almost one year ago on Nov. 29, 2022. The band consists of Yang Chen (they/them), Esther "Estyr" Phua (she/her), Danielle Sum (she/her) and Anda Zeng (she/her). The four of them are individual artists who came together “to sing songs they could only sing once they found each other.”
Tiger Balme will have their headline debut for the relaunch of Hugh’s Room on Nov. 29. The band members are thrilled and excited to have the opportunity to showcase their talents at the iconic venue, marking a significant milestone in their musical journey. They look forward to creating a memorable experience for the audience on this special night.
From left to right, Estyr, Danielle Sum, Anda Zeng and Yang Chen. (Photo Courtesy of Felice Trinidad)
Regarding their instrumental roles, Chen is on the drums, Estyr plays the guitar, Sum takes charge of the vibraphone and Zeng plays the harp.
Both Sum and Chen are well-versed in their assigned instrumental roles. Chen is classically trained in percussion, primarily performing in contemporary classical music, orchestral and free improv spaces. On the other hand, Sum played the piano and guitar prior to being a part of the band, which makes it more comfortable to play the vibraphone. Sum is also classically trained in percussion (she and Chen actually met while going through the same program), with a focus on mallet percussion, such as marimba and vibraphone.
Estyr and Zeng faced a unique challenge when it came to using unfamiliar instruments in their music and performances.
“I'm not really a harpist. First and foremost, I'm much more comfortable on the piano. So in Tiger Balme, that's really like a fun challenge to try to push my skills as a harpist when I'm accompanying other people in their songs,” says Zeng.
As for Estyr, “I don't really identify as an instrumentalist because I can just barely play the guitar, but I would say that I've been very influenced by the instrumentation of the band[…] The instruments in the band have allowed the songs that I've brought to the band to find a more tender voicing.”
Photo Courtesy of Fio Yang
As an Asian-identifying women and non-binary band, the group hopes to influence that there’s no need to filter a personality for the public and that demonstrations of Asian artists are done right in the music industry.
Chen clarifies that, on a personal level, they don’t have a public performance persona; everything that the public sees is an authentic representation of how they actually are.
“Who I am on stage is simply an amplified version of who I am off stage: queer, Asian, cheesy, non-binary with a dash of gender confusion, dad jokes and all. There is a stereotypical trope that East Asian people are stoic, repressed even. I am a trans crybaby Pisces bursting with love at all moments. My existence is a challenge to harmful reductive stereotypes. I hope to encourage a wider, more nuanced perspective of Asian artists as we gain visibility.”
“The more diversity we have in representation, the better,” Estyr explains.
At the top is Estyr. In the bottom row, from left to right, Yang Chen, Anda Zeng and Danielle Sum. Photo Courtesy of Felice Trinidad
When it comes to songwriting and the sound of Tiger Balme’s music, “the themes are really around self-acceptance and community and belonging,” says Estyr. Each band member brings their own sound to the group and they work around it.
Sum didn’t start songwriting until she joined the band. “My songwriting career started because of Tiger Balme.” She didn’t have a strong connection with songwriting until she found inspiration from her bandmates. “The people in the band would always be accepting and give me space to write and to create until I was eventually happy with something that I found.”
Zeng stated that the band engages in free-form writing exercises with their writing process. Recently, they attended a residency at Raging Asian Women Taiko Drummers where they did exercises including activities like blackout poetry, free writing and morning page.
Blackout poetry is taking an already existing text and selectively “blacking out” or covering words to create a poem. Free writing is a creative writing technique that generates ideas and content without worrying about grammar, spelling and structure. Morning pages involve writing three longhand pages of any thoughts first thing in the morning daily.
Photo Courtesy of Felice Trinidad
With the one-year anniversary of their debut album approaching this month, CanCulture asked the band what their favourite songs off the album are.
Angelo is a favourite of Sum and Zeng. Additionally, another pick from Zeng is Welcome Back. Estyr’s choice is Short Fuse, which is written by Sum, and Estyr describes the song as a “math rock song”. Chen found it challenging to settle on a single song, considering that the album as a whole “was such a monumental undertaking for us!”
In the midst of their upcoming headlining show, Sum explained that she did a grad paper during the pandemic and how it affected live performances and venues, including Hugh’s Room. “I’m really looking forward to it personally because of the legacy it has in the Toronto live music scene, and for us to be a part of that, I think it's just very cool.”
Tickets for the relaunch of Hugh’s Room can be found on Showpass, with prices ranging from $16 to $38.
For now, the band is working on releasing four news songs from their residency. You can find more on Tiger Balme on their social media accounts.