DPI Alum Shina Peng photographs CHAI for the New York Times

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

The members of Chai, from left: Yuna, Yuuki, Kana and Mana. (c) Shina Peng for The New York Times

The  Japanese band’s Sub Pop debut exudes a newfound sense of serenity, even as they remain committed to exuberant self-love. Recent graduate Shina Peng (DPI '21) photographs the band's four members and documents their unique array of style and charm.

"Owing to the band’s growing debt to hip-hop, the drummer Yuna started experimenting with her playing technique in GarageBand. And Mana, who primarily drives the band’s music, worked on cultivating an album she described as 'more than a human friend — someone you can go to when you’re upset, someone you go to when you’re happy, when you wake up first thing in the morning, when you want to cry.' "

Chai's new album, "Wink", is available now.