Sunset Rollercoaster today share new EP, Vanilla Villa, a 7-minute exploration of (self-described) “cute prog rock” as well as a Sci Fi-inspired love story– listen HERE. They also confirm a worldwide 2019 tour, called the ‘Business Trip Tour,‘ with shows across Asia, Europe and the US (all announced dates below).

Vanilla Villa takes the band’s signature modern city pop sound, inspired equally by classic 80s-synth as well as Motown-era soul, in an even more mellow direction. Designed as a concept EP and meant to be listened to as one body of work, the tracks are titled “Welcome To,” “Vanilla,” “Villa.” Says frontman Kuo-Hung Tseng,

“Vanilla Villa tells the story of an alien creature who desires to take the human he has secretly fallen in love with to a villa, chilling and loving her there forever. Musically, ‘Welcome To,’ is like when you’re checking the weather report on TV, you’re hearing background music, a chill melody with a little bass and synth. ‘Vanilla’ is like an old country song from the ’70s whiie ‘Villa’ gets into more soul, funk, and jazz.”

Sunset Rollercoaster formed nearly a decade ago from friendships formed at Underworld, a beloved (now defunct) indie music venue in Taipei. Since then, the six piece soul-psych outfit have released two full length albums and one EP (Bossa Nova, Jinji Kikko, and Cassa Nova), amassing a massive fanbase in Asia as well as a loyal international following. They sell out national tours on mainland China in 30 minutes and pack out 3K capacity venues at hometown Taipei shows. The band also regularly field thousands of long, rambling love letters from their Chinese fans– usually listed as comments on their Tencent Music (TME) page (a music streaming and social networking platform akin to Spotify). 

“My Jinji,” the latest single off their EP Jinji Kikko, currently has +10Million streams on Spotify and has also caught the attention of Resident Advisor, Bandcamp, the Boston Herald, Audiotree, among others. Known for their mesmerizing live show, the group made their stateside debut at NYC’s Central Park Summerstage in 2016.

Tseng, who taught himself English from Sesame Street and later on from 90s’ era American nu-metal (Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit), says Sunset Rollercoaster stands apart singing in English in Taiwan. “I can’t say we’re the only band singing in English in Taiwan, but it’s very rare. When someone is singing in Chinese, it’s important that every word they say has meaning– especially in Taiwan. Singing in English gives me freedom, and makes me feel like I’m a unicorn, like I’m flying in a sea of imagination.”

Vanilla Villa is an exciting, curious new chapter for Sunset Rollercoaster. Stay tuned for more news coming soon.

Vanilla Villa is out now, listen/buy to it on
Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Bandcamp, and more. 

Stay connected with Sunset Rollercoaster: 
Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

SUNSET ROLLERCOASTER ‘BUSINESS TRIP TOUR’ 2019

Asia dates
May 1 – Tianjin 天津
May 3 – Nanjing 南京
May 4 -5 – Shanghai 上海
May 8 – Changsha 長沙
May 9 – Guangzhou 廣州
May 10 – Guangzhou 廣州
May 11 – Shenzhen 深圳
May 12 – Hong Kong 香港
May 15 – Kunming 昆明
May 16 – Chongqing 重慶
May 18 – Wuhan 武漢
May 19 – Chengdu 成都
May 21 – Xi’an 西安
May 23 – Zhengzhou 鄭州
May 24 – Jinan 濟南
May 25 -26 – Beijing 北京

Europe dates + ticket links
June 2 – Stockholm, Sweden – Obaren
June 5 – Berlin, Germany – Badehaus
June 6 – Hamburg, Germany – Hakken
June 7 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Ekko
June 8 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Cinetol
June 9 – Cologne, Germany – Blue Shell
June 10 – Gent, Belgium – Dok
June 12 – Brighton, UK – The Green Door Store
June 13 – Bristol, UK – Exchange
June 14 – Manchester, UK – The Deaf Institute
June 15 – Dublin, Ireland – The Sound House
June 16 – Glasgow, UK – Broadcast
June 17 – Leeds, UK – Headrow House
June 18 – London, UK – The Dome
June 19 – Paris, France – La Maroquinerie
June 21 – Barcelona, Spain – Sala La Nau
June 22 – Madrid, Spain – Sala El Sol
June 24 – Caldas Das Taipas, Portugal 
June 25 – Barcelos, Portugal – Teatro Gil Vicente
June 26 – Aveiro, Portugal – Gretua

USA
Tour Dates TBA