Mad Tsai Wants You To Sink Your Teeth Into His New EP, ‘CANINES’
MAD TSAI’s ‘CANINES’
Rebellion Records
Mad Tsai is a bona fide pop star.
The 24-year-old Chinese-Taiwanese-Peruvian artist knows he started as an experimental, alternative indie pop-rock singer, known for his popular songs “stacy’s brother” and “all-american bitch!,” but now is ready for his pop star era.
It doesn’t mean he’s not going to try other genres. He is just ready to celebrate his love for dance and hyper-pop. As a fan of pop (and K-pop), he realizes he’s not limited to just being stuck to one genre or sound or concept. He can have fun with a variety of them. So, why not do a sexy, vampiric theme?
He does just that with his newest EP, CANINES, out now.
“Mad Tsai is exploring himself musically, sonically, thematically, and slowly reaching the path of more and more pop,” says Mad over Zoom from his Los Angeles home, when asked who he is in this mini-album. “I love growing as an artist. This project gave me a chance to explore who I am and the different sides of myself to be a bit more personal with fans too. It has my own personal experiences and my own relationships that have gone either well or awfully.”
The album has been a long time coming, over a year after his single “Bite” was first released in June 2025. It had gone through a few iterations as Mad experienced more life-changing events in his personal life. There were several songs he initially had on the album, but he switched them up because they either didn’t fit the vibe or he didn’t feel that way anymore.
“I wrote a lot of songs, but I want a lot of them to feel like pop and one that you can dance to or be something to listen to on the drive casually,” he admits. “But, at the same time, I wanted it to mean something. I wanted to have a deeper meaning or connect in some way to the larger story that I’m telling.”
The result was an emotional yet upbeat dance pop that explored themes of “loyalty, human connection, yearning, hunger, intimacy, heartbreak, and growth.” Mad admits that this is his favorite project that he put out so far.
“I’m grateful I took my time with it in some ways because I wanted to make sure I did this right and that I put out a body of work that I’m really proud of,” he states. “It makes me excited for the future, and all the things I want to write and talk about down the line.”
Below, Mad Tsai breaks down his album, what inspired it, and what he’s looking forward to going on tour this fall.
LAURA SIRIKUL: What was the inspiration for this EP? Tell me about this vampire concept. I am getting ‘Blade’ vibes.
MAD TSAI: Obviously, any vampire media. I’ve always loved horror movies in general. It’s shown through different songs like “Killer Queen,” which is a direct inspiration from Carrie and Jennifer’s Body. You can see it in my bedroom that I have a bunch of horror movie posters on my wall and everything. I had a lot of great inspiration. I’ve always loved vampires. Interview with the Vampire was a great inspiration – and now an amazing show. [The 1998 vampire action film] Blade had that opening scene in the rave where the blood comes down through the sprinklers, then Blade starts killing all those vampires. That is seared into my brain. I remember watching that in elementary school – which I shouldn’t have – and it seared into my brain. That’s what I was playing with when I was writing some of these songs. I watched different vampire movies, like Jennifer’s Body and this Korean animated BL called Mignon. It’s very spicy. I’m gonna warn any future readers who have not watched it or heard of it. It’s very gay and very spicy, and animated so well. I like the story, which is short, but it was a great inspiration for songs like “Bite.” It’s just so sexy, gay, and vampiric. It all came together as one amalgamation.
LS: You first released your single, “Bite,” in June 2025 – over a year ago. How much has that song changed in its meaning for you over time?
MT: “Bite” was the first song I wrote for the project, and it gave me a North Star to write around. I’m so grateful for “Bite” and what it’s done for me. I love the song so much, and performing the song is a gift that keeps on giving. Every couple of months it goes viral, and people keep sharing it and making new trends with it. It’s amazing to see and watch. I can’t wait to give this full project to fans because it tells the full story. It starts with “Bite” and ends in a different place than where “Bite” was. “Bite” is a catalyst for the storytelling itself, but ends somewhere very different. That’s the beauty of writing everything. It gives a little bit of me personally to fans and where I’m headed next.
Mad Tsai’s ‘CANINES’
Rebellion Records
LS: Let’s talk about your lead single, “mon chéri… ” What a great dance anthem!
MT: I wrote “mon chéri…“ throughout the writing process of the project. I came in with one producer, Jack [Koplin], a.k.a. ShyKid. He is so phenomenal. I wanted to write something sexy – a little like Britney [Spears] but also Phantom of the Opera. I think I told him if Phantom of the Opera and Britney had a baby, what would that sound like? Because it’s so gothic and fun, I wanted it to feel like you’re in this underground club, just dancing, sweating, and having fun – a sexy fun time. Things came very naturally as soon as I heard that beat. The hook just came to me at the right moment. It was just me in the room writing, and I wanted to add some French to the song. There’s something sexy about French – talking about desire and compelling somebody to come to you.
LS: I love “No One’s Son.” It’s so emotional.
MT: I’ve always been a very introverted person. People make the mistake of assuming that I’m extroverted based on my music and online personality. But I like to keep to myself. I’m pretty reserved and a bit of a hermit. I’ve always operated that way. It has also given me a unique way of operating through life as an observer. “No One’s Son” is a bit more inquisitive about myself and what’s happening in my life. If you think about vampires existing for thousands of years, it gets lonely. You become more hardened and cold. That was an inspiration for it. It’s like a biblical allegory of being no one’s son, talking about your own journey, which is very akin to the queer experience, and figuring things out alone and not knowing how to love or relate to people in some ways. You see people expressing love and affection, but it’s not the same way you do it. Queen people who didn’t grow up with other queer friends or a community, it can be very isolating.
LS: I do want to know more about “STRAYS” and “starved,” and how they stand out for you – one being a “fuck you” to the haters, while “Starved” is heartbreaking.
MT: I’ve always been someone who is bouncing between emotions all the time. One day I can be very introspective and be very ‘woe is me,’ and the next day, I’m like ‘fuck it. I’m gonna dominate the world and own everything.’ I feel like part of my artistry is a bit chaotic in time. I talk about giving into my vices and being self-destructive. Then I go into the unique song, “starved,” which stood out to me. Out of all the songs on the project, I listened to “starved” the most because it gave me a chance to explore the melodramatic side of things. It’s very sultry. The lyrics are emotionally intense and build into this big hook that I absolutely adore. We have all these songs like “Bite” and “mon chéri…“ talking about the lustful sides of this relationship, “STRAYS” being destructive, and “starved” is what happens when they leave you. How would you cope with that? I’d rather starve than taste somebody new. There’s so much imagery in that.
Mad Tsai’s ‘CANINES’
Rebellion Records
LS: I love the storytelling you do with the way you structured the album – starting with “Bite,” ending with “Wisdom Tooth” and “Diet,” as if it’s an entire story.
MT: I finished “Wisdom Tooth” when the wound was still fresh from what happened [in my life]. It was so easy to come up thematically with the song because all the songs fixated on teeth in CANINES. I thought about wisdom teeth, and how we grow up and have these teeth pushing into us and hurting, becoming detrimental to us. They shouldn’t be there. We realize these things: that people might not be good for us, and we need to remove them. We make these realizations, then chronicling love, loss, and then removal. With “Diet,” I wrote it in one session with singer-songwriter Maria Landi, who is fantastic, and producer David Balshaw from The Imports. We had the demo ready to go. I held onto it for months. After I wrote “Bite,” I dismissed it. It wasn’t until I played it for my friends and their eyes lit up, telling me, ‘this is really good.’ My friends love “Diet.” One of my artist friends, MIKO, said you have to release “Diet,” and I think that was another inspiration for me because I really love my artist friends and trust their creative input. I ended up having him lay down guitars on the song in the second verse. It was a fun process. I brought it to another one of my producers, Drew Polavik, and we finished the entire song. It was spur of the moment, but it just felt right.
LS: All songs are like your children, but we all have a favorite child. Which would you say is the favorite?
MT: I have to go with “Bite,” because the day I wrote it in the studio. The minute that I finished writing the song, I had a gut feeling in my stomach that this was really special. If I don’t get a hold of this right now, it’ll fly away and go somewhere else. This was the light bulb going off [in my head]. The song is so special. There’s something so fun about it. I started marketing “Bite,” and it blew up, and it took off just like that. We need to finish this song and put it out. It was so spontaneous and magical. It felt like a movie because the same day I wrote the song is the same day it blew up and people are demanding it.
LS: We have to talk about your transformation too, physically, from your first EP to now. Like your ATEEZ bias, San, you evolved as an artist and as a person going from – according to social media – “twink” to “twunk.”
MT: I like to push myself to be the artist I wanted to be. I’m very introverted, but as an artist, I want to be the opposite of that in some ways. That’s the beauty of being an artist. Showing parts of yourself that you don’t get to show when you are your own person. My sport-loving sister told me I needed to go to the gym and gain some muscle. I then fell in love with it. It was getting out all my bad emotions and stress from the day. I’ve always wanted to be confident and comfortable in my body, and I was, but when I sat down with myself and really asked myself, ‘What do I want to be as a pop star?’ I want to be sexy because in the Western sphere of things, Asian men are not really seen as sexy. It never comes across people’s minds to treat Asian men like sexy or be sexualized in some way. So I wanted it, especially in the pop space. I want to be sexy. I want to be gothic. I want to be vampiric. I want to be comfortable in my body and journey. I want other people to be comfortable in their own bodies, especially Asian men. We should feel sexy and confident in ourselves and show off ourselves and be treated sexy like everybody else.
Mad Tsai’s ‘The BITE BACK World Tour’
Rebellion Records
LS: Finally, tell me about this World Tour. What are you most excited about? What can we expect?
MT: I’m most excited to go to Europe because I’ve never been there before. Funnily enough, some dates in Europe have already sold out. We are scrambling to get bigger rooms for some of the spaces, which makes me really excited to know that I have fans in Europe who want to see me perform. I was never like a theater kid, but I’ve always felt the desire to be very theatrical, especially in pop music. We have theatrical acts like Chapel Roan and Lady Gaga doing amazing things, and I want to integrate that side of myself into the live tour. I’m building out the world right now, trying to make sure the story stays consistent and also integrating older songs into the setlist – or re-amping some of the older songs. I want to really push myself to be the pop star that I want to be. I’m taking dance lessons right now. I’m working hard at the gym and doing singing and dancing lessons simultaneously. I’m putting in the work and can’t wait to show off what I have planned by the time the tour comes around.
LS: Since you’re going sexier with your approach, are you going to pull a “Jackson Wang” and pick a person to dance on?
MT: Oh my gosh! Wait, I’m going to write that down. Maybe. [laughs] I might play one or two songs from the next project and surprise some people – but you didn’t hear it from me tho.
Article was edited and cut for length and brevity.
Mad Tsai’s CANINES is out now on all streaming platforms
