Forget about yokai, demons, nether realm spirits and the Temple Paradise. All of it, it’s now a distant past. London based Singaporean artist Chaidura said a definitive goodbye to his previous dark stage persona. Enter stage right is the new, fun guy Chaidura, or rather John Whiskers, a sarcastic, fierce K-Pop meets British metal feline that soaks up the sunlight, wears colorful clothes and has enough catittude to chase Red Dwarf’s Cat out of this galaxy. Chaidura’s new single melts Korean pop with cold synths, raw guitars and energy that could power up Meta AI’s centre in Louisiana for at least a decade. Please don’t tell anything about Chaidura to Zuckenberg, we truly need him! In difficult times like these, bold artistic statements and a heavy dose of humour are life savers.
John Whiskers single cover by Jazzy Parr
Official bio: With his mischievous fungi (fun guy) persona leading the way, London-based alt-artist Chaidura returns with his wildest release yet — John Whiskers, a genre-defying single that claws into the heart of animal cruelty, mental health, and chaotic catharsis. Musically, John Whiskers is an audacious sonic hybrid — a fiery collision of K-pop sparkle and metal mayhem. Drawing inspiration from powerhouse acts like ATEEZ and Stray Kids, Chaidura crafts a soundscape where glittering synths and infectious melodies give way to a feral Bring Me the Horizon-style breakdown. It’s a dramatic evolution for an artist who’s never been afraid to play in the shadows — and now, in full neon fury. “This track was my attempt to let K-pop meet metal,” Chaidura shares. “I wanted it to rise with classic K-pop energy and then explode into something heavier — because at my core, I’m still a metal kid.”
The titular “John Whiskers” is, as Chaidura nicely puts it, a feline anti-hero, someone standing up for the cats and kittens of the world when there is nobody else up for the ungrateful job. A ferocious avenger, think of him as the weaponized RSPCA, fighting dirty for a worthy cause. This feline equivalent of John Wick will employ stealth, cat kick, hiss and a claw to defend creatures big and small that suffered injustice and pain at the hands of men. Agret idea for a comic book series, but we truly need John Whiskers as the violence against animals has been on the rise in recent years, picking up considerably since the pandemic. Animal shelters not only in the UK, but in every part of the globe, are full and many of their patients have sadly been hurt by humans.
Chaidura wrote the song after reading a news story about a man in his native Singapore that harmed stray cats. I will spare you the details, but he was caught and was sentenced to 14 months in jail. Not much considering his actions were unusually cruel and sadistic. This again is not that uncommon: many people generally receive light sentences such as fines, oral rebukes or written sanctions, many are not sentenced at all. It doesn’t matter if this is Poland, Australia, Japan or USA, judges somehow are not willing to hand extended jail times or harsher punishment when it comes to animal cruelty.
The man from the press article, blamed his bad mental health for his actions. “Here’s my take” says Chaidura in one of his social media posts. “We all feel like shit sometimes, that’s life. But how we deal with it defines us. Do we face it head-on? Or take it out on others? Facing it takes guts, vulnerability, swallowing your pride, doing the work. Some people would rather die than do that. I made ‘John Whiskers’ to process the rage. Yes, it’s a joke-y song, it’s also me calling out animal abusers as cowards. Not just for hurting animals, but for not having the courage to face themselves”.
Chaidura as John Whiskers by Jazzy Parr
The origins of “John Whiskers” may be dark, but Chaidura prefers humour, satire and laughter to combat evil. The single is full of theatrical flair, sudden tempo changes, crazy hooks and loops and a lot of character. This is also the first song that showcases Chaidura’s very impressive rapping skills, neatly displayed between pop harmonies, urban beats and nu metal chaos. My only complaint is that the track is way too short standing at just 2 minutes and 45 seconds. I think extending it even by half a minute and maybe adding another verse would make it truly purrfect, but hey I will take anything he is giving me. I absolutely love what he is doing and there is no such thing as too much of Chaidura.
With its feline charms, alluring meows, Star Wars references and a serious message hidden behind the K-Pop swagger, “John Whiskers” is our track of the month.
Follow Chaidura online:
https://chaidura.myshopify.com/
https://www.facebook.com/chaiduraofficial
https://www.instagram.com/chaidura _
https://www.tiktok.com/@chaidura
https://soundcloud.com/chaidura
https://www.youtube.com/@chaidura
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5G44MxEPEbE3JMDz1azv9N
https://discord.com/invite/xEAftePfdY
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 
One Comment