Summer is usually festival and “cucumber” season – meaning nice weather, slow news cycle and people being out of town camping and watching bands. Well, this summer we have a heatwave, news cycle to give us all anxiety and festivals with a political bang. And here comes Chaidura with a song that on the surface can soothe you and make you forget about what is happening in the world. But “Cotton Candy” is not just a radio friendly tune for long days while lounging by the pool. The song is a rallying cry, an anthem for self defence against bullies. There is a consistent theme in new singles from London’s chief visual key artist. “VIPLDP” criticized consumerism and “John Whiskers” spoke against animal cruelty. Chaidura was and always will be societally conscious and trying to make life on this planet a little bit more bearable. But alas, it is summer so we spoke to Chai about food, holiday destinations and a bit about his native Singapore. It may look like a funny interview but click on the links and you will come away from this knowing so much more than before. It is not a magic trick, it is the power of music and allure of artists who have their heart in the right place and put their soul into their art. It is also why we do Alternative Summer and Alternative Christmas on this blog.
First things first – we absolutely stan this new era that you launched in April. Smart, sarcastic, more K -pop than a BTS fan convention and yet still heavy and genre bending as ever. Are we seeing the summer of (new) Chaidura?
Chaidura: Thank you!! This new version of Chaidura is really different, isn’t it. The first half of 2025 has been about experimentation and going out of my comfort zone. So yes, a summer of new Chaidura is upon us!
“Cotton Candy” is your third single released since the beginning of 2025, following “VIPLDP” and “John Whiskers”. After “Temple Paradise”, which was a conceptual EP, you seem to be purposefully concentrating on issuing stand alone tracks. Is working on separate musical stories easier or harder than continuing a certain narrative throughout several compositions?
Chaidura: This made me think! I believe it’s equally easy/challenging at the same time. With the new songs, they are all separate projects. Everything can be done with a fresh start. This also means that there is freedom to create something new. However, constraints too allow creativity to flourish. With “Temple Paradise”, everything had to be done with a certain theme. It’s both interesting and fun, for sure. I would say that having a wider story to tell is more fulfilling for sure, but you get bored easier.
You promote “Cotton Candy” with a slightly macabre slogan of “sweet but it will rot you”. What is the idea behind the song? Something tells us it’s not about consuming less sugar and brushing one’s teeth!
Chaidura: (laughs) When I first came out with the concept, I was thinking of sweets in general. Like it provides “joy” or “happiness” but at the same time, having too much of it will make you feel horrible. I then got to think about what I stand for as Chaidura, which is basically for people to not be “assholes”. And then I attempted to bridge the two ideas together. Essentially, it’s about assholes who show prejudice to people that are different. Bullying people like us might give you happiness but if you do it too often, horrible things will happen to you… who knows how?
And speaking of cotton candy – what is your favourite colour/flavour. Are there any places in London that sell Chaidura approved cotton floss? Asking for a certain music and candy loving reviewers from Cheshire.
Chaidura: STRAWBERRY! Ahhh I don’t actually know any specific places!! The Flying Tiger one is pretty good though!
Let us ask about summer in Singapore. What is the weather like over there during summer months? What do you do when it gets really hot?
Chaidura: Singapore is based near the equator and has tropical summer weather all year round. Yes, basically 28-34 degrees all year round. 24/7. HOWEVER, the country is well equipped to handle the heat. Apartments and buildings are all well ventilated, there’s air conditioning everywhere, most places are sheltered. There are structural systems to deal with the heat. *dying in the UK heatwave while I type this*
Are there any sweets back home that you`d love to have available in the UK? Anything truly Singaporean that any die-hard fan of Chaidura should try? Chendol, mango pudding or ice cream in a pandan bread?
Chaidura: First thing that came to my mind is Cheng Tng (pronounced cheng terng). It’s a nourishing desert with barley, longans, lotus seeds, water, sugar and crushed ice. Would be cool to have it!
You recently took a little vacation to a picturesque place called Land`s End in Cornwall – the most westerly point of mainland England. It is known for granite cliffs that are resistant to weathering. You compared the cliffs shaped by the waves to humans shaping their own destiny. That’s both very philosophical and eloquent. Do you think these observations will one day find their way into Chaidura songs?
Chaidura: Thanks for noticing that! Definitely, I would say that most of these observations and reflections happen in hindsight when I look through photos on my phone. When I’m at a site, I somehow just daydream and let my mind wander. I’m quite a bad travelling buddy in that sense, because I will always “zone out” and you have to drag me back in. But I believe that zoning out allows my subconscious mind to do its work which will serve me well in the future. But yes, only when I’m back at home, I will look at the pictures that I’ve taken, think about it and then the ideas will pop out. These ideas will definitely make their way into my songs. After all, an artist’s job is to share their perspectives with others.
There are many places in the UK that are exclusively linked to holiday tourism. Some of them, such as Scarborough or Brighton, have been established holiday spots since at least the Georgian period. Others like Blackpool became popular destinations in the 20th century. Tell us about famous holiday places in Singapore
Chaidura: Indeed! Think of Singapore as more like London, where there’s mainly “city stuff”. There are pockets of “holiday town-esque” locations but it’s all fairly small (e.g., Changi Village, Sentosa), not like Brighton or Blackpool. But for the “city stuff”, you get lots of nice touristy places, Gardens by the Bay for horticulture and greenery, Esplanade for arts, Singapore Zoo. But I would highly recommend visiting the more local areas where the locals live (e.g., Yishun, Sengkang, Ang Mo Kio), have a walk around and observe the everyday life of normal Singaporeans.
In the past you organized well attended fan gatherings which you referred to as picnics. Do you plan to organize any more this summer?
Chaidura: Yes, probably when the weather is more forgiving! Somehow Singapore/Southeast Asian food keeps coming up, so we might do one at a Laksa shop or something. Or maybe Jollibee…
Cotton candy is a classical party food snack. It became so popular that it has its national day celebrated on 7th December. Can we get a remix of the single for Christmas?
Chaidura: IDEA!
Last questions are always fun at Indieterria: let’s pretend that Tootsie Roll Industries, the biggest cotton candy producers in the world, were so impressed with your track that they decided to honour their newest flavour with your name. What does the official “Chaidura” cotton candy taste like?
Chaidura: Sweet and Salty. Sweet because I can be sweet, salty because I can be a salty mother-fu….
You can follow Chaidura for music (and food tips) on socials:
www.chaidura.com
https://www.instagram.com/chaidura_
https://www.youtube.com/@chaidura
https://www.tiktok.com/@chaidura
https://soundcloud.com/chaidura
https://discord.com/invite/xEAftePfdY
https://chaidura.myshopify.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5G44MxEPEbE3JMDz1azv9N
Malciia and Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 
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