Causeway Army

Released in 2007, Causeway Army would become one of our most successful albums. The album included some of our biggest hits like Beautiful Things and Dream of Pop. We created lots of promotional artwork and merchandise to support the record. The music video for Legends of Nothing would premier at the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival and various songs would be placed in videos for Oakley, Mack Dawg Productions, and Transworld Snowboarding.

 
 
 
 

Music

We didn’t have an initial idea of how we wanted this record to sound. After we completed our record MP2, we began to collect our notebooks and lyrics but we only had a couple of songs there. We never planned to be music artists. So we felt a bit lost and took quite a long time to write all 13 tracks. The sound and the look materialized over the course of writing the songs, which were written over the course of two years in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong.

 
The album’s sound and lyrics embodied a darker theme than our previous records, really reflecting our feelings of being without direction and identity. We decided to produce the songs in a very chilling and mechanical way and getting very obsessive about the robotic quality of our vocals. At some point, we spent hours to track Ming’s vocals on Legends of Nothing so that every syllable would line up perfectly. We also tried to balance every sound with another sound, making its compliment – we called this “find the twin sound.”

 
The final song we wrote for Causeway Army was Hungover HK, which we wrote as we were leaving Hong Kong in February 2007. We had also recorded hours of sounds around HK and included those in Spy vs. Spy, Hungover HK, and Wintersong. Once returned to the US, we worked hard and fast to record final mixes at Bao Vo Creative studio in Los Angeles.

 

 

Artwork

Once we returned to the US and showed Bao Vo our songs, he began to have the idea for “Flesh Under the Machine,” which became our general creative direction for the sound of the final record as well as all the artwork we would be producing with our brilliant friends. This new theme describes the sensitive and personal nature of our lyrics, which are shielded and obscured by the abrasive and mechanical nature of our synth production. After a few days working on final mixes of our songs, Bao created a tiny sketch of twins inside a mechanical birth chamber and we were in a yin-yang formation, like the Pisces symbol or dragon and phoenix. We called this image “the digital womb” and now we knew that this record will be beautiful and we could imagine a visual for every song.

 

 
To create our album cover, we took the digital womb sketch to our talented friends to begin planning for a very crazy photo shoot. Bao’s direction was to avoid using computer graphics, but instead show everything in real materials in order to match our Flesh Under the Machine theme. Jewelry designer Ryan Vasquez helped to design and build the birth chamber from the sketch. He spent days to spray the pod with an off-white lacquer paint and sanding off any bumps or dust. We also worked with Bao with collect cables, tubes, hose and wire for the birth chamber. We had a listing on Craigslist and stalked the bloke from telephone company but crazy old Bao Vo wasn’t quite happy yet, so he purchased some bright yellow hose for color. For the creepy dark liquid in the birth chamber, Bao had order loads of the sort of clay that is used at fancy health spa. We diluted the clay to make a thick and freezing cold liquid!

 
Next, we talked to our photographer friends Coy Koehler and Julie Klima about how we can shoot such a crazy image without digital effects. After our meetings, we decided to build a very large platform for photographer to shoot us from above – mainly because we don’t have money to rent some fancy cranes or anything. Julie designed the lighting using layered sheets of colored gels. Our friends at NONdesigns had recently moved to a large artist complex in Downtown LA called The Brewery and their studio was still empty, so we asked to have photo shoot there before they moved in. This gave us a very tight deadline to create the image, so talked to architect and designer Donna Pungprechwat and Emette Rivera about constructing this large wooden platform inside of the studio.

 
For the other parts of the photograph, Bao Vo asked cosplay artist Melodie Gore to design some sort of body paint to make us look like “Zombie Barbie.” She mixed something called “Pax Paint” in a weird olive color. This Pax stuff took hours for Melodie and her assistant to apply and we had to wax our upper bodies! Don’t ask us how long it took to remove the paint! We don’t actually have fancy dragon tattoos, so graphic designer Chase Pitzer created some twin dragon design for vinyl stencils that Melodie used for applying dragons to our backs.

 
This album cover photo shoot took nearly 10 people over 10 hours. Then with some minor fixes in Photoshop and Bao had created a massive photo version of his tiny sketch. He also designed a new Causeway Army logo based on Hong Kong’s subway system, the MTR and this design is what we used to make Ming & Ping buttons.

 

Video

For Causeway Army, we had many ideas for music videos but we were only able to create a couple. Brian Williams directed a brilliantly dark and frantic video for the song Legends of Nothing. The main story of two parallel spaces, was created with Donna Pungprechawat and Jonathan Huang over tea. Bao sketched some basic storyboards and designed the set. Then the team of Bao Vo, Ryan Vasquez, and Brian Williams began to build the set. We aged the black and white sheets of paper in the sun for days and stained them with tea and other weird stuff. Artist Kaitrin Sones designed our makeup using some bits from iron-on fabric patches for the eyebrows. Once we shot the video, we sent some still images to a young illustrator that we admire named Cryssy Cheung and asked her to design a beautiful movie poster for Legends of Nothing. We used this poster to promote our video when it premiered at San Francisco Asian American Film Festival.

 
We also worked on videos for Beautiful Things with an artist named Tim Sepulveda and Wintersong with Bao Vo, but we were not able to complete the projects for various reasons. A brilliant fan-made video for Electricity was created by Up In Arms using puppets. Years later, we would finally film the Wintersong video with Bao, based on a painting by Johannes Vermeer. Just us in a room with the light coming in from one side. It’s very simple but complex, just like the song.

 

 

Lyrics

[toggle title_open=”1. Dream of Pop” title_closed=”1. Dream of Pop” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Dream of Pop

all the pretty boys
and all the pretty lights
all the pretty girls
about their busy nights

 
you’ve got a lot of what you want
you’ve got a lot of what you want, don’t you?

 
and now you dream of pop, how you dream of pop
at first you got a little, now you’ve got a lot (oh-uh-oh)
now you can’t remember how you’ve dreamed of something

 
all the pretty scenes
and all the pretty boys
from all the movie screens
in all the city noise
you try to speak to speak your mind
but you can’t hear your voice

 
you’ve got a lot of what you want
you’ve got a lot of what you want, don’t you?

 
and now you dream of pop, how you dream of pop
at first you got a little, now you’ve got a lot (oh-uh-oh)
now you can’t remember how you’ve dreamed of something

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[toggle title_open=”2. Spy vs. Spy” title_closed=”2. Spy vs. Spy” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Spy vs. Spy

your scars won’t heal
your eyes won’t follow
the blinding lights
that leave you behind
you leave your whispers now
down where you lie
you play your shadow
in dying light

 
our silly lies (our waste of time)
our silly lies (our waste of time)

 
you disappear
just to be followed
you’re never here
when you’re around
you play your shadow
without a sound
you’re never here
when you’re around

 
our silly lies (our waste of time)
you’re eyes won’t follow (you’ll bring them down with you)
our silly lies (our waste of time)
down where you lie (you’ll bring them down with you)

 
(you’ll bring them down with you)
(you’ll bring them down with you)

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[toggle title_open=”3. Electricity” title_closed=”3. Electricity” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Electricity

i was so tired
i felt a weight against my eyes
i look at nothing
i felt like time was paralyzed
i was waiting for you
i was waiting for you (bah bah bah)
i was waiting for you
i was waiting for you (bah bah bah)

 
i wanna see you, i wanna hear you next to me
(i wanna see you under/over me, i wanna hear you next to me)
i wanna be in you, we can make electricity
(i wanna be in you can’t you see, we can make electricity)

 
you look so wild
why won’t you come sit next to me
we plug in something
and we make electricity
i was waiting for you
i was waiting for you (bah bah bah)
i was waiting for you
i was waiting for you (bah bah bah)

 
i wanna see you, i wanna hear you next to me
(i wanna see you under/over me, i wanna hear you next to me)
i wanna be in you, we can make electricity
(we can make electricity, i want to take you to the movies)

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[toggle title_open=”4. Legends of Nothing” title_closed=”4. Legends of Nothing” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Legends of Nothing

a line of blue and silver leave the air without a sound
these panes of information take you deeper underground again
these desperate situations keep you searching for the one way out
this sudden isolation takes the silence falling from your mouth

 
these things all fail to remind you
there’s nothing wrong, there’s nothing right, there’s nothing at all
these dreams all follow behind you
there’s nothing at all, there’s nothing at all
these days, these days…

 
you take away the signals just to know that you’ve been right
and the line of blue and silver lie awake into the night again
falling deeper in the water just to keep her in your sight
in a bed of light and feathers moving quiet out of focus now

 
these things all fail to remind you
there’s nothing wrong, there’s nothing right, there’s nothing at all
these dreams all follow behind you
there’s nothing at all, there’s nothing at all
these days, these days…

 
you’re the reason i’m sliding
you’re the reason i stayed
you’re the reason i’m fading
you’re the reason i’m awake
you’re the reason i’m blinded
you’re the reason i’ve drowned
you’re the reason i’m falling
you’re the reason i’ve found
(you’re the only reason that i’ve found)

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[toggle title_open=”5. Beautiful Things” title_closed=”5. Beautiful Things” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Beautiful Things

‘cause you live your life like a falling knife
please don’t hold too close, ‘cause i’ll hurt you
turn the other way on your good days

 
‘cause you live your life like a black kite
circle through the crowd, go our own way
don’t have much to say on your good days

 
‘cause all the beautiful things don’t agree with you
and all the uglier things, they do
cause all the beautiful things don’t agree with you
and all of the ugly things suit you

 
‘cause you drive a car like a shooting star
just to get away from your dark days
look above the crowd then you look down

 
all the voices drown all the highway sounds
turn the volume down and you’re not there
you listen to the crowd and you look down

 
‘cause all the beautiful things don’t agree with you
and all the uglier things, they do
cause all the beautiful things don’t agree with you
and all of the ugly things suit you

 
all the people scream for their dead dreams
and tell you not to try ‘cause you won’t fly
and you just watch the show like a black crow

 
you just watch the show like a black crow

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[toggle title_open=”6. Code” title_closed=”6. Code” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Code

you speak, you speak to me in code
you speak a string of ones and o’s
you stood just hoping that i’d know
these secret stories that you’ve sold
you speak, you speak to me in code

 
i ran to catch a falling knife
to read a sheet of black and white
i drown to reach the air above
i learn the taste of my own blood
you speak, you speak to me in code
you speak and wonder if i’d know
you hide the distance that i show
ignore the burning neon glow
you speak, you speak to me in code

 
i ran to catch a falling knife
to read a sheet of black and white
i drown to reach the air above
i learn the taste of my own blood

 
you speak, you speak to me in code
you speak, you speak to me in code…

 
i ran to catch a falling knife
to read a sheet of black and white
i drown to reach the air above
i learn the taste of my own blood

 
(and it was so loud, and it was so loud)

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[toggle title_open=”7. Sleep Now” title_closed=”7. Sleep Now” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Sleep Now

you sleep and you wake and you mistake all these noises
you sigh and you laugh and you remember the voices
you’re not ready for the rest of me
(you’re not ready to go now)
you’re not ready for the rest of me
(you’re not ready to go now)

 
lay your head down, sleep now
i won’t wake you ‘til it’s over
(i won’t wake you tonight)
lay your head down, sleep now

 
you breathe and you dream and you remember the faces
you laugh and you cry ‘cause you’re not ready to die
you’re not ready for the rest of me
(you’re not ready to go now)
you’re not ready for the rest of me
(you’re not ready to go now)

 
lay your head down, sleep now
i won’t wake you ‘til it’s over
(i won’t wake you tonight)
lay your head down, sleep now

 
you’re not ready for the rest of me
you’re not ready for the rest of me

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[toggle title_open=”8. Duotone” title_closed=”8. Duotone” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Duotone

ming:
you follow streets, you listen to voices
you look at your feet, you listen to voices
look up at the sky, the birds are surrounded
the sun in your eyes, it’s just in your mind

 
it’s just an angel in your mind / it’s just a smile on your face
it’s just a speckle in the sun / it’s just the color and the shape

 
ping:
find all the colours all around
find all the secrets in the sounds
take down the message that you’ve found
stand by the window looking out

 
always on my mind
always on my mind…

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[toggle title_open=”9. Let Go” title_closed=”9. Let Go” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Let Go

you listen hard to hear the parts you never really cared to listen to
you’re driving fast but nothing lasts like red tail lights that fade behind you
all it is, is something stupid
all it is, is something simple

 
you can hear but you won’t listen
you can run where no one ever knows
you can drive ‘til you are missing
you can fly but you’re afraid to float

 
you listen hard to pull apart the pieces that you’ve never noticed
now you’re alone, you’ve never know just how these pieces go together
all you want is something simple
all you want is something stupid

 
you can hear but you won’t listen
you can run where no one ever knows
you can drive ‘til you are missing
you can fly but you’re afraid to float

 
you can hear but you won’t listen
you can fly but you’re afraid to float

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[toggle title_open=”10. Dark Days” title_closed=”10. Dark Days” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Dark Days

skin hardens and my eyes burn
as my lips form the shapes that I’ve learned
to speak all the colours that my face buries
every year I die and I’m born again
every day I learn my name
as shapes and colours all move all around me

 
the brightest day, metallic grey
the darkest days escape you
a simple face, metallic grey
the darkest days await you

 
this surface of glass and stone
this faint reflection that I’ve known
will take me over as it grows colder

 
and every year I die and I’m born again
everyday I learn my name
as shapes and colours all move all around me

 
the brightest day, metallic grey
the darkest days escape you
a simple face, metallic grey
the darkest days await you

 
(face to face, face to face)
these dark days, they still await

 
a new train, the buildings change
the shapes and colours all stay the same
it’s not what happens and not what you do
it’s only the eyes you choose to look through
it’s only the eyes you choose to look through

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[toggle title_open=”11. Highrise” title_closed=”11. Highrise” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Highrise

i walked too close to edge just to try to receive you
your signals transferring clear but there’s nobody here
i wasted all of my time looking up at the sky
i search for zeroes and ones but the signals had died

 
secrets never listen
secrets only tell
secrets turn to whispers
and whispers turn to yells
now all your secrets driving
where city meets the sky
‘cause no one ever told you
that secrets never die

 
i tie a thin black line into the form of a letter
antennas reaching high pointing up at the sky
i walked too close to edge just to try to receive you
your signals transferring clear but there was nobody here

 
secrets never listen
secrets only tell
secrets turn to whispers
and whispers turn to yells
now all your secrets driving
where city meets the sky
‘cause no one ever told you
that secrets never die…

 
(and all these secrets never tell
but all these whispers turn to yells
and all these transfers die right in front of you)

 
looking up from the ground
at all these places you’ve found
all these people around
you’re suffocating in sound
your signals transferring clear
but there’s nothing to see here

 
now you’re ready to fly
now you’re ready to die
shooting up at the sky
but you’re not sure why
signals transferring clear
but there’s nothing to see here

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[toggle title_open=”12. Hungover HK” title_closed=”12. Hungover HK” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Hungover HK

you’ve asked for passing cars and sidewalk stars
something new instead of you
you’ve asked for boulevards and open bars
a little chat, an empty glass
a simple bore, a couple more, won’t you?

 
you don’t know what you’ve said when you finally wake up
you don’t know where you’ve been at the end of your dream
no one knows what you’ve said when you finally wake up
no one knows where you’ve been at the end of your dream
(you hold your head, you wake up, you stay in bed…)

 
you’ve asked for crowded streets, electric beats
and secret doors and disco floors
you’ve asked for drinking dice, a glass with ice
a little chat, an empty bottle of you

 
you don’t know what you’ve said when you finally wake up
you don’t know where you’ve been at the end of your dream
no one knows what you’ve said when you finally wake up
no one knows where you’ve been at the end of your dream

 
(you hold your head, you wake up, you stay in bed…)

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[toggle title_open=”13. Wintersong” title_closed=”13. Wintersong” hide=”yes” include_excerpt_html=”yes”]

Wintersong

you’re searching for the sun ‘cause you know you’ve gone and put it somewhere
the winter’s just begun although it feels like many months
you said you’d be my friend but you took off when things got tense
you said you’d be my lover but now you say you can’t be bothered

 
i’ll write a happy song, I’ll write a happy song
i’ll feel much better back in hong kong
i’ll write a happy song, I’ll write a happy song
i’ll feel much better back in hong kong

 
you’re waiting for someone ‘cause things get better when you’ve got one
you don’t know anyone but everyone here looks like someone you used to know
you say I’d understand but now I know that neither of us do
you said you’d be my brother but now you’ve gone and changed your mind again

 
i’ll write a happy song, I’ll write a happy song
i feel much better now in hong kong
i’ll write a happy song, I’ll write a happy song
i feel much better now in hong kong

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