In an industry that claims to be inclusive, it’s so easy to feel tokenised. For musician and comedian Charlene Kaye, it has been an uphill battle feeling like the token queer Asian female guitar player, in demand to cater to people’s otherwise superficial concern around diversity, as well as their attempts at being perceived as politically conscious. But if you’re booked and busy, and genuinely skilled at what you do, does it matter if the requests come in through slightly nefarious means?
Diversity Shredder is a fun and feverish romp through Kaye’s journey of finding her artistic voice, and what it means to be an Asian American musician in the context of a very broken and unbalanced capitalist system. Using well-crafted, multi-genre musical comedy along with her masterful guitar skills, Kaye reflects on the mental gymnastics at play when you’re a person of colour trying to navigate a career in music, when all people really seem to want is Cassandra from Wayne’s World.
Kaye has built a global following via Instagram and TikTok with videos in which she parodies popular music trends and genres such as K-pop, and chart-topping stars from Taylor Swift to Ed Sheeran. Going viral on social media doesn’t automatically translate to physical stage presence but as a musician who has consistently toured, playing solo and with multiple bands, her aura is magnetic and only amplified by her natural, conversational humour and unbridled sass.
A large screen on stage displays obnoxiously written emails from prospective collaborators – from a fresh-faced Soundcloud rapper, to a monotonous folk singer-songwriter – as well as clips of the few examples of “Asian music” that exist in the western pop canon. Think the Vapors’ Turning Japanese, David Bowie’s China Girl, and the massively problematic Asian Girlz by LA band Day Above Ground.
There’s a lot of material packed into this hour, largely because Kaye has such a hefty and high-quality bank of content. At times, it could do with some breathing room to allow for Kaye’s witty lyricism and uncompromising punchlines to land. Still, Diversity Shredder is a potent and unflinching critique of the stereotypes that box people in. In the end, she just wants to chart her own course. And my God, does she know how to shred.
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At Gilded Balloon Teviot, Edinburgh, until 30 August
