INTERVIEW: Street Punk Band DUMMY TOYS Announce European Tour [China]

INTERVIEW | Dummy Toys
China
Punk Rock
https://www.instagram.com/dummytoys/

If you haven’t heard of Chinese punk band DUMMY TOYS you’re missing out BIG time. Stop what you’re reading right now and check out the track ‘Street Punk Girls’ right fucking now:

And while you’re picking that jaw back up off the floor, go blast the band’s phenomenal debut album ‘Not a Puppet’ as well.

The band is heading out to Europe/UK for the very first time this summer and so we threw some questions at them to help promote the fuck out of their tour. If you’re out there in Europe/UK make sure you go check the band out! Go buy some merch!

UA: Congrats on your first tour outside of China! How did the planning of this tour start and how is it going?
DT: Thanks! Back in 2020, we were invited to a German festival and so we wanted to do a proper European tour. But of course, it was 2020 so you know what happened – because of COVID we couldn’t go through with it.

Then fast forward to 2022, we were invited to a bunch of festivals in the UK and Germany. Our good friends Anita and Rico got in touch and began planning and organizing our tour. We couldn’t do this without them. We also got a lot of help from friends who we haven’t actually ever met! People like Tony who booked us in the UK, Tom who manages The Casualties, and Chema who helped us out with shows. All of these people helped us and we’ve never actually ever met them! Now all the shows are lined up and we are very lucky to be leaving on July 11 to start our tour.

UA: For people who are unfamiliar with Dummy Toys and your sound – can you tell us how you started the band and what your sound is influenced by?
DT: The vocalist of the band Demerit, Li Yang, suggested we start a band back in 2014-2015 so we got together. At the beginning of 2018, our former vocalist left the band and our current vocalist Quin joined us and formed what is the current day Dummy Toys. We have always been influenced by street punk and hardcore bands such as Monster Squad, Cheap Sex, and Demerit from China. Additionally, although we have different styles of music, we are inspired by older bands like L7, The Runaways, Bikini kill, Shonen Knife and so on, because we are all female.

UA: As punk rock is often connected to social/political ideologies – what are your songs about?
DT: We have lyrics that explore current affairs, news, war, environmentalism, internet violence, domestic violence, and more, as well as writing a few nuggets of inspiration. Our new album is called ‘War is Nightmare’, which is an expression of the fact that war, no matter what the cause, is a nightmare for humanity.

UA: What are some stances (anti-racism, etc) that the band believes in?
DT: We are against any kind of discrimination and injustice. We believe that human beings are born equal, regardless of skin color, gender, and race!

UA: Your last album ‘Not a Puppet’ was SO fucking good! What was the reception like for the album? What is the ONE song you want people to hear first?
DT: Cheers haha! The response to the last album was pretty good I think. Our favorite song is the title track ‘Not a Puppet’, and we also want people to hear it first because we were taught a lot about following rules and being subservient from a young age. This song is also our way of telling people not to become a one-size-fits-all puppet, but to be unique to themselves.

UA: What are the plans for new music?
DT: Along with the European tour we will be releasing our new album ‘War is Nightmare’. We also want to do a domestic tour, but it’s still being planned.

Go support the band on tour: