Premiere: Maggie Tra ‘Yummy Lion Dancer’

Maggie Tra will release her latest single, ‘Yummy Lion Dancer’, this week in celebration of the Lunar New Year. Have an exclusive first listen to the track below. 

The Australia-born Khmer/Viet DJ and producer follows her 2022 album ‘Kingdom Of Her’, and singles including ‘Apsara’, with another thumping house cut embellished with elements of traditional music and cultural practices. This time round, Tra samples the drums from a traditional lion dance, and the plucked melodic chimes of the koto zither. The track is intended to encapsulate the joy, hope and promise that comes with the celebration of Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, which will take place on 22nd January.

Speaking about the track, Tra said: “I want to start the new year with a song that brings more movement and joy whilst uniting the Asian communities together. “Traditionally, lion dancers perform in front of new businesses to bring them luck and are a symbol of a new beginning, which perfectly fits the theme of how I am going to make music this year.”

Tra is also the founder of SYS Sister Sounds, a Hanoi-based collective geared toward teaching aspiring women and people of marginalised genders to DJ and make their start in the music industry.

‘Yummy Lion Dancer’ will be officially released on 20th January. Follow Maggie Tra on Bandcamp.