dān dān Releases Debut EP songs about food This Friday
dān dān Releases Debut EP songs about food This Friday
August 11th, 2026
dān dān’s debut EP songs about food comes out this Friday, 14 August.
Tāmaki Makaurau-based soul-food singer-songwriter dān dān’s debut EP songs about food is a bilingual English and Mandarin EP about family, identity, and growing up between cultures, with food doing the heavy lifting as the medium of storytelling. Across seven tracks, dān dān (she/they) traces food as culture, family, whakapapa, and the quiet language of love: the story of ancestry that survived on very little, and a generation that gets to make art in abundance.
The EP gathers the singles that built dān dān’s solo chapter: ‘pressure cooker’, ‘end of august (hand-pulled noodles)’, ‘songs about u’, and ‘(cookie) crumble’, alongside three new songs: ‘sunshine (bag of rice)’, ‘cigarette breakfast’, and ‘baijiu 白酒’.
songs about food as a body of work features production from Dan Martin, Sam Nakamura, Christian Tjandrawinata, and Devin Abrams (Pacific Heights), with mastering by Chris Chetland and Benny Tones (Organik Muzik Workz), recording with sound engineer Jess Haugh, and violin from sibling Tee Hao-Aickin.
The songs ‘pressure cooker’ and ‘cigarette breakfast’ were made with the support of New Zealand On Air.
The EP was made with the support of the Asian Artists Fund.
TRACKLIST
1. ‘(cookie) crumble’
2. ‘pressure cooker’- made with the support of New Zealand On Air
3. ‘sunshine (bag of rice)’
4. ‘end of august (hand-pulled noodles)’
5. ‘cigarette breakfast’- made with the support of New Zealand On Air
6. ‘baijiu 白酒’
7. ‘songs about u’
Co-written with Jefferson Chen and Christian Tjandrawinata, the leading single ‘cigarette breakfast’ is about supporting your loved ones even when you don’t understand them.
“It’s about taking a seat at the table without expectations, and holding space without presumptions. Or at least, attempting to,” dān dān shares.
The accompanying music video, shot on Kodak 200T 16mm film, was directed/DOP by Flora Xie (‘pressure cooker’) and produced by Natasha Skuljan, with camera operation by Dylan Poihipi. It features co-writer Jefferson Chen and was made with the support of New Zealand On Air’s New Music Pan-Asian fund.
The ‘cigarette breakfast’ official music video will premiere at the EP release party on Saturday 22 August.
dān dān has been cooking up a debut EP and you’re invited for dinner.
Except there’s no dinner. There’s a seven-piece all-wāhine band on keys, guitar, cello, violin, bass, flute, and yangqin, poetry, improv dance, interactive light/sound installations, a zine, crocheted food, a laundry machine installation playing dān dān’s music videos, a film photo gallery… and you, hopefully (please and thank you), dressed inspired by food.
Saturday 22 August 2026
Te Oro: 98 Line Rd, Glen Innes, Tāmaki Makaurau
Doors 6.30pm, performance 8.00pm
Tickets $35
songs about food – THE ZINE
Made by Lulu Qiu
CROCHET FOOD ITEMS
Made by Sahana Rahman
DRAPING INSTALLATION
By Sarah Cowie
All presented at the EP release party on 22 August, plus more.
PRAISE FOR ‘pressure cooker’
dān dān’s debut single made waves across Aotearoa and beyond, with its delicate storytelling and bilingual lyricism drawing attention from fans and press alike.
Best Music Video at Webfest 2025
Official Selection at New Zealand Youth Film Festival
Juice TV: #1 in Top 20 Most Streamed Videos
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: Cover artist of Best New Zealand Music of the Week: June 23rd-29th
Photo credit: Flora Xie