SXSW Artist Spotlight: Pei-Yu Hung

At the 2026 SXSW Music Festival, six of Taiwan’s standout live acts will take the stage as part of the Taiwan Beats showcase on March 13 at The Venue ATX. The Taiwanese artists span a wide variety of genres, including hip-hop, folktronica, post-punk, art pop, and metal. 360°Sound had the opportunity to interview one of the showcase’s rising stars: Pei-Yu Hung. The Taipei-based singer’s work bridges Mandopop (Mandarin pop music), performance art, and contemporary theater.

In 2022, Hung released her debut LP Silver Lining, and she earned eight nominations at the Golden Melody Awards, taking home the prize for Best New Artist. In this exclusive interview, which was conducted via email and through a translator, Hung discusses her body-based performance philosophy, her new album Still Moving, and her vision behind the single and music video “It’s Nothing Personal.”

360°Sound: Please start by telling usa little about your background and the music you make.

Pei-Yu Hung: Since childhood, I have trained in dance and spent a great deal of time developing and practicing my sense of bodily rhythm. Through dance training from a young age, I built a close connection between my body and my voice, while also nurturing my ability to “feel.” As a result, “emotional expression” has become something I care about very much.

From dancing with my whole body, I gradually returned to expressing myself through singing, through the throat and the mouth, and came to realize that the entire body can be a tool for expression. Looking back at my own music, I can see that it continues to grow outward from this foundation.

Music is a magical bridge. Sometimes, even when language is not shared, the emotional connection hidden deeper within can still be felt clearly and truthfully. It can stir the most instinctive energy in people – whether joy, sorrow, repression, or the many other complex emotions woven together. I hope my music can serve as a channel through which listeners are able to reconnect with themselves.

You approach music through a body-based performance philosophy. What does that entail?

I have always felt that music is something that moves through barriers. It allows those who hear it to experience different kinds of imagination and emotion, and to me, that is something deeply physical. When I was young and learning dance, my teachers often told us to open our ears and open our bodies to “receive.”

Looking back now, I feel that living in this world is always about experiencing and responding through the body, and the way this is reflected in different forms of artistic expression is deeply fascinating to me. Every time I sing, I also feel as though I am dancing.

This SXSW showcase will be your first show in America. What do you hope to take away from your SXSW experience?

What I’m looking forward to most is meeting the audience on the day of Taiwan Beats showcase. For me, the opportunity to perform in the US is truly beyond anything I had imagined, and it once again makes me feel that the magic of music can take us farther than we ever expect.

There is something so captivating about the irreplaceable nature of live performance, and I feel both happy and honored to bring living, breathing music to everyone together with my fellow musicians.

You released your second album Still Moving in October 2025. Tell us about your approach to that album and the themes you wanted to convey.

This album is rooted in my faith in the body and my observation of it, as well as in the cycles of life and death, which I hope to move through by way of celebration. The album’s Mandarin title, Kai (開 ), carries the meaning of “opening up.”

The 10 songs are like each of the moments in life that ask us to cross a threshold. When we gather our courage and focus on our breathing, even a small blessing can help the body open a little more, like a deep stretch, and bring us closer to ourselves.

For your single “It’s Nothing Personal,” you enlisted the help of Polish director Chris Rudz. Tell us about your vision for that video.

At the core of this song is a process of self-transformation. Every “ex” who passes through our lives is ultimately just a passerby. When our focus truly returns to ourselves, the moment of shining and stepping into our power is full of momentum and wildness.

In Chris’s previous work, we saw a perspective on movement, character, and creative direction that felt closely aligned with what our team had imagined. That was also one of the key reasons we invited Chris to join this project.

What can SXSW attendees expect from your live show?

Try stepping outside of your expectations and come experience it live. I can’t say for sure what will happen either, but whatever can be felt and witnessed in the moment is always so unique and full of charm. Give yourself the chance to be there. Come and have a listen.

See and hear Pei-Yu Hung’s body-based performance on her YouTube channel, @_hungpeiyu