Smells like punk spirit

She is accompanied by the other two members of Smoking Area, an old-school punk outfit for which Awu will play bass, write songs and provide the amped-up vocals.

"We just play in a band because real life is so boring," says guitarist Wang Kai, echoing the kind of zeitgeist vented by Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic 20 years ago ("no one cares about anything nowadays").

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Awu dropped out of high school to focus on her musical career, which began with forays into heavy metal and trip hop.

She played the piano and saxophone as a child and migrated to bass guitar four years ago. How did she get so good?

"By practicing for 10 hours a day, every day," she says.

She used to be a barista, loves playing chess, and dreams of being a writer.

Strange science-fiction plots that are almost incomprehensible in scope, and not hemmed in by any creative boundaries, spiel chaotically from her lips.

She seems poised to cross boundaries -- musically, linguistically, culturally.

"I write my song lyrics in English, Japanese and Chinese," she says. "Different words, but Chinese mentality."