Smashing Down Musical Barriers with London’s Pengshui

Mashing up metal, grime and hip-hop, PENGSHUi has just dropped their explosive self-titled new album on February 21, 2020, and are about to hit the road with Kid Bookie. Armed with a sound and a live show that is going to put a rocket up the arse of the heavy music scene, we spoke to the group shortly after their album dropped.

Thanks for your time. Let’s start with the name, what is PENGSHUi’s meaning ?

PENGSHUi: “I dropped a bowl of alphabetti-spaghetti while we were trying to come up with a name and PENGSHUi was spelled out across the kitchen floor.”

Your sound is a mash-up of metal, hip-hop, and grime, in terms of genres do you think that the three have so much in common these days that the lines between them have been blurred beyond recognition?

“I think people have used all three together in lots of awesome ways that has meant the styles have influenced one another greatly. I think Its more that the combination of the 3 has created great new music, but they still stand independent of each other and have their own legacies. Guys. like Ghostmane have blurred the lines seamlessly, as have ho9909.”

Are your audiences as appreciative of each of the other elements or do you still find that it’s a case of the metal fans like the metal bits, the grime fans the grime bits and so on ?

“I think they like the energy of it all. There isn’t much respite during a show so it is hard to tell but it goes off and that’s all that matters to me.”

Having said that, you also played Boomtown last year which couldn’t be more diverse if it tried. What was that experience like ?

“Last year was actually a tough one as the stage headliner played before us on an afterparty stage and, for some reason, their in-ear monitoring gear went missing so we ended up playing at 3:30 am instead of 1 am which was a killer. The crowd was already dead by that point. We played our asses off to very few people [laughs].”

Anthrax/Public Enemy did it years ago, if you could put together your ultimate touring package, who would you take out with you ?

“Touring with HO99O9 would be sick.”

Artwork for ‘Pengshui’ by Pengshui

You’re about to head out on tour in March with Kid Bookie, what we can we expect from the dates and what are you expecting from them ?

“Superb amounts of energy and lots of Nintendo Switch. Beer. Sore legs.”

The album is out now, give us a few brief sentences on what we can expect from it ?

“It’s honest PENGSHUi. Hard bars, hard drums, hard bass, hard synths, and guitar sounds. Plenty of screaming.”

What about lyrical inspiration? Political commentary, social commentary, personal experiences. Where do you draw inspiration from ?

“All of the above. Life is beautiful and shows you everything you choose to let it. Be open and embrace new experiences for you never know how it will inspire you.”

Heavy music is as diverse as it has ever been in 2020, what do you think PENGSHUi bring to the party ?

“New sounds. New ideas. Good energy, positivity. Hugs. Understanding. All the things that can contribute to a powerful fuck off energy. Bass, loads of bass. Smiles.”

In terms of going forward, where would you like to see your sound go ?

“We are looking to evolve constantly. As writers, we want to work on the songs and see them develop and mature in their own way. We want to get better. That’s our main goal. Get better, tighter. We will keep it heavy though.”

What will 2020 hold in store for PENGSHUi and do you have a message for music fans who’ve yet to experience PENGSHUi?

“More international shows, more mosh pits, more love, more smiles, more strong positive energy, more music, more collabs. MORE.”

Tour Dates:

03/04 – Cardiff – Clwb Ifor Bach
03/05 – Plymouth – The Junction
03/06 – Bournemouth – The Anvil
03/07 – Southampton – The Joiners
03/09 – Brighton – The Hope & Ruin
03/10 – Oxford – O2 Academy 2
03/11 – Milton Keynes – The Craufurd Arms
03/13 – Birmingham – Asylum 2
03/14 – Doncaster – Vintage Rockbar
03/15 – Manchester – Star and Garter
03/17 – Glasgow – Garage Attic
03/18 – Newcastle – Think Tank?
03/19 – London – Boston Music Room