MUSIC

Tofu is one of the world’s most misunderstood foods. Outside East and Southeast Asia it is often dismissed as weird and flavourless, yet across China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and beyond it has played a lead role in everyday life for centuries. It’s a food of remarkable versatility, capable of endless transformation while remaining instantly recognisable. That paradox lies at the heart of Tofu: Original Soundtrack. Conceived alongside research for a book exploring the history of tofu (Tofu: A Culinary History), the compilation invites artists from around the world to respond not simply to an ingredient, but to its mythology, materiality, history and cultural resonance. The result is a soundtrack to bean curd in all its forms: humble and profound, domestic and cosmic, ancient yet continually reinvented.

Like tofu itself, the compilation constantly changes shape. Tokyo producer aus (Flau Records) opens the album with luminous ambient electronics that explore tofu's uncanny physicality, before Rebecca Burden ventures into brooding electroacoustic territory inspired by ancient Chinese mythology and the destructive power of music itself. twenty eyes drifts through the supernatural world of Japanese fox folklore, while Yumi Iwaki and Tonia Ko transform the chemistry of tofu-making into shimmering modular synthesis and tactile sound art, tracing the mysterious moment at which liquid becomes curd. Yetsuby turns her attention to tofu as comfort food through warm, delicately textured electronics, Stella Chin-Ting Yang blends synthesis with field recordings captured in Thailand and Taipei to celebrate tofu’s endlessly varied textures, and Louie Zong, under his Lookfar moniker, descends into rich dungeon synth inspired by the dank, microbial world of fermented tofu. The journey then returns to reality through Nick Luscombe’s intimate field recording of a working tofu shop in Tokyo, before VGM maestro bo en closes proceedings with an exuberant roll-credits celebration reminiscent of folk festivities.

Featuring an ensemble roster of artists from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the UK and US, the Tofu OST embraces the same adaptability that has allowed bean curd to travel across cultures while remaining deeply rooted in local traditions. Each contribution offering a distinct perspective, yet together forming a coherent whole: a celebration of one of humanity’s most enduring foods, and of the communities, histories and creative practices that surround it. Whether meditative, playful, uncanny or joyful, these pieces reveal tofu as far more than an ingredient—it becomes a vessel for storytelling, experimentation and shared cultural memory.