NEW SINGLE: Cait Lin 凱琳 releases 'PLAY THE GAME' + announces EP Gradients
Australian-Taiwanese artist Cait Lin 凱琳 brings her Alt-R&B, Indie Soul, 2000s nostalgia to life with 'PLAY THE GAME' produced by Citizen Kay
+ Announces Gradients EP
'PLAY THE GAME' is the latest single from Australian-Taiwanese artist Cait Lin 凱琳; a hypnotic alt-R&B track blending groove-laden guitar, layered harmonies, and soulful vocals. Out Tuesday 16 September, 'PLAY THE GAME’ is lifted from her upcoming EP Gradients, out Tuesday 14 October. Written in Australia and completed in Taiwan, the new single reflects Cait’s own bicultural identity and storytelling, exploring nightlife, emotional escape, and the tension between curated perfection and inner chaos.
Co-written with Australian guitarist Cohen Bargas and brought to life by ARIA-nominated Kojo 'Citizen Kay' Ansah to complete production, ‘PLAY THE GAME’ premiered during an immersive theatre show in Taipei by Liliverse, a multidisciplinary collective known for its underground dance, drag, and visual art, with members who've worked for Jay Chou, A-Mei, Jolin Tsai and many other popular music figures from the Mandarin music market. ‘The song seduces, then challenges, prompting a reconsideration of why and how we perform our emotions. Seduced by the sound, but aware there’s something deeper, maybe even darker underneath.’ - Cait Lin
The official visualiser was created in collaboration with Liliverse, one of Taipei’s most innovative underground theatre collectives. Reimagining the live debut of ‘PLAY THE GAME’ from Liliverse’s immersive stage production, performed by 20+ professional dancers, drag artists, and aerial performers, the video captures the spirit of the song’s energy — layered, mysterious, and emotionally composed — set against the dusky glamour of a dreamlike nightlife.
Cait Lin’s upcoming English EP, Gradients, marks a bold creative chapter, created between Taiwan and Australia, and explores themes of self-reliance, presence, and emotional clarity rendered through lush, downtempo arrangements and refined vocals shaped by years of jazz training. Each track corresponds to a colour, creating a spectrum of moods that reflect her multicultural identity. Fans of Cleo Sol, Emily King, and Snoh Aalegra will recognise the quiet strength and radiant subtlety in Cait’s music.
Born to an Australian father and Taiwanese mother, and raised in six countries, Cait Lin brings rare cross-cultural fluency to her work. Fluent in both Mandarin and English, her songs reflect the nuance of her dual heritage and global perspective, fusing East and West not only sonically, but emotionally. She first rose to early prominence after winning top honors at both the Taipei and Taichung International Jazz Festival Competitions, and co-winning a 2022 Queensland Music Award for her performance and co-production on the track 就當家裡 Welcome to the Neighbourhood: Taiwan with Matt Hsu’s Obscure Orchestra. Since then, she’s performed at major festivals across Asia and Australia, hosted national stages, and built a reputation for intimate, magnetic performances that transcend language barriers.
Cait is also co-creative director and lead vocalist of ZY THE WAY 中庸, a jazz-poetry collective reimagining ancient Chinese verse through contemporary harmony that has toured widely across Asia and Australia, earning praise from tastemakers, including Gilles Peterson. Outside the studio, Cait is a respected broadcaster with over a decade of radio experience. She hosts Razzamajazz and Sweet Talk on ICRT FM100.7, Taiwan’s leading English-language station. In 2023, she made history as the first female host of the Taichung Jazz Festival and continues to serve as a sought-after emcee for major music events across the country.
Whether singing in English or Mandarin, jazz or R&B, Cait Lin crafts music rooted in stillness, duality, and emotional depth, songs that don’t shout, but stay with you.
‘PLAY THE GAME’ Out Tuesday 16 September via Sunny Music Distribution
Gradients out Tuesday 14 OctoberTuesday 14 via Sunny Music Distribution