Dirty Beaches

Alex Zhang Hungtai
Alex Hungtai (Dirty Beaches) performing in Paris, on February 19, 2012
Background information
Also known as	Dirty Beaches, Last Lizard
Genres	Lo-fi, no wave, experimental, rockabilly
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, keyboard, synth, sampler
Years active	2005-present
Labels	Zoo Music
Associated acts	Last Lizard
Website	dirtybeaches.bandcamp.com

Alex Zhang Hungtai (born September 4, 1980 in Taipei), formerly known by his stage name Dirty Beaches is a Taiwanese-born Canadian musician originating from Montreal, Quebec. He is currently based in Los Angeles, and releases music under the name Last Lizard.

Dirty Beaches released a number of EPs and instrumental-focused albums on cassette-only labels, before releasing the full-length Badlands in March 2011.Badlands was subsequently nominated as a long listed nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize. Dirty Beaches has also released singles including "True Blue"/"Sweet 17," "Lord Knows Best" and "Lone Runner," as well as videos, many of them directed by Zhang himself. Zhang has also recorded several original film soundtracks, such as for the documentary Water Park, by Evan Prosofsky.

Dirty Beaches began as a one-man band, sometimes employing sampling, inspired by Zhang's longtime love of hip hop. In addition to his own years moving between countries and on the road touring, films are one of Zhang's influences, particularly those by Wong Kar-wai. Zhang said Wong's movies are "usually about the passage of time, and how in relation it distorts your relationship with everything else in life. The central Dirty Beaches character is a product of those experiences. Of someone traveling long distances in search of something, in exile, misplaced, with no home to return to." Zhang has lived in Taipei, Queens, Etobicoke, Honolulu, San Francisco, Shanghai, Vancouver, Montreal, Berlin and Lisbon among other cities.

Dirty Beaches has released work on record labels throughout the world since his first album Old Blood came out on Montreal's Fixture Records in 2007. Dirty Beaches has recorded and toured with musicians such as Dum Dum Girls, U.S. Girls, Ela Orleans and Xiu Xiu. In 2011, Zhang was able to leave a kitchen job to play music full-time. First touring solo, he then put together a live band with sax player Francesco De Gallo and drummer Jesse Locke. On tour, Dirty Beaches moved away from the sample-based rock n roll of Badlands to embrace a more improvised sound. In 2012, guitarist Shub Roy and electronic musician Bernardino Femminielli joined Dirty Beaches live and in the studio, and they remain members of the band as of 2013.