How Is Sunset Rollercoaster Riding Toward the World? Kuo on Overseas Connections and Cross-Border Creation

In Taiwan, whose music has traveled the farthest, and with the greatest consistency? Many would name Sunset Rollercoaster (落日飛車), this five-piece band, which primarily writes lyrics in English. From being unable to find a record label willing to sign them to touring more than 30 countries across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, performing at FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL and Coachella, and eventually co-producing “AAA” with South Korean band HYUKOH, Sunset Rollercoaster has spent more than a decade on this journey.

For frontman and mastermind Kuo (Kuo-Hung Tseng 曾國宏), touring overseas was initially a means of survival, as well as a way to safeguard creative freedom. Along the way, they met booking agents, music labels, and like-minded creators, gradually building a stable international network through each performance and collaboration. Looking back on this journey, Kuo sums it up with “sincerity” and “trust”: “Having the courage to reach out in friendship and quickly build trust—that’s extremely important!”

▴ Kuo-Kuo’s English-language songs are languid and romantic, blending 1980s nostalgia, Jazz, and Psychedelic Rock, attracting a large audience both at home and overseas. (Photo Source: 趙廣絜 KJ / YSOLIFE)

Going Viral on Streaming, Building an Overseas Touring Network

Sunset Rollercoaster was formed in 2009 and released their debut album “BOSSA NOVA (芭莎諾娃)” in 2011, after which they were practically on hiatus for a time. In 2015, Kuo reorganized the lineup to figure out how to transition the band from a way of life into a career that could be planned long-term.

The turning point came during a period of rapid growth in streaming media. Producer Lao Wang (Yuchain Wang 王昱辰) discovered that Sunset Rollercoaster’s EP “JINJI KIKKO” had accumulated millions of plays on a South American YouTube channel dedicated to niche music. Overseas markets gave them their first taste of viral fame and allowed them to see the potential for music to transcend geographic boundaries.

In 2016, through the planning and introduction of Mia (嚴敏 Min Yen), who has managed tours in Europe and North America and curated Taiwanese Waves, Sunset Rollercoaster traveled to New York’s Central Park to perform at the inaugural Taiwanese Waves, marking an important starting point for their international live activities. For the Japanese market, Buddha Terao (寺尾ブッダ), founder of BIG ROMANTIC RECORDS, helped make connections and arrange shows and record releases. In 2019, Sunset Rollercoaster performed at FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL; in 2023, they performed at Coachella in the U.S. for two consecutive weekends, becoming the first Taiwanese band ever to play at the festival.

 

 

 

 

 

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How did Sunset Rollercoaster catch Coachella’s attention?

Beyond the music itself, the audience they had built across streaming platforms and social media had long demonstrated the global appeal of their music. As of July 22, 2026, “My Jinji”which was released in 2016, has accumulated nearly 120 million streams on Spotify. At the same time, making friends with like-minded industry partners has always been central to Kuo-Kuo’s way of navigating the industry.

“First, you have to get to know more overseas booking agents, so that they can introduce you to suitable promoters. These things have to become a routine: every time we release a new album, we go abroad to promote it, building our network along the way. When venues, promoters, agents, and other industry professionals all know who you are and know they can turn a profit through you, they will be willing to keep booking you for the next tour. That’s how you enter a virtuous cycle.”

▴ Photo Source: 趙廣絜 KJ / YSOLIFE

Become Friends First, Then Make Music Together

If overseas touring relies on market mechanisms, cross-border creation relies on the chemistry between people. When Kuo chooses collaborators, reach and visibility are not his primary concerns; he cares more about whether they can truly hang out together, and whether they trust each other’s musical taste and production ability.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sunset Rollercoaster also changed their previous way of writing collectively in the rehearsal room. Kuo would first write verses and choruses at home and record demos, while the band members sent audio files back and forth. This online co-creation model gave rise to “SOFT STORM” in 2020 and also led to the 2022 international compilation album “Infinity Sunset (夕陽無限好聽)”.

“Infinity Sunset” brought together musicians from Taiwan, the United States, Thailand, Philippines, South Korea and Japan, including Layton Wu (雷頓狗), Edison Song (宋柏緯), Paul Cherry, Phum Viphurit, Michael Seyer, O3ohn, and never young beach, completing ten tracks through cross-border pairings. Among them, “Little Balcony”, directed by Japanese director Pennacky, won Best Music Video at the 34th Golden Melody Awards (金曲獎). Even without being able to gather face-to-face, the musicians still found ways to play together in their own ways.

Sunset Rollercoaster also extended this circle of friends into the virtual world. In 2023, Sunset Music and NAXS STUDIO (涅所未來) created the Sunset Town virtual music festival (夕陽小鎮); in 2025, they launched Burn Out Fest (燒胎祭), inviting musicians such as OHHYUK, Phum Viphurit, Balming Tiger, Leah Dou (竇靖童), and Lim Giong (林強) to transform into virtual avatars. The creative relationships Kuo had accumulated over the years gradually grew into a world that people could enter and explore together.

 

 

 

 

 

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A Benchmark for Cross-Border Creation: Co-Producing “AAA” with HYUKOH

The collaboration between Sunset Rollercoaster and HYUKOH similarly began with an introduction by a friend. In 2017, Bryan Cho (Jo Hyu-il), the mastermind behind The Black Skirts, recommended Sunset Rollercoaster to HYUKOH frontman OHHYUK when he visited Taipei. The following year, Kuo went to Seoul to watch The Black Skirts perform, and Holiday Cho called OHHYUK backstage for them to meet.

In 2020, the two bands met again in Tokyo. At the time, HYUKOH was on their “through love” tour, while Sunset Rollercoaster was working on “SOFT STORM. This meeting led to OHHYUK guesting on “Candlelight” and Sunset Rollercoaster covering HYUKOH’s “Help”. The two bands also arranged to sing karaoke together, and when both ended up singing Oasis songs, they discovered a shared language in Brit Pop.

In March 2023, Sunset Rollercoaster toured in Seoul, where OHHYUK proposed an idea to Kuo-Kuo: since they were going to collaborate, they might as well make a whole album together. Two months later, both sides launched a writing camp at Gapyeong Music Village (加平音樂站) in South Korea, officially kicking off “AAA”. The album received seven nominations at the 36th Golden Melody Awards in 2025, taking home Best Vocal Recording Album and Best Album Design, while “Antenna” was awarded Best Music Video.

The two also contributed to “Come back to me”, a track from BTS leader RM’s solo album “Right Place, Wrong Person”. OHHYUK served as producer, Kuo recorded guitar and bass, and they co-wrote the lyrics and music alongside JNKYRD, RM, and San Yawn. After years of spending time together and collaborating, these connections ultimately formed a creative network linking K-Indie music with global pop.

▴“AAA”, co-released by Sunset Rollercoaster and HYUKOH as a cross-border Taiwan-Korea collaboration, received recognition at the Golden Melody Awards. In 2025, they released the joint live tour album “AAA LIVE”.

Cross-Border Collaboration Is Also a Mirror for Understanding Yourself

Working with overseas musicians has also led Kuo to re-examine his own abilities. He observed that Taiwanese musicians place emphasis on detail, whereas Korean musicians tend to grasp the larger structure of a song first, thinking about chorus forms and emotional delivery, while also rigorously honing their fundamental vocal skills. After collaborating with OHHYUK, who had received comprehensive vocal training, Kuo began learning to sing seriously, seeing the voice as an instrument that requires understanding.

The final track completed for “AAA” is “Glue”, which particularly proved how collaboration can amplify each other’s strengths. Kuo wrote the song during the break between the two Coachella weekends, incorporating Jazz harmony; when his manager first heard it, he felt it would be difficult to pull off. Upon entering the recording studio, however, OHHYUK grasped it immediately and brought the song to life in a way that exceeded expectations. “It was only then that I realized I had actually written many great songs—it was just that my previous vocal technique hadn’t been able to bring out their full potential.”

Kuo encourages Taiwanese musicians to work on their English, stay open-minded, take initiative, and actively connect with international musicians. More importantly, he emphasizes that swiftly building trust with sincerity is essential to smoothly advancing creative work and handling practical issues such as contracts, fees, and licensing. “You can’t carry the mindset of ‘I am going over there to be taken care of by others.’ I would rather be the one taking care of everyone else.”

▴ Photo Source: 趙廣絜 KJ / YSOLIFE

From going viral on streaming to stepping onto the iconic international stage of Coachella, from gatherings of friends to the critical and commercial success of “AAA”, Sunset Rollercoaster’s path overseas has not been a precisely calculated project of internationalization, but rather sincerity met with sincerity, trust joined with responsibility—allowing every interaction to bear the sweet fruits of music.

“Let the world hear the music we want to make—that’s what we, as indie musicians, want to do,” Kuo says.

▴ Kuo says cross-border creation not only brings broader networks and bigger stages, but also often allows artists, through the understanding of their collaborators, to hear possibilities in themselves that have yet to be developed. (Photo Source: 趙廣絜 KJ / YSOLIFE)

Author: Lala / YSOLIFE