Lay Zhang: The ‘krumper’ of time, using the ‘art of fusion’ to let the world looks toward the East

Original text: CHAO magazine via WeChat

We have learnt a lot about Lay Zhang:

A krumper, the creater of M-pop, and many more. Now, Lay has become one of the Asian artists who successfullyincorporated many of his identities.

None of the roles are temporary nor replaceable, but all exist to help Lay grows into an existence of ‘diversity’, ‘all-rounded’, and ‘fusion’.

We might be more familiar with the name “Lay” years ago.

In 2012, Lay broke into our lives as a member of a K-pop group and became the focus of the world. At that time, he was just 21 years old.

In 2015, Lay shifted his career development back to China. The public was curious about this all-rounded artist dabbled in music, reality shows and dramas, especially about his exploration in new styles without hesitation.

Being as a focal point and under the racing circumstances, Lay turned obstacles into nutrient. As he grew, he grew along with the fusion of family, music, hard-working and challenges.

Lay came from a well-educated family. His grandfather was a secretary of party committee and a principle at a local elementary school. His grandmother and father were teachers, and his mother owned a clothing store.

On the 10th Anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, Lay joined other world class megastars as the only invited Chinese singer for the special to perform the special tribute single to MJ “Let’s Shut Up & Dance”. White mittens, Billie Jean, and Moonwalk, what we saw in Lay was more than just the influence of MJ, but also the seed of Western cultures that was planted in his heart and has begun to sprout.

Lay treats music as the most important thing in his life. As Eastern and Western cultures are fused together, we see exciting sparkles. He has just created a musical genre that is called M-pop.

Lay takes on the responsibility of fusing eastern culture, and has also mixed Chinese culture with krumping. Lay once said, merging dance movements and music is the most important thing to do as a dancer.

Placing Chinese traditional culture as the base for art creation, and integrating with modern music elements, Lay has created an original and unique style. This new genre also allow audience from the west to experience the essence of Chinese culture.

As he turned 30 last year, Lay seems to have relieved the anxiety regarding age. Afterall, he already let the age of standing tall arrived early when he was just 24, and has since work hard to prepare for this. After Er Yuehong in The Mystic Nine, Ma Xiaoxing in The Island, and Lin Hao in Crime Crackdown, a more mature Lay shared that his goal for 2022 is to take on more challenges as an actor.

Integrating talents and hard-working, persistence and luckiness, his spirit of “pioneer, original and unique” happens to coincide with the Swiss luxury watch brand, HUBLOT. Recently, Lay offically joined the HUBLOT family as theirbrand ambassador.

CHAO magazine gladly had a chance to meet with Lay, but we are not interested in music nor dancing this time. We are curious about Lay as a collector of HUBLOT watches. What does he see in a watch? Which was his first HUBLOT watch? How to become a ‘krumper’ of time?

Q: When did the passion of fusing cultures start? What are some other new trials or identities that you would like to fuse with?

Lay: I started exploring in 2015. I had learned a lot from different cultures during my time overseas. When I returned home and worked with different musicians and artists, I realized that legends and mythologies don’t just exist in the West, we have those as well in the East. I wish that people can look toward the East and China. I hope to promoteChinese culture to other countries through the art of fusion.

This year, I’m focusing and learning more about films and dramas. I wish to bring everyone with more good works this year.

Q: We know that you’ve been a HUBLOT collector for years, what is the feature that you look for the most when collect a piece of watch?

Lay: I pay most attention to the design of the watch, the core story behind the product, and whether there are new material being fused in, and how it matches with my daily outfits.

I really like sapphire and I adore every single piece of HUBLOT crafted with sapphire. There is actually a small story that I can share with you here. When I was still oversea, I came across a very pretty watch when I was walking pass a shopping centre. It must be the HUBLOT Big Bang MP-11. I liked that watch very much. Its function of 14 days power reserve and its exterior design were both very catchy for me. I then purchased one after I got back.

Q: Can you tell us about your first HUBLOT?

Lay: If I remember correctly, my first HUBLOT was purchased when I was oversea. It was a gift of encouragement for myself. Since I have worked hard for so long, it’s a reward I gave myself. It was a HUBLOT Big Bang basic model, gold watch case with black strap. It was the one that you can see the watch movement. So that was an encouragement I gave myself, hoping that I would work harder in the future.

Q: What do you think of the “Art of Fusion”?

Lay: I think that “Art of Fusion” is to use different methods to create and to change our ways of expression, and to useart as the medium to express our spirits of pioneer.

Q: From a collector to become part of the HUBLOT family as an ambassador, how do you feel?

Lay: Amazing! I’ve never expected for it to turn out this way. I think it really is destiny. I honestly don’t know how to explain this because there are many people who love HUBLOT watches. I happened to become the luckiest of all.

On the night of the interview, Lay attended the releasing party of HUBLOT brand new limited collection. Under the green party light, the crowd were still emerged in the party vibe when Lay surprised us as the game breaker when he entered the stage with powerful and explosive dance moves. The atmosphere was instantly lit up.

There are only 88 pieces of this brand new limited collection, sold in China only, has already released through WeChat mini program. It is worth mentioning that Lay participated in choreographing and music arrangement for this new product ad campaign. Lay share his thoughts on joining the big HUBLOT family and said: “I like to do things that I love to the extreme. HUBLOT and I are both willing to explore within our field of expertise, to uncover more possibilities.”

Lay’s dream is to promote and contruct a world with universal expressions. Hence, for him, fusioning different roles and identities is sufficient to support him heading toward his dream, one step at a time.