Canadian based, Taiwan born Alex Zhang Hungtai – known best under his moniker Dirty Beaches – will make his debut Australian tour in February 2013, playing intimate shows in Sydney and Melbourne.

Win a double pass to Dirty Beaches this weekend!

Simply email hello@handsometours.com with Dirty Beaches and the city you want to go to in the subject line. Entries close 4pm AEDT Friday 8th of Feb. Winners will be notified via e-mail as soon as the competition closes.

The brain behind Dirty Beaches is Alex Zhang Hungtai; a solo performer, sound-smith, and trans-Pacific nomad. Born in Taiwan, Hungtai has made Toronto, Honolulu, Montreal, and Vancouver his homes. Mixing a croon worthy of Elvis or Roy Orbison with drum machines and a fondness for found sounds and hypnotic loops, Dirty Beaches’ compositions are not so much stripped down as refined to their essence. Hungtai’s vocal enchants, and the yearning melodies draped overtop give as much a sense of haunting mystery as they do romanticism and wry humour.

Hungtai has released a slew of recordings, and in early 2011 released his official debut album Badlands. Half of the songs on the record are about leaving, being chased on the road and driving a burning car into oblivion. The other half is ballads and dirges laced with murder and lament. The tracks are coated in noise, echoed vocals and layered distortion. It’s the sound of waves against a picturesque shore, the silent rumble of a Chevy as it speeds by in slow motion.

Presented by VICE and Noisey.