Aya Gloomy’s Apocalyptic Electro-pop

The semblance of an innocent Tokyo showed some cracks in the years leading up to 2020: rampant political scandals, a cursed Olympics, and the widespread fear of a coming catastrophe returning from repression. Meanwhile, Tokyo-based, self-producing singer Aya Gloomy has thematised such prophecies of doom since the early debut of her hazy, futurist pop music.

In her sophomore album Tokyo Hakai—self-released in April 2021—the ominous undertones of the everyday are crystallised in floating melodies and metallic production, with results as dreamy as they are gloomy.

Dooming, Blooming

Experimental producer Aya Yanase, or Aya Gloomy, pushes the shimmering boundaries of J-Pop into uncharted territory. An important name in the independent music scene tied to Big Love Records, her effortless lo-fi production style mutates pop’s bubbly sheen with dark science-fiction-like overtones. Influences from previous decades—Japanese musicians such as Jun Togawa, Chiemi Manabe, Miki Nakatani, and Dip in the Pool—are distilled with the melancholy of contemporary R&B, inviting comparisons to American producers like Princess Nokia or Abra at the same time. Meanwhile, as a fashion icon and vintage shop owner, her off-kilter pop music could be visually identified with her colourful electric hair and clothing representing Harajuku with a radioactive twist.

Aya Gloomy’s previous releases, her debut album Riku no Kodou and follow-up EP Kanjiru, had established her brand of melodic minimalist synth-pop, but the tracks of Tokyo Hakai seem to develop her song-writing into something more dynamic and deeply profound. The introductory ‘2020’ sets the tone with the announcement of Japan’s hosting of the Olympics, alongside a robotic monologue, ‘it begins, it begins… two-zero-two-zero, it has arrived, my favourite year, a once-in-a-life-time year.’ ‘Start Again’ and ‘Den En’ follow up on the question of our future’s uncertainty, with echoing beats and drifting vocals pushing themes of estrangement even further. In ‘Saisei’ or ‘Kodou’, club-inspired rhythms are driven into an ambivalent bliss, alongside themes of mass consumerism and an eventual point of eruption.

Amidst the bombarding glitz of Tokyo’s oversaturated urban life, we have the profound self-consciousness of Aya Gloomy’s off-kilter electro-pop. Composing its very essence are the unspoken thoughts and dreams leaking under the Japanese day-to-day.

Tokyo Hakai (2021), was self-released by singer-songwriter Aya Gloomy. More information on her releases and upcoming shows can be viewed on her official website.