Yaeji is a young singer, DJ, and producer who was born in Queens, and raised both in Korea and on the East Coast. Despite being someone who experienced a healthy dose of alienation throughout her childhood, Yaeji has managed to channel her outlier spirit into the hooky electronic pop that has contributed to her swift rise in popularity worldwide.

"Waking Up Down" is featured on her first release with UK über-indie XL Recordings, and her groundbreaking, bilingual raver-vibe is right at home next to label-mates Radiohead, Adele, and FKA twigs. After releasing two successful EPs in 2017 (yaeji and EP2), Yaeji went on to produce remixes for Charlie XCX and Robyn, sell out two headlining worldwide tours, and grace the cover of Fader. "Waking Up Down" delivers a spacey melange of bedroom pop and underground club music, with English and Korean lyrics about the unique challenges and small victories involved with navigating young adulthood. As her story of success has continued to unfold, Yaeji remains devoted to New York's underground dance music scene with her always-packed Elancia and Curry In No Hurry parties.

What is now a distinct style of whisper-sung vocals began as a cover for Yaeji's inexperience as a singer. This DIY ethos, and a masterful ability to turn setbacks into opportunity, characterizes her style of production. She is always ready to make it up as she goes along, and as a result, her dedicated fans are addicted to her fresh sound, understated swagger, and groovy beats. Woofa, featured in the music video for this warm, zoned-out electronic jam, is one of the many lovably surreal characters that Yaeji designed and illustrated for her video, which was produced by Studio Yotta. Get ready to hear a lot more about this unpretentious pop star - "Waking Up Down" is an enticing introduction to her seductive, subliminal brand of dance-ready bedroom pop.

Studio Yotta is an animation house, based in Vancouver, that is known for their work with Adult Swim, Run The Jewels' "Oh Mama" video starring Rick & Morty, and the opening clip for Sega's recent Sonic Mania. This song is featured on our Groovy Summer playlist.