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Brighton Duo Elandra Tear It All Apart in New Single “Ask Me Why”

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Brighton psychedelic pop-rock duo Elandra. (Left to right) bassist/co-producer George Seymour-Cole in a black blazer and shades; lead singer and co-producer Paolo Siviero in shades with shoulder-length brown hair and a patterned short-sleeved button-up shirt

In the incredibly wide tent of indie rock, there is always a place for experimental bands that flirt with mass appeal while giving listeners intimate, out-of-body musical experiences. Acts like beloved one-man project Tame Impala and Empire of the Sun gave us the liberating psychedelic-infused pop rock of the 2010s, and Elandra might just be the new band to soundtrack you getting away from it all in the 2020s.

The Mad Dash of “Ask Me Why”

There’s something tortured in Elandra’s latest single “Ask Me Why,” but the effect is therapeutic. The rhythm’s persistence, the stylish looseness of lyrics spilling into the next measure, and the repeated threat to “tear this whole thing apart” — this is music for ragged-breath sprinting toward the end of a tunnel.

The accompanying video sees producer and lead singer Paolo Siviero relentlessly chased around Brighton by pedestrians — including a cameo from George Seymour-Cole, Elandra bassist and co-producer — looking for the scoop on the heartbreak driving the song’s narrative.

A recurring image in Elandra visuals is George dressed in a black two-piece suit as Siviero, garbed in colorful patterns and rocking flowing brown hair, works through intense emotions in a continuous pursuit of some form of freedom. The visual split between “put together” and “letting go” enhances the tension already present between the yearning vocal and the demanding groove pushing “Ask Me Why” forward.

The Motivated Psychedelia of Elandra

In a world full of people driven by perpetual anxiety and the demands of abusive economic systems, psychedelic music is as relevant as ever. There are feelings to feel, personal crises to live through, and a recurring need for ego death and a sweet guitar-and-synth driven release.

The mistake one might make when reading the shortlist of acts Elandra compares themselves to is that “psychedelic” or “art rock” are simply stand-ins for “vibey.” As enjoyable and mood-setting as Elandra’s 2025 output might be, these are very intentional songs that make you earn the catharsis they offer.

The listening journey of “Ask Me Why” isn’t unlike another very recent and equally dramatic Elandra single “Days, Years & Months.”

“Days, Years & Months” has this deliciously rich guitar distortion that bridges the verses and gives the record a full emotional narrative. Once more, a tension between trying and quitting, between holding on tight and letting go, is weaved throughout.

It makes sense for music like this to come out of a city known for its coastline and social liberalism, but Elandra’s existence should not be seen as inevitable — it takes real dedication and craftsmanship to capture what the Brighton outfit have managed to communicate in their music.

Watch and Listen to “Ask Me Why” by Elandra

Experience Elandra — watch the chaotic music video for their soaring new single “Ask Me Why” on YouTube.

“Late Night Talking” by JUGA: An Addictive Joint Channeling Early Aughts and Modern R&B

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New Zealand alt R&B singer-songwriter JUGA pictured looking back at camera in a green hat with shades resting on top; cover art for
(JUGA / YouTube)

What makes a bop in 2025? And how is it possible for an artist with less than 1,000 subscribers on YouTube and under 20,000 monthly listeners on Spotify to generate more excitement around their music than artists with greater digital reach? Both questions have nuanced answers, and independent New Zealand singer-songwriter Jazmin Ugapo — stage name JUGA — seems qualified to answer both after a few successful single releases this year, most notably “Late Night Talking.”

The Sound of JUGA: Pulsing, Poised Alt-R&B

The handful of JUGA singles to date are largely flirtatious mid-tempo bangers defined by spicy yet cute accounts of young love. JUGA’s music can soundtrack nights alone in bed during the talking phase as well as car rides on a Friday night out. Vocally, JUGA shows pleasant control and finds amazing pockets in really fun production, while “Wonder” stands out as an example of the comforting richness in her lower register. As lovely as “Wonder” is, it is the aforementioned “Late Night Talking” that has a small but considerable group of supporters running it up and raving for more.

What Makes “Late Night Talking” So Easy To Replay?

Produced by frequent collaborator Edward Liu, the composition of “Late Night Talking” leaves a lot of space for that three-count layered kick to hit your body and for JUGA to glide. The accents that fill up the production are brilliant in terms of texture and timing — a swirling synth, a soothing acoustic guitar lick, and a terse violin piece creating a bit of tension in the song’s transitions. The song captures early 2000s R&B energy and gives it 2025 rhythm.

Altogether, the beat helps us daydream and Kodak bop through sexy yet wholesome songwriting describing the weight of an intimate one-on-one convo after dark. “Late Night Talking” can have you thinking about someone, thinking about the next one, thuggin’ it out, or totally at peace.

It is no wonder “Late Night Talking” is the single JUGA has chosen to push on Tik Tok, with two posts about the song earning 70,000+ views and more than 700 comments combined, many of them desperately pleading for the track to drop (pre-release) or textually screaming about how specific parts made the song irresistible (post-release).

Spotify and YouTube, it seems, are catching up to the initial human experience of “Late Night Talking.” A number of nostalgic R&B fans whose tastes range from Janet Jackson to rising star Sailorr have made themselves known across JUGA’s social media accounts, and it’s likely JUGA will continue to be suggested to listeners of the sort stateside.

What’s Next For JUGA?

As of the time of writing, JUGA’s latest single “MVP” is just five days old. As the algorithms figure her out, it is clear her career is headed somewhere more visible than “Who are you and how did I find you?”

Listen to “MVP” by JUGA and subscribe to ATC Sound to put energy toward uncovering and supporting independent music artists.

Jane Remover: Genreless, Genderless, Hard As F*ck

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Non-binary music artist Jane Remover with long, curly black hair draped over their eyes with their hands in the air in a white coat in the

I hope Jane Remover continues to vex people who are so caught up in other people’s genitals they can’t wear, say, or listen to things they actually like

Is Jane Remover a woman or a man? Is she … are they … am I listening to shoegaze? Hyperpop? Rap?

Does it matter?

For years, Jane Remover has humbly been a major force in shaping electronic music and internet culture broadly. They reinvent themselves ruthlessly — the samples, genres, even the stage names they use on past projects never seem to prepare people for what Jane wants to say next. Like any artist capturing this much of the youth’s imagination and attention, Jane’s work is aggressively human, not limited by a specific vibe, rhythm, or message.

Jane Remover’s Influences and Boundary-Pushing

“Boundary-pushing” is an adjective many PR firms and managerial teams use to describe their artists. Not many artists live up to the term, but there is a sense of freedom throughout Jane’s discography not present in most commercial music.

Their music is so carefully curated yet completely chaotic. Jane’s influences and execution are only limited by the bandwidth of their wifi connection. Their vocal performances have this toddler-like purity where the sweetest whispers and the most maniacal screams live in harmony. From the slow burn into explosion on Census Designated standout “Lips” to the grungy come-down from an astral high on “Star People,” Jane’s music glides across the spectrum of human emotion in a deeply satisfying way.

Jane’s very existence pushes boundaries, but their artistic choices as both a producer and songwriter are among the most intentional and effective moves being made in commercial music today.

Dariacore

Dariacore, the album that birthed the eponymous microgenre, smashes every essential trait of Gen Z together into a brilliant collage.

Even in this not-so-serious work under the name Leroy, Jane Remover found a way to say everything. With frenetic breakbeats and pointed references — including the namesake of the project itself, the smart, cynical teen sitcom character Daria — there is something in Dariacore for so many pockets of the online world. Queerness, existential dread, nostalgia, depression, and other constant itches of Gen Z were scratched by this amazing soundtrack for the chronically online.

Pokémon

Jane’s love for and knowledge of Pokémon is deep, and their taste in ‘mons is just as thorough and refreshing as their music. Where a select few artists with synesthesia can detail the color palette of their albums, Jane envisions a six-deep battle party.

Per their interview with Pitchfork, Jane Remover’s Revengeseekerz Pokémon battle party is Aggron, Metagross (tough!!!), Gothitelle, Beheeyem, Torterra, and Mawile.

For those who don’t know Pokémon, the Revengeseekerz Pokémon team is largely Steel type with strong Dark and Psychic support, Mawile introducing the brighter Fairy coverage (dual Steel type), and a complete outlier in the Grass/Ground Gen IV starter Torterra. In other words, a very metal, cerebral team that makes the ground shake and stretches your mind and soul, a thorough illustration of what Revengeseekerz‘ masterful chaos sounds like.

It makes sense for an artist with so much to say to have alter egos. But there is so much to Jane, it would take dozens of side projects to neatly organize it all. So instead we get desperate, enraged love songs with Palkia battle cries, ADHD drum & bass breakdowns, and arpeggiated synths you’d otherwise find in a Ken Carson track.

Sampling

Reading through the list of samples in a Jane Remover project is like scrolling through a quality Tumblr page. It’s so random, so specific, and makes so much sense when you look at it all at once.

Dariacore alone samples video games (Undertale, Guitar Hero), user-generated content (Anthony Fantano, “You Stupid (9+10)” Vine), hyperpop artists (SOPHIE, 100 Gecs), hip-hop artists (Comethazine, Blac Youngsta, Lil Wayne, Trippie Redd), pop artists (Lady Gaga, Big Time Rush, Vanessa Carlton), EDM artists (Skrillex, Porter Robinson) and several of Jane’s own records. Recurring samples like the drums from “Amen, Brother” by The Winstons and a notable FL Studio scratch sound give the project cohesion as you sift through decades of pop culture consumption in just 28 minutes that, intentionally or not, tells the story of a new generation of humans.

Hip-Hop (and the “Jane Remover Blaccent Cafe” meme)

As Jane’s latest work moves toward rage rap, Jane’s hip-hop background is becoming a more prominent part of their profile. Having opened for JPEGMAFIA and collaborated with Danny Brown — veteran rappers who have publicly championed Jane’s music — the greater usage of hip-hop elements is a rather natural progression.

Many of Jane’s tendencies already shared a spirit with more chaotic, electronic-driven rap music to begin with. Now having been purportedly sampled by Playboi Carti and using more rap-sung vocal melodies on Revengeseekerz, Jane is set to be present in fringe mainstream rap discourse for the foreseeable future.

The shift in vocal style on Jane Remover’s January 2025 single “JRJRJR” spawned curiosity and criticism via the “Blaccent Cafe” meme. What began as an inside joke among Jane fans quickly became a semi-serious criticism that poked fun at edgy White artists who rap or present as hood-adjacent. Typically a text-based meme (with the occasional image of a “dafuq latte” among other things), artists such as 2Hollis, Nettspend, Bladee, and Jane Remover are imagined using vaguely “Black” phrases while speaking to each other at a coffee shop.

With the speed of internet culture and the global exploitation of Black cultural creations as a centuries-old rule, we now know young White people are largely absorbing Black American linguistic patterns rather than intentionally stealing them. The Blaccent Cafe meme feels like an attempt at shaming White youth who grew up passively influenced by various Black subcultures (namely hip-hop) which is unproductive, unfair, and unfunny, especially when the targets are very unique, cutting-edge artists with little to no pretense about them.

Jane Remover’s Gender Identity

Jane Remover is non-binary according to Jane’s latest public comment on their gender identity in a detailed NME interview this past June.

Shifts in Jane’s gender identity over the years appear to be a result of living a public life as neither a woman or man since late adolescence in a country that openly persecutes people who identify as such.

The pressure to figure one’s self out — while keeping a cult fanbase happy and establishing a career in a risky field — has shown in Jane’s revised self-description from “trans woman” in 2022 to having no preferred pronouns and stating, “I’m not not trans, but I’m not a trans woman … I’m whatever you want, it’s up to y’all now.”

A 2025 tweet (post on social media platform X) from Jane Remover stating they have no preferred gender pronouns. Black background, white font.

What Jane Remover Has Achieved With Revengeseekerz

The public response to Revengeseekerz makes the album feel like a crowning underground achievement and a soft launch to stardom. It may end up serving Jane Remover’s career the same way Section.80 was the last chance to get on the Kendrick Lamar train, or how To Hell With It is the point between PinkPantheress the bedroom pop fairy and PinkPantheress the transatlantic sensation.

While an influx of new listeners decorate YouTube comment sections with questions and typically snide remarks about who/what Jane Remover is, there may never be a better time to observe the impact of allowing someone to be their full self in public. Jane Remover’s presence could not be more timely.

As far as musical artists go, who better to receive attention in the midst of American fascism, the male loneliness epidemic, and a general lack of art that meets the moment? Who else can serve as the gut check, the litmus test, that a lot of young people could use to figure out how they actually feel about themselves and other people’s freedoms?

I hope Jane Remover continues to vex people who are so caught up in other people’s genitals they can’t wear, say, or listen to things they actually like.

Supporting Independent Music: deadAir Records

Jane Remover is currently represented by deadAir Records, an independent record label founded in 2021 by artist Quinn Dupree (Quinn) and music journalists Jesse Taconelli and Billie Bugara. While deadAir manages Jane and releases their music, they work with Wasserman Music for Jane’s touring and event booking.

Jane and the deadAir team are a huge testament to the level of quality and freedom an independent artist can achieve for both their music and their supporters’ experience of the music. Anyone who believes people deserve to express themselves however they want without harming others needs to actively support artists like Jane Remover and organizations like deadAir.

A Shortlist Of Ways To Support

  • Financially
  • Digitally
    • Sharing an independent artist’s music on social media
    • Reading this ATC Sound article (increases traffic share of independent music blogs)
    • Subscribing to ATC Sound (divesting from mainstream music media)
    • Not posting weird comments about an artist’s body
  • Spiritually
    • Being grateful for what indie artists/labels can do with limited resources
    • Being patient with indie artist/label releases
    • Keeping an open mind and open ears to new artists

UPDATE 10/8/2025: An earlier version of this article misattributed Jane Remover’s Pitchfork interview to a YouTube channel that republished a snippet of the interview

UPDATE 10/10/2025: Added information about Wasserman Music‘s relationship to Jane Remover/deadAir Records