Our obsession with m0n0 jay grows with every listen. She last channelled hypnotic psytrance and dark techno energy on the L.L.L. (ATH Remix), and a few weeks ago we were lucky enough to preview her new single, Variant – released poignantly today on the Summer Solstice.
Variant opens with an astral energy with intertwined cosmic vocals and pulsating synths, which we learn is an interpolation of Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise. It expands with a subversive riser into a fierce beat as m0n0 jay sings, “I met a devil tonight, he had a handsome face, just my type, dark hair, tan fine, and strong with good taste… but his eyes were evil and his smile, a mask…”
We immediately connect with the unfolding narrative, and the super trippy hook, which essentially paints a picture of a confrontation moment of m0n0 jay‘s mind fracturing under violation and fear. This is a solid reflection of manosphere culture and draws from m0n0 jay’s experience surviving a drug-facilitated sexual assault.
The track explores dissociation as a physical survival response. It taps into notions of the nervous system shutting down, breaking apart, and searching for a way to endure. The middle eight also brings this to life in a more introspective and somewhat visceral way.
Instead of presenting itself as a story of victimhood or healing, the track is a badass reclamation of the narrative. It is a fierce refusal to accept a world in which people must develop these mechanisms just to survive. m0n0 jay tells us that the emergence of the Polish Góral chant is designed to represent something primal and ancestral, delivering an instinct to resist, reclaim, and fight back.
We are in awe of the glitch-pop production and the sonic switch-ups, especially for the chant and immersive “sludge” vibe which feels like a literal horror film. Accurate. m0n0 jay shares how she created this with reversed vocal fragments to simulate the sensation of a brain short-circuiting. The result is an intentionally avant-garde dance track which also delivers an audio representation of psychological collapse, survival and revolt. It’s genius.
Of course, we absolutely love it and have added Variant to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TRIPPY playlist, whilst we continue to stream both versions of L.L.L., and anticipate future releases from the rising Swedish powerhouse!