rise of the south korean underground artist effie에피

Spreading across soundcloud in the early 2010s, the music of Ecco2k and his Swedish Drain Gang collective were foundational listening for the 21st century’s chronically-online youth. Their digital, utopian sonics provided an escape for misfits globally, and gave hope to aspiring artists all over the world. There’s perhaps no better example of this than 22-year-old South Korean hyperpop pioneer Effie, whose relationship with their music goes far beyond just pleasing sounds. It quite literally saved her life, and the lives of her fans.

“All of my school years felt depressing. I moved around a lot, I was constantly transferring schools and had no friends,” the singer-rapper tells Dazed. “At my second middle school, I was bullied and attempted suicide twice in school. I realised that if I kept living this life, I would completely disappear. I discovered Drain Gang through soundcloud, and their dreamy instrumentals, along with sad and introspective lyrics really comforted me at the time.

It was Bladee and Ecco2k’s “Vanilla Sky” in particular that altered her life’s path forever. After hearing the track, she started teaching herself music production on FL Studios during those extended periods away from school and eventually deciding to drop out entirely. Following in the footsteps of her distant mentors, Effie soon found herself going viral on SoundCloud too, and her subsequent 2021 Neon Genesis EP has been associated with Korea’s first ever Sad Girl movement – a profound disruption of the Korean musical status quo. 

With lo-fi visuals and hi-fi melodies, Effie stands as a bastion against the hypersanitised conformity of mainstream K-Pop aesthetics. Her latest album, E, released last week, blends elements of club-ready hyperpop production, self-described ‘kawaii drill’, and triumphant pop songwriting. It’s a soundtrack for all the mavericks who struggle to fit into society, and powerfully reclaims the hardships of her teenage years.

“At some point I just stopped recalling bad memories altogether. Looking back after a long time, it feels like I'm stepping into someone else’s memory,” Effie continues, explaining the salvation that music has given her. “I do enjoy life now.”she says

It’s fitting, then, that the title of her debut also pays homage to Ecco2k’s 2019 debut of the same name.