As yeule, Singapore-born artist Nat Ćmiel has been exploring the relationship between identity and technology through emo-pop melodies that feel akin to entering a cyberspace of error messages and broken computer code. With URL vocals and MMORPG-style compositions that span shoegaze to glitchcore, the self-identified “cyborg entity” released their debut album Serotonin in 2019 while they were still studying fine art at Central Saint Martins.
The following year they released a five-hour-long ambient/industrial track featuring production by PC Music’s Danny L Harle, before unveiling the promo for their next album: a perfume described as “scented software for non-binary cyborgs”. Their sophomore album Glitch Princess, released this year, is more chaotic than its predecessor, featuring vocal contributions by the likes of Mura Masa and Japanese rapper Tohji. Written during the pandemic, the album uses the disruptive power of the glitch to unpack themes of gender and identity. “I wanted to pay homage to the process of things fucking up, especially in electronic music. I had to accept that it’s not perfect,” they told Dazed earlier this year. Like hurtling to the depths of a pixelated prism, it’s posthuman pop for a terminally online generation.
Text Günseli Yalcinkaya
