American all female duo, juunni absolutely blew me away with their music in January when I found one of their posts on Twitter. I love discovering new things and since the band was sharing a link to their debut single “u i”, I decided to give it a listen. Seriously, it was one of the best decisions of my life. juunni are completely different from any other acts we normally review on Indieterria. They do not play rock or indie music, they specialize in an underground/alternative dance and deconstructed pop – unique night club genres that are very rarely covered by music blogs in the UK. The pair is amazing at what they do and if you are looking to widen your musical horizons, you cannot afford not to listen. Their songs are recorded on an old school bus that has been converted into a quirky studio and then crafted with love, dedication and pure emotions. In an age of Spotify paid playlists and AI, artists like juunni are extremely rare.
“new york is underwater” EP cover
Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, I must have been exposed to every dance music sub-genre in existence. Dance was the second most popular genre of popular music behind rock and I had the pleasure of listening to geniuses like Kraftwerk (electronica, psychedelic pop, avant garde pop), Herbie Hancock (electro pop, jazz-dance, synth fusion) or C + C Music Factory (house, new jack swing) that brought the experimental dance music from fringes into the spotlight. Over those two decades, the definition of what constitutes dance music was hugely extended adding ambient, zone/transe, chill out, eurodance, thunderdome, techno, acid, EDM, industrial, dub, drum and bass and others to the list of newly recognized styles and trends. Some of the best vocalists such as Thea Austin or Niki Haris (both of SNAP!) absolutely dominated the charts bringing soulful voices to hard hitting beats. I’m not mentioning it all by accident here, juunni are masters at weaving multilayered compositions that contain elements from all those genres. I very rarely have the opportunity to review projects so rich, so elaborate, so eclectic that before I even sat down to type my article, I have had to spend an hour making notes and observations on a piece of paper, so I wouldn’t lose any of the references I found.
Ezekiella and Yvonne Mont Martin, the ladies behind juunni, so far released just two singles: “u i”, which we reviewed at the beginning of the year and “new york is underwater”, a more standard dance club track filled with broken rhythm and samples. Today, I’m reviewing an entire 6 track EPK that has not been fully released yet, but it is available to those who subscribe to their mailing list. Once subscribed, you will receive several emails in a span of a week, with one or two tracks at a time, and then in the end, a full link to a secret Soundcloud playlist plus one additional video. Signing up gives you more than just access to unreleased music The girls put a lot of work to keep their subscribers happy: I have received links to extra videos, gig snippets, live performances and photoshoots. Really impressive, bigger artists, especially those signed to labels, could learn a thing or two on how to engage with your audience. I’m subscribed to many bands and I only receive notifications when they have tickets or albums to sell.
Except for the two previously mentioned singles, the EPK contains four “leaked” compositions, leaked meaning an early version or first mix. The new tracks are titled “All I Know”, “Make It Up”, “Driving Real Fast” and “Crashing Moon (Don’t You Worry)” which is my favourite track on the EP.
I kid you not, this release is like a box of chocolates mentioned in the “Forrest Gump” movie, every track has its own unique flavour and you never know which one you will taste first. “Crashing Moon (Don’T You Worry)” is slow, melancholic and ballad-like with delicate guitar parts just like the ones used in “u i”. It reminds me of Burial, Lauren Halo and Klein, all signed to a British Hyper Dub label, which could be a spiritual home (far away from home) for juunni. It’s almost like a lullaby, ambient/shoegaze infused, heavy sampled but beautifully calming.
juunni performing live picture by savorybagel
“Driving Real Fast”, sandwiched between “Crashing Moon” and “new york is underwater”, has a strangely upbeat vibe to it, 80’s western pop spiced by Yoshiaki Ohuchi-esque anime soundtrack (City Hunter, Last Bronx) with fast tempo and scratching synth parts.
Standing at nearly 5 minutes and being the longest track on the EP, “Make It Up” mixes Burial harmonized vocals with Ralf Hildenbeutel’s hard core ambient and trance. I don’t know why but “Make It Up” sounds nearly European to me, almost like it was inspired by the German and Austrian old school industrial techno from the early 1990’s. There is a bit of Mark Pritchard in there too (“Sad Alron”), and The Soul Savers circa 2007 (“Ask The Dust”, “Revival”). Very elegantly put together and magnificently executed.
“All I Know” and “new york is underwater” must have come from the same recording session as they sound very similar, like older and younger sisters. “new york” is more flashy, more pop orientated, bigger and bolder with explicit language and sexual undertones. “All I Know” comes across more subtle and thoughtful, but with the same degree of spice and fun. Both songs deal with themes of love, desire and intimacy, just from two different points of view.
“new york is underwater” EP by juunni is a real gem. Club scene is mostly dominated by men, and women are rarely given a chance to shine, yet they create music that is imaginative, carnal, delightful and irresistible. I truly appreciate that they are also inclusive, fighting for equality and diversity on the music scenes.
Ladies, my hats off to you – your music is opening the month long celebrations of women on our blog where we will highlight female achievements in arts, culture and music.
Everyone else reading this, why are you still here? Off you go to subscribe and follow juunni on their socials. It’s an order!
new york is underwater EP listing:
track 1 – u i
track 2 – new york is underwater
video 2.1 – leak_v01_30_25 tape firstsketch
track 3 – all i know firstsketch_mix1_summer_24
track 4 – make it up feb10_mix2
track 5 – driving real fast nov10_mix1
track 6 – crashing moon [don’t you worry] feb3 mix
Please follow Juunni online:
https://www.juunni.com/ui-leak01presave
https://www.instagram.com/juunni_irl/
https://x.com/juunni_irl
https://www.youtube.com/@juunni
https://www.facebook.com/juunni.irl
https://bsky.app/profile/juunni-irl.bsky.social
https://open.spotify.com/album/1aG7pFMCASAdaPy0Ha8usy
https://juunni-irl.bandcamp.com/track/u-i
https://www.tiktok.com/@juunni_irl
Further read:
https://origin-www.thecurrent.org/feature/2025/02/04/10-minnesota-musicians-to-favorite-in-february
https://www.wearegoingsolo.com/tracks/juunni-new-york-is-underwater
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 