It’s so fucking great to finally hear back from juunni. I was seriously worried that they may have quietly disbanded as we barely had any news from them for over a year, but the ladies are back: loud, proud and maybe even more experimental as ever. And they are treating us to not only their debut music video but to another remix of their single “america is underwater”. Despite everything that is happening in the US on a daily basis, the American alternative scene is thriving. In the darkest of times hope, laughter and creativity become powerful tools against oppression, authoritarianism and hate. juunni’s message is absolutely spellbinding, mesmerising and powerful. You are not ready!
I have mentioned this before, but I discovered juunni on Twitter. I saw their message one day asking if anybody would be interested in hearing their music and I said yes – there was nothing to lose and everything to gain. And oh my god, that was a great decision. We reviewed their debut single “u i” in January 2025, and later we had the pleasure of penning a few words about their EP “new york is underwater” that still remains unreleased on their streaming sites to this day. The EP was available for their subscribers through their website, but sadly I can’t find it there anymore. I truly hope it will be available somewhere as those tracks were absolute bangers.
After emerging from their long slumber, the duo (Yvonne and Ezekiella) stealthily uploaded new material to their socials at the end of May and June: first “america is underwater” debuted as a stand alone single and then they shared a new version of “new york is underwater” titled Musume Remix. And finally, on 21st of July, the group released their first ever video to “america is underwater! “We put together this piece in the basement of a house working alongside two dancers and some really great friends” writes the band in one of their newest newsletters. “It has been a dream of ours for a while to host a performance like this in an intimate rave setting. Honestly, we are amazed we were able to make something so striking with so little. Using trash, found materials, and screwing our light rig into the ceiling. We are really proud of us for pulling this off. Hope you enjoy watching it as much as we do. We love you. And we miss you. Come party with us”.
“america is underwater” can be described as a collaborative live music and visual piece created to fulfill wild and slightly dark vision held by the band. It was co-directed by Shaah with set/lighting direction by Yvonne. The elaborate choreography and costumes were designed by Yani who danced alongside band members Yvonne and Ezekiella and Persephone Hopper – sculptor, mixed media artist, dancer and singer. You can see the preparations to shoot the video here. juunni and Shaah will be working on a full documentary in the future, and I can’t wait to see what they have planned.
The video to “america is underwater” stands at 4 minutes and 37 seconds. Half of the song is actually a remix – mixing noise, broken beat, deconstructed EDM and loop. Voice samples and repetitions, with echoes and industrial background nose reminds me of Japanese avantgarde creators such as Hijokaidan or C.C.C.C, especially actress and lead singer Mayuko Hino, known for her intellectual approach to scenic performance that includes elements of music, modern dance and panto. I have a feeling she would absolutely love juunni.
The second part of the song is a more classical alternative EDM with elements of deconstructed pop and experimental club music – think SOPHIE, Black Dresses, J’Kerian Morgan (Lotic) and others. juunni heavily sample “new york is underwater”, play with glitches, sketching and beat-matching like it’s the easiest thing in the world. Every move of the dance routine is fitting the music, every frame in the video matches the dance – it creates vivid, erotic and mesmerizing spectacle that it’s hard to forget.
If you like creative, intellectual approach to modern dance music, if you are looking for something more than Charlie XCX (no disrespect to the diva), then juunni is your thing. I can’t wait for the day where Trump and his evil cohorts are out of the picture so juunni can safely travel to Berlin and play for European audiences. Both girls would fall in love with the city and its underground musical scene.
For now, keep supporting our American sisters – they need as much love as they can get. America is truly and deeply under the (dirty political) water.
Please follow Juunni online:
https://www.juunni.com
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
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 