Yaeji Is Back With "Waking Up Down"
The queen of house music returns with her newest track, “Waking Up Down”. With two years since her latest original release, the song teases her upcoming 12 track mixtape, “What We Drew”, that is set to debut next month. “Waking Up Down” shows that Yaeji never disappoints and is constantly seeking to push house music further than it has gone before.
Without fail, the track brings what everyone loves about Yaeji but, with a new and inventive twist. The club ready song allows for Yaeji’s distinct and beloved vocals shine through amongst the heavy bass-line. Drawing from other sub genres of electronic, the perfect blend is formed to create a beautiful track that doesn’t have to be exclusively listened to in a sweaty and hazy club. While most electronic music sends messages to its listeners through instrumentals, “Waking Up Down” seeks to use repetitive lyrics in order to to highlight a topic that is barely seen in the genre, self care and the importance of small but, large everyday accomplishments. The sequence “I got waking up down, I got cooking down, I got making a list and checking down, I got hydrating down, I got listening down...” is repeated throughout the track to empathize with listeners to remember to take care of themselves through everyday routines that aren’t so easy to accomplish. Yaeji continues on to say “its not easy, there’s no such thing as easy, if I’m lazy, they all say its my fault, it’s not easy, there’s no such thing as easy, it’s not late, it’s still not too late”, showing that its alright to not be able to complete what seems to be easy tasks but, that its never too late to start.
The track was released with a music video which immaculately translates the lyrics into visuals. Created by Yaeji and close friend Annie Zhao, the animated video depicts Yaeji and her sidekick becoming their own superheroes by juggling the difficult tasks of self care through assistance of others and even herself from the future. Through bright bubbly colors and a visual style inspired anime, the video does exactly what Yaeji sought out, to fill others with warmth and love.
With 11 more tracks on her upcoming mixtape, “Waking Up Down” shows a very promising look into what is to come. Yaeji has carved a distinct pathway in the world of electronic and there’s no sign of her slowing down. “Waking Up Down” shows that the bounds of electronic music are constantly changing, and she’s at the forefront.