Hyperpop Golden Age Loading… Ninajirachi, Frost Children, and Urmu Carve an Electronic Era of Their Own
Article by Ellie Kummer, Photo Courtesy of Aria Zarzycki
It was Saturday night after Lollapalooza Day Three. Fans were lined up around the exterior of the 19th-century church Epiphany Hall, waiting for the hyperpop afterparty of the year. Heavy bass flooded from the Tiffany stained-glass windows, and the crowd could not have been more anxious to get inside. Awaiting them was a powerhouse trio— and later, foursome— of producers and DJs who are inspiring an experimental, hybrid niche in electronic dance music.
Doors opened at 10 PM, with Umru already on stage, donning their iconic headlamp. The NYC-based DJ has been in the PC music scene since pre-pandemic years. Before he collaborated on Charli XCX’s Pop 2 album, Umru organized virtual festivals on Minecraft, DJ’d for YouTube gaming streams, and built online music communities with his producer friends. It became clear just a few minutes into his set that Umru is not only good at mixing, but is also an audio engineer who spontaneously pieces together pop, club, techno, and UK garage. His set had high energy, high BPM, and unruly mixing, creating a continuous dance party. Under the high arched ceiling, Umru got the crowd extremely sweaty, hyper, and zealous for Ninajirachi and Frost Children.
About an hour in, Ninajirachi joined the decks with Lulu and Angel Prost of Frost Children. All hands were in the air, and screams of excitement echoed through the venue as they played a high-speed mashup of their discographies, highlighting Frost Children’s new song “Satellites”. The three artists never took a break, spending the set constantly queuing tracks, leaning over one another to adjust EQs, and rapidly switching from dubstep to techno to hardcore. Frost Children leaned heavily into their iconic 2010s influences, featuring remixes of “Time to Pretend” by MGMT, “Latch” by Disclosure ft. Sam Smith, “Rock n Roll” by Skrillex, and “Pretty Rave Girl” by S3RL. The throwback favorite of the night was “Beauty And A Beat” by Justin Bieber subtly mixed with “Strobe” by Deadmau5, creating a nostalgic, sparkly, and synth-filled texture the dance floor could not get enough of.
There were many memorable mashups and remixes, but Ninajirachi's debut album, I love my computer, was the star of the night. Glitchy, bass-heavy, and full of satisfying drops, her songs "CSIRAC," "iPod Touch," "Deleted," "All I Am," and "F*ck My Computer," were mixed in repeatedly throughout the set. After much anticipation, Ninajirachi played her new collaboration with Porter Robinson, “WannaCry,” eliciting an eruption of screams and enthusiastic jumping from the crowd. Wrapping up the performance, Umru joined the trio for another hour of insane mashups, high-pitched computer beats, and gritty, chest-rattling bass.
Even at 2:30 AM, the group was still mixing in new edits of each other's songs. On Instagram, Frost Children confirmed they made over 15 new mixes in collaboration with Ninajirachi for the afterparty set. As the words “These Are My Friends” flashed behind the DJ booth for the last time, it felt like watching the ultimate hyperpop friend group in action. Ninajirachi will perform in Seattle on Aug. 7 before she heads off to continue her tour in Europe. Frost Children released their new EP, Tweaker Poem, on July 10th.