The up-and-coming electropop artist speaks to Dazed about film noir, breaking up with her past self, and her enduring obsession with Blair Waldorf to mark the release of her new single ‘Hi, Society’
In a sepia-toned city that looks a lot like Los Angeles sans palm trees, a lady in red is lured into a sparkling white car akin to a Cord L-29. The driver’s identity is concealed by a steampunk mask beneath a top hat; he offers a gold bar in exchange for her compliance. It’s Mr Gloom, a sinister figment of Ms* Gloom’s imagination. This scene is the setup for her newly released “Joker” music video. It doesn't quite feel real, but it's not entirely like a dream, sitting in the liminal in-between – much like the rest of her material.
“I really love this shitty interpretation of [film noir], when the sepia is just slapped on a current day image,” she tells me over Zoom on an early autumnal evening in the UK – a stark contrast to the typically sunny LA morning on her end. “Even if I wasn’t a musician, I’m really into Art Deco architecture and furniture, and I love Betty Boop. There’s a sort of silliness of this frankly quite sexual woman you don’t really see much, these days.”
The Echo Park-based artist, producer and singer – who initially began recording under the name Joon Gloom, until an artist with the same alias pulled the copyright rug out from under her feet – intended to launch her music career with her sister. But she ultimately dropped out – even after being bought a microphone and taught how to use Ableton – leaving Gloom to plough on as a solo artist. Still, Gloom is no stranger to forging her own path: her voice appeared on Drain Gang affiliate Varg²™’s Outlaw Music album, and one of her mixes featured on Malibu’s acclaimed NTS show, United In Flames.
Born to an Iranian mother and American father in Orange County, Gloom’s sound couldn’t feel further from the beach. Her time spent in cities, including Berlin and New York, was more inspirational; she recalls how seeing M.E.S.H. performing in 2015 opened her eyes to mixing genres. “I felt like I was surrounded by really snobby but respectable intellectual music bullshit,” she says. “And he did something crazy that I hadn’t seen before – he played this deconstructed music DJ set and Britney Spears at the same time.” The DJ makes total sense as an influence, with her own genre being so hard to pin down (though independent music streaming platform Nina described Joker as a “bloggy electropop banger”). “There was this recurring small party hosted by other PAN-affiliated artists, like DJs playing hardcore shit and stuff I’d actually listen to. It really opened my eyes and made me feel like I could do both.”
There’s duality everywhere for those with ears to hear. Her viral 2025 single “Something To Hold Onto” released in two parts: one harder and one softer, giving her own source material contrasting core messages through alternating sounds. The former has over one million streams on Spotify, causing sonic ripples across various scenes. Her rapidly growing fanbase will be charmed to hear that her debut album has a release date penciled for the first quarter of 2026 – and I’m rallying for a Gloom Spring.
“I would say it’s like a farewell to my old self in a pretty serious way,” she says of the upcoming mixtape, which was recorded late at night as an escape from her day job working at an unnamed megacorporation. “I’ve always been a really shy people pleaser, wanting to make sure everyone feels comfortable, and portrayed as this naive person: I’ve been infantilised a lot in my life.” She sings in her signature saccharine style reminiscent of young girlhood, lyrics dancing prettily atop the booming bass and textural synths. “It’s an annihilation of past self, there’s lots of references to guns [...] something I’ve been insecure of in the past is it not being easy listening. Like, I love Addison Rae – sometimes wish I could make something so flowing.”
The first single to peep its toe through the curtain – “Hi, Society” – takes the name of a first season Gossip Girl episode where Upper West Side socialite Blair Waldorf has her secret love affair with Chuck Bass revealed in the New York Times. Gloom blows my mind with the intel that each Gossip Girl episode is named after a movie, this one specifically referencing High Society (1956) where a Rhode Island heiress has to choose between three suitors.
“I love her, so I could get emotional,” Gloom admits when asked how she feels about Blair Waldorf, having posted an Instagram story screenshot of Blair days before. “I feel almost embarrassed to have this obsession with her because that show is so controversial and elitist, and she’s so arrogant but so beautiful,” she gushes. “I love that she’s bold in how she communicates and in a way that I have never been able to be – she’s so put together and self assured, and that’s communicated in the way she dresses too.” She notes how the whole show is inspiring in how well-researched all the details are, including the words they speak, the books they read, the music they were listening to, and even the restaurants they were going to. As she puts it: “I think obsession is key.”
“Hi, Society” is out now.