This article is partly taken from the winter 2025 issue of Dazed. Buy a copy of the magazine here.

It is not uncommon for musicians to adopt a new image or sound. But some go further, building intricate fictional worlds that expand beyond the music itself. For 26-year-old musician underscores, the desire to move beyond the typical album rollout and tell a story has grown exponentially since she first started making music as a young teenager.

Born and raised in San Francisco, underscores, AKA April Harper Grey, is at the centre of a wave of artists making innovative dance music. Her sound blends hyperpop, punk and electronic elements, paired with visual nods to niche internet-born subcultures. After 13 years of producing her own music, her repertoire is a testament to the trial-and-error process of experimenting with different influences. As she says over video call, “It’s important to make art that you don’t like.”

Her debut album, Fishmonger, was a glitchy, existential project recorded during the pandemic while she was in lockdown at her parents’ house. In 2023, she followed it with her sophomore project, Wallsocket, which offered a vivid portrait of teenage suburbia through the lens of a young girl living in a fictional Michigan town.

Earlier this year, she released her third project, U. Described as “galleria music”, the songs were written in hotels, airports and malls across America. Channelling new, poppier influences while still reflecting the full breadth of her discography so far, the project received widespread critical acclaim. “I think with my last album [Wallsocket], I really wanted to send my younger fans off with a road map of how to navigate adulthood for the first time,” she explains. “But this time, I just wanted people to want to put this on. I like the utility of music just being a pleasant thing right now.”

Below underscores, talks about finding inspiration, the importance of imperfect art and the current state of computer music.

When you are working on a new project, do you lead with concept, or do you make the music that feels natural first and then it comes together? 

underscores: It usually starts with whatever world I want to put it in. I think even when I was making my last album, I was kind of aware that I wanted the next one to be the city album, super glossy with all these sorts of consumerist architecture. I think that tends to be the basis for every project for me. What world do I want it to make the most sense in when you’re listening to it? After that, I just try to immerse myself. [This time] when I wrote a song for the album, I would go to the mall and then listen to it in the mall. Or if I were staying in a hotel, I would walk around the hotel, listen to it there and see if it made sense for me.

You described it as “galleria music” – what was it about the Mall of America, airports, hotels and transient spaces that sparked something for you? 

underscores: I’ve just always been the most connected to them. When I was a kid, I just really loved these spaces. I just knew eventually I would want to make some kind of project that fits in those spaces. And it just felt right this time.

What is your songwriting process like? Do you feel like it’s changed over the years?

underscores: For sure. A lot of the time, if I know I want to say something, then I’ll be most inspired to write a song about it. I don’t really journal too much right now; [music] is the main outlet for me. I’ve been trying to change my process, just because my second album was not as fun to make as I wanted it to be. I would go on these excursions where I would immerse myself in the world, and then I would come back and record everything. 

This time, I wanted to have the recording setup be worse, so I could lug it around everywhere. Now if I’m on tour or something, I can still make music. Travel was a big theme for this one, too. Being able to see all of these malls, hotels and airports in different countries has been really amazing for me.

Do you have a specific memory from working on this that you really hold onto? 

underscores: There’s a song called ‘bodyfeeling’ on the album. I was recording vocal stacks, then something just hit about it. I started sobbing, and I was just looping the vocal stacks, over and over. That’s never happened making music before, so it was kind of a crazy experience.

When it feels that personal, are you ever hesitant to share those parts of yourself as you let these songs exist in the world? 

underscores: I only have hesitation when I’m writing about somebody else. I think I just want to be responsible. A lot of these songs are about a mixture of things and people, but I’ve written a lot of songs that are about specific people. I try at least to let them know what’s coming or something. When I’m just writing about myself, I don’t really have too much hesitation there.

Were there any books, things you watched or anything you were into that you feel shaped this album?

underscores: My favourite video game is Mirror’s Edge. I play it two or three times a year; it’s a little ritual for me. The world that they’ve created with it is completely idiosyncratic. I feel like you rarely see that kind of city being made in a video game, and that world was very inspirational for this. I always knew at some point I would make a Mirror’s Edge album. Other than that, I read this book called Convenience Store Woman, which I really liked. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was good. I think those are the two books I was most inspired by while making the album. 

Your visuals are always fun. I remember years ago watching the album video you did for Wallsocket in the back of a truck, and I thought it was so interesting. This time around, you have the choreo vids. How do you approach working on visuals? 

underscores: This album cycle is my first time directing, so it’s been interesting stepping into that role. At first, I really wanted to find someone else, but I just couldn’t find anyone who was available at the time. I think labels aren’t spending a lot of money on these videos anymore. MTV is long gone, and they’re not seeing a return on their investment.

I think what’s been happening, and what I’ve experienced, is that video concepts have simplified as a result of not having the budget to do crazier things. But I think you can get a stronger statement out of something simpler rather than something that’s really complicated and goes through all these VFX people, or uses AI. I like that music videos right now are kind of sloppy or filmed on an iPhone. I think there are a lot of really cool things that come out of it.

I get what you mean. It  can be creatively liberating to actually do things your own way. 

underscores: When you have constraints on your creativity, you’re forced to figure out how to make a strong statement. With the video I did for “Tell Me (U Want It)”, we had a pretty sizable budget for my level, but still not crazy. I spent pretty much all of it on travel and locations, and then we shot the whole thing on iPhones. It kind of looks like a school project or a vlog, but I think that imbues it with a more DIY spirit, especially when there’s so much AI in art. I think it is really important to make kind of ’bad’ stuff.

Which tracks are you the most excited to see people react to in real life? 

underscores: There’s a song called “Hollywood Forever”, which I think will be really fun to do live. It feels like a slow burn on the album, just because it’s kind of long and takes a while to get going. But I think live, it’ll make a lot more sense in the sort of setup that I have planned for it. And then there’s a song I cut from the album that I want to play live that I think will go crazy.

How would you describe the project in three words? 

underscores: Metropolitan, dry and up-close. 

What excites you about the future right now? 

underscores: I really am enjoying the state of music right now. I think if I knew when I was 15 that this was what the music landscape was going to look like in 10 years, I would have been like, ‘oh my gosh, yay!’. There’s a lot of really cool and innovative computer music coming out right now, and live music too. I think especially what’s going on in the underground rap scene, the sort of innovation that’s going on is really inspirational. People are really pushing the envelope right now. It’s really cool. I was born in the right generation.

Head above to watch underscores’ episode of our new series ‘Fan Mail’, where she answers questions submitted by fans