Yaeji Announces Debut Full-Length What We Drew, Shares Lead Single "Waking Up Down"

New York City-via-Seoul electronic producer, DJ and vocalist Yaeji has announced her first full-length, new mixtape What We Drew, out April 2 on XL Recordings. Our first preview of the project is self-produced lead single “Waking Up Down,” out now alongside an anime-inspired music video. The artist has also announced new North American and European summer tour dates.

The “Waking Up Down” video showcases far more than just Yaeji’s musical talents: The adorable three-minute animation is based entirely on her own original character designs and illustrations. Directed by Annie Xing Zhao, and drawing inspiration from classic anime opening sequences, the video finds Yaeji and her best friend Woofa taking on the everyday challenges of adulthood with confidence: “I’ve got waking up down / I’ve got cooking down / I’ve got making a list and checking down / I’ve got hydrating down / I’ve got listening down / I’ve got you and me, and we’re all so down,” boasts Yaeji over a pulsing underground club beat, toggling between English and Korean lyrics. Meanwhile, her animated avatar soon learns to back up her talk with walk, mastering her daily tasks with help from her friends CEO Lotta Chex, Coach Bird & Worm, and Chef Eggman, eventually achieving her final form thanks to the wisdom of Grandma Old Yaeji.

Yaeji says in a statement that What We Drew’s collective title is key, as the project “is so much about friendship, family, gratitude and support—support that I’ve felt, that I’ve given, and that we all share.” Though Yaeji self-produced the mixtape entirely over the course of two years, a press release notes she drew from “a wide range of sounds, including the Korean indie rock and electronica that she listened to as a teenager in Seoul,” and recruited “guests featured on the project [who] represent her community in New York City and beyond, including Brooklyn-via-Oakland rapper Nappy Nina, London performance artist Victoria Sin, London producer Shy One, and Tokyo DJ and producer YonYon.”

Yaeji Announces Debut Full-Length What We Drew, Shares Lead Single “Waking Up Down”