10 Asian and AAPI Artists to Add to Your Summer Playlist ASAP
Known for her unique style, unconventional sound, and bold, socially conscious lyrics, 28-year-old Thai singer-songwriter Pyra has carved out her own brand of pop music. Fusing elements of electronic pop, hip-hop,
R&B, alternative rock, and other genres, Pyra calls her eclectic blend “dystopian pop,” which she defines as “genre-bending music with a message.” In her songs, she tackles themes of social justice, inequality (in “
">plastic world”), for example), racial and gender stereotypes (as in “
">yellow fever”), mental health (as in “
">dystopia”), spirituality, and more.
She leverages pain as inspiration for her music. “Funny enough, I can never relate when artists talk about writer's block,” she says. “I never felt like I'll ever run out of inspiration because I grew up in an oppressed country and environment. There's so much tension and hardship involved. So many things left unsaid, and things people don't really want to hear if you start chatting with them, so I say it in my music instead. Pain is the input; art is the output.”
Assuming the COVID-19 situation in Bangkok improves, her new EP, fkn bad pt. 1, is scheduled to drop in July. “It’s dystopian just like the world we live in right now,” she notes. “Anyone will relate.”
