Generally, we here at START-TRACK cover artists who wear rather basic fare, often consisting of whatever they were wearing when they rolled out of bed. But every so often, we dip into the world of high fashion and culture, donning the esoteric and outlandish and daring those with untrained eyes to gaze upon our visage with awe. It’s through this lens that we introduce you to ROWA’s new single, “Punk Tsugi”.
And you may ask, “Will, what in the world is tsugi?” And I answer: Punk Tsugi is the name of a fashion collection from Ashton Michael, a world-renowned designer known for working with personalities such as Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Post Malone, Doja Cat, and Megan Thee Stallion, all artists who have way too many monthly listeners on Spotify for us to cover. Take a look at the Punk Tsugi Collection here: You’ll see it’s got lots of angles, high-contrast colors, sharp lines, tattered edges, and plenty of places for bare skin to show. It’s sex and revulsion, pleasure and pain, high-tech and lo-fi all wrapped up into one fashion ethos.
Thus it fits ROWA’s musical stylings perfectly! The LA-based genre-defying music producer – who has referred to herself as a grassroots artist, an indie musician, and an alien inside of a Barbarella flesh suit – blends punk, electrothrash, and alt-pop into a soup that behooves one to don their strangest clothing, enter a dark club, and seek out another warm body. But the combative sound of the track also gives off “final boss” energy, getting the heart pounding and ready for battle. This juxtaposition comes to a head within the song: “Maybe we could just Punk Tsugi” refers to the feeling of being so attracted to someone that it almost makes you want to fight them, or simply spontaneously combust.
ROWA – whose nomadic past lends mysticism and adventure to her work – produced this track two years ago in a small apartment in Thailand. Now she shares it with the world, beckoning us all to open ourselves up to strong emotion and striking fashion. Perhaps we might all be compelled to “Punk Tsugi”. You’ll have to hear the song to decide for yourself.
Take a listen to “Punk Tsugi” below.
Written by Will Sisskind
