Tlya X An hit my radar when with the release of “Camel’s Back” in early October. The laid back vibe and familiar melody is meditative almost to the point of hypnotic. It’s killer mellow trip-hop. Then, when I tracked down the music video for it, there’s a bonus track called “Cracking Souls” that’s very different:

Obviously I’m going to find out more.

First: it’s pronounced Talia X N (roughly). She’s from Jerusalm via Bristol, and “Camel’s Back” is her fourth single of 2024 (presumably the second half of that video will be the fifth). It’s not indicative of her style — mostly because her style is all over the map. Her prior release, “Ninja” from August, uses the super-processed vocal and a reggaeton-ish beat for a different earworm. Video has fun costumes too:

Like so much of the hyperpop that’s featured here (blog faves googly eyes, Kathy Katouzi, and Lilly Flower lately), she’s a one-person operation. Everything in her catalog is written, performed and produced by her. On top of that, she directs and edits her own music videos.

Here’s “YDKM”, from March of this year, where she channels a full-on pop/r&b diva:

In 2023 she released her debut EP TXN: 6 tracks and less than 15 minutes that are as varied as the ones above. Standouts from that one include dark EDM track “Greedy”, minimal and moody “Deal”, and the intimate “Stuck in Mind”, that comes with a nightmare-fuel music video:

Tyla X An is wildly creative — between the music and the bonkers videos I can only imagine what she’s got in the pipeline. She has a couple of shows coming up in her hometown of Bristol that promise immersive visuals and dancers in masks. Hopefully there’s some video of the performance.

Follow along

Want to keep up?

There are a few ways to do that: find out what works for you

Have something to share?

Something you wrote or made? Something you just think more people should see?

I’ll read it.