{"id":1808938,"date":"2026-03-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1808938"},"modified":"2026-03-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T21:00:00","slug":"wonderland-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1808938","title":{"rendered":"Wonderland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\tWonderland<\/span>
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\n\t\t\tA LESSON IN UNDERSCORES<\/span>
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April Harper Grey\u2019s musical moniker, underscores, is a character that mutates as each album unravels. Next up: her unadulterated pop era.<\/h3>\n
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Top, vest, skirt, boots, tie, necklaces & scarf COACH; bracelet EMANUELE BICOCCHI; socks MM6 MAISON MARGIELA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Do you ever hear a phrase that instantly catapults you into some long-forgotten memory? It happens to me as April Harper Grey attempts to explain the Pythagorean theorem, comparing the equation to her forthcoming third album, U<\/em>, set for release on 20th March via Mom+Pop. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s A squared plus B squared equals C squared. It\u2019s the triangle!\u201d she declares. <\/p>\n

Maths animates her. It always has. For this record, though, the transfeminine artist vowed to \u201clisten to my body\u201d as much as her head. I\u2019m trying to keep up with the theory, but mentally I\u2019ve been transported to the far right corner of Mr Boyle\u2019s GCSE classroom \u2013 a temperamental Scottish man who taught me maths with limited success. The girls said he had a nice bum. That, at least, was memorable. 25-year-old April is a far preferable teacher. <\/p>\n

As we speak in the heart of January\u2019s gloom, the producer, DJ and singer-songwriter is busy metamorphosing into a bona fide pop star. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever had Britney ambition,\u201d she smirks. It\u2019s early in Chicago, where the San Franciscan dials in from. Hood up, curtains closed, the occasional yawn proving contagious. Her screen is pixelated, as grainy as sand, which surprises me, given her discernible inclination to the digital world. Maybe it\u2019s intentional. Maybe everything is.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was younger, I wanted to be Skrillex or something. I wantedto be a DJ,\u201d she says. \u201cI started as a producer, and I think that\u2019s the hallmark of my music.\u201d Listening back to her early catalogue \u2013 the off-kilter electronics of \u201cvoice of reason\u201d or \u201cmelodrama\u201d \u2013 that checks out. But newcomers arriving via this third album cycle might be startled by such an admission.<\/p>\n

The campaign opened with a summer sizzler shared in June\u2019s swansong: \u201cMusic\u201d<\/a>, a loose homage to Madonna\u2019s canonical namesake. The Material Girl was April\u2019s \u201cfirst favourite artist\u201d when she was \u201cfive or whatever\u201d. The track is all thumping synth bass and skittish percussion, her melodies glossy and glitch-filtered. It\u2019s a flurry of illustrious, maximalist pop.<\/p>\n

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Full look VERSACE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Cardigan & polo GUEST IN RESIDENCE; necklace underscore\u2019s own<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

November 2025\u2019s \u201cDo It\u201d<\/a>, a second glimpse at the forthcoming LP, took April\u2019s budding pop-fanaticism to a new acme. The choreography-heavy video would make Britney herself proud. Sonically, it borrows from K-pop and hyper-pop \u2013 amplified by January\u2019s remix with Korean rising star Yves \u2013 fusing crowd-pleasing sheen with something sharper and more knowingly sexual. She interrogates her subject\u2019s finances, their car, and if they like rough sex, before dismissing them entirely: she\u2019s married to the music. For 25-year-old April, it reads as more than a sonic pivot, but a playful flex of sexuality and self-possession.<\/p>\n

From the early SoundCloud-era electronic productions to the raw indie experimentation of her 2021 debut record fishmonger<\/em>, to her second full-length, Wallsocket, a complex and challenging concept album, galvanic and restless jumps in April\u2019s artistic core are nothing new. Much of this coming album\u2019s shift in style lies in a stripping back of her creative process \u2013 embodied by the short, sharp song titles, and the use of a singular letter as the album\u2019s title. \u201cI liked the idea of doing a self-titled [project], but I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d call an album \u2018underscores\u2019,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut I got obsessed with the idea of calling itU.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work is a trimming of musical indulgence and a decluttering of technical complication. It\u2019s made in its entirety by April alone \u2013 from the writing to the production to the mixing and mastering. Because \u201cmy biggest tenet right now is to do it myself even if it\u2019s a worse product. Like \u2013 this is as much from mybrain as it could be. If people don\u2019t like my voice or they don\u2019t like the production or the videos, at least it was all from me. At least I was being earnest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of the work was written nomadically, as she toured with DJ\/producer Porter Robinson in the spring and during a stint supporting her mercurial collaborator Danny Brown at the backend of 2025. \u201cUsually if I\u2019mon the road, I don\u2019t make music at all. I just wait until I get home to make everything,\u201d she says. \u201cBut there\u2019ve been many times where I didn\u2019t know why I wasn\u2019t just making music on the road. My setup has gotten way simpler: I reverted back to a [Focusrite] Scarlett interface and an SM7B [microphone] instead of anything too fancy, just because it\u2019s easy to bring around and it\u2019s rugged. It\u2019ll survive in my backpack.\u201d<\/p>\n

A group of songs that she\u2019s proud of but now feels difficult to revisit, April\u2019s previous album Wallsocket<\/em> is a dark and daring descent into the crevices of middle America. It was made in a \u201cpretty good time\u201d in her life, but \u201cwhen things get good, that\u2019s when philosophical thoughts start creeping in. You start asking, \u2018Why am I here?\u2019\u201d U<\/em> flips this instinct. Written against a more anxious world, it rejects the idea that profundity must equal heaviness. There\u2019s power in lightness. In pleasure. In escape. <\/p>\n

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Jacket AKNVAS; dress ESTHE; shoes OTTOLINGER; tights FALKE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Coat JKEEFER; top & trousers OTTOLINGER; jewellery EMANUELE BICOCCHI. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cArt has served different purposes for me over my life,\u201d April says. \u201cBut there are certain times when people really want to escape into something and be out of the world for a minute. And I definitely feel that right now. On [Wallsocket<\/em>], I wanted to reckon with the world through art. Whereas with [U<\/em>], there feels like a need to step into something nice to be in, and that doesn\u2019t make you feel bad about existing in the world. You don\u2019t have to always ask these big questions; sometimes you just want something nice to put on.\u201d<\/p>\n

April\u2019s soon-to-be-shared third album completes a trifecta tapestry of taste and influence that feels wholeheartedly unique in tone and approach. To listeners, the trilogy forms a shapeshifting tapestry. To her, they\u2019re branches of the same tree. \u201cEach project has a different sound, world, geographical location or architecture,\u201d she murmurs, as if thinking aloud. \u201cBut I don\u2019t know, for me it almost feels like I\u2019m kind of making the same album every time. Taking another crack at the same thing and getting closer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Closer to what?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d she contemplates. \u201cSome kind of perfect package.\u201d The search for artistic enlightenment is endless, and for April, defining her own version of pop stardom is the current driving force. Making music that\u2019sboth inspired and inspiring is one thing, but bigger forces are at play. Mr Boyle, for instance. Aqua Dots, too \u2013 small plastic beads she once ate as a child and survived to tell the tale. But mainly, eyebrows.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish more people would ask about my eyebrows,\u201d she sighs.<\/p>\n

Really? Why?<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I want to make a statement. We\u2019re in a thin eyebrow \u2013 or no eyebrow\u2013apocalypse. These,\u201d she gestures to her thick, dark brows, \u201cneed to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

You heard it here first. Vive la r\u00e9volution!<\/p>\n

Pre-order Wonderland\u2019s Spring 2026 issue here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Photography<\/strong> by Brendan Wixted
Styling<\/strong> by Natasha Bocha
Words<\/strong> by Ben Tibbits
Hair<\/strong> by Sergio Estrada at PARADIS
Make-up<\/strong> by Shaena Baddour at PARADIS
Fashion Assistant <\/strong>Vera Mezentseva
Videography<\/strong> by Mylo Butler<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t5 March 2026\t\t\t<\/div>\n
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Feature Interview<\/a><\/div>\n
Magazine<\/a><\/div>\n
Music<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tFara Homidi Is Feeling Blue (Good Connotation)<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\tThe Belle (on) the Ball<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonderland A LESSON IN UNDERSCORES April Harper Grey\u2019s musical moniker, underscores, is a character that mutates as each album unravels. Next up: her unadulterated pop era. Top, vest, skirt, boots, tie, necklaces & scarf COACH; bracelet EMANUELE BICOCCHI; socks MM6 MAISON MARGIELA Do you ever hear a phrase that instantly catapults you into some long-forgotten […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,257],"class_list":["post-1808938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-wonderlandmagazine-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1808938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1808938\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1808938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1808938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1808938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}