Yijia’s Cosmic Return in ‘Yi The Sun’

Yijia is no stranger to reinvention. Having risen to fame as a teenage pop sensation in China, the London-based artist has since traded glossy chart-toppers for something far more daring—an electrifying blend of ancient folk traditions and futuristic soundscapes. Her latest single “Yi The Sun”, from the upcoming album TU (out August 22nd), is perhaps her boldest statement yet: a post-apocalyptic club anthem that pulses with ancestral echoes.

At its heart lies a remarkable story of identity. A friend first sent Yijia a rare field recording from the Yi ethnic minority of Southwestern China. The music struck her as hauntingly familiar, even before she discovered through a DNA test that she was over a quarter Yi herself. What began as sonic curiosity transformed into an act of cultural reclamation—layering trance beats, psychedelic textures, and Yi vocal resonance into a track she calls “taking my ancestors clubbing.”

But don’t mistake “Yi The Sun” for a solemn history lesson—it’s a radiant banger. With lyrics that conjure a sci-fi homecoming (“Hey, hello, is anyone home? I’ve been gone for too long”), the track carries both the weight of ancestral longing and the rush of a midnight dance floor. It’s expansive, it’s fearless, and it’s fun—signalling that TU is set to be one of the year’s most inventive and emotionally charged records.

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