Olivia Neutron-John is Anna Nasty, a self-described NON-BINARY, POST-BRO one person music/dance declaration of war on the accepted and the expected. Under the ON-J moniker, Anna plays minimal electronic jams paired with a heavily performative, theatrical stage show which is sure to be one of the highlights of Hassle Fest.

Just in time for the fest, ON-J is releasing a lathe cut 7″ limited to only twenty-five copies, which will be available at only two shows ever. It is my honor to have had the chance to jam out to a song from that 7″ a few times in advance of that release, and I’m stoked to share my impressions with you here as a little sneak preview:

“16 BEAT” is a slow-building series of warm and almost percussuive Casio synth stabs, much more attack than release and all the better for it. About two minutes in we get drums, and with the addition of Anna’s warped vocals we’re sailing on a wave of lo-fi funk, not unlike the weirder, darker side of early ’00s electroclash. Think Adult, or Pixeltan at their best. It’s aggressive, propulsive, and like its creator, NASTY. The song was inspired by a quote from Octavia Butler:

“There’s nothing new

under the sun,

but there are new suns.”

Maybe you’re a sun in the same galaxy as Olivia Neutron-John. Maybe you’re even in the same constellation. Find out this weekend.