Lyme In The Coconut
Listen to Redlux Artists Live
Redlux Radio
Lyme In The Coconut
Under The Stars With You

Type at least 2 characters to search

Issue №5● LIVE
REDLUXMagazine
Back to Issue №5
PreviousNext
● Debut Artist/Chill Wave / Soft Pop / Chill Hop/Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Anji Kaizen

"Atlanta alt-pop and rock, with a hook that arrived in a dream."

Oct 23, 20264 min read
Anji Kaizen

Anji Kaizen · Atlanta, Georgia, USA

● Editor's Note

Anji Kaizen wrote the hook for Undead in a dream: a rooftop under a full moon, spirits circling, the line already sung. The Atlanta songwriter built the single with Micah Prescott of Electric Mallet over Zoom and file exchanges, and it lands one week before Halloween.

● The Interview

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you before, and what makes it undeniably you?

Anji Kaizen is an Atlanta-based alt-pop& rock singer/songwriter whose artistic vision draws inspiration from powerhouse artists like Lights, Halsey, Ellie Goulding, and Hayley Williams. Known for her compelling top-line vocals and collaborative spirit, Anji has built a reputation working with independent producers, bands, and artists across the alternative music scene. Recording from her backyard Kaizen Music Studio, she brings professional polish and emotional depth to every project. For "Undead," she partnered with Micah Prescott of Electric Mallet, a jazz-inspired chillhop vibraphone project they both connected through during their college music studies. This remote collaboration, conducted entirely over Zoom and file exchanges, showcases Anji's ability to create authentic musical connections regardless of physical distance, with plans already underway to film a music video together to promote this exciting release.

What's the story behind the music you're releasing right now? Where did it come from emotionally?

"Undead" releases on October 23rd, 2026, perfectly timed just a week before Halloween to embrace its spooky, nocturnal theme. The original single emerged from Anji's deeply personal experience with long COVID, which left her disabled with chronic fatigue during daylight hours while finding she could "come alive" in her dreams during the dead of night. This poignant concept resonated with Micah, who built the entire production around Anji's initial voice memo, blending his atmospheric vibraphone work influenced by Big Gigantic, Griz, and the lofi chillhop scene with her haunting vocals. The track marks a significant departure for Electric Mallet, representing his first "radio friendly" pop song with lead vocals that fans can sing along to, after a catalog of purely instrumental releases. Created collaboratively between both artists, "Undead" stands as a testament to creative resilience and remote artistic innovation. Tell us about the key contributors to this project. Electric Mallet is the jazz-inspired, chillhop vibraphone project of Micah Prescott who connected with Anji Kaizen in college when they were both studying music. Seeing that Anji was continuing to release music and offered topline vocals, he reached out to discuss working on a project together as all of his previous releases were instrumental only and he was interested in having a song with vocals that fans could sing along to. Anji sent him a voice memo of a song idea called "undead" which he loved and then built the rest of the track and production around her vocals. This track is entirely recorded, produced and mixed between the two artists in a collaborative way over Zoom, text and sending files back and forth. They completed the entire process remotely and are planning to meet up soon to film a music video to promote the release of the song!

Is there a lyric or line in your upcoming release that you're most proud of? What does it mean to you?

"Nobody knows what I do when they're gone Nobody hears these songs but me In the dead of night And when my fingers play the keys The ghosts of memories Gather around me and they're singing: When everyone else goes away That's when I come out to play Undead all night"

If your music were a place, what would it look like, smell like, feel like?

From Anji: "The lyrics and melody of this song originally came to me in a dream. In my dream world, I was sitting on the rooftop of a high building under a full moon in a purple night sky full of stars - with spirits swirling all around me - and I was singing this tune 'when everyone else goes away, that's when I come out to play, undead all night'. I immediately woke up, sang it into a voice memo and knew I had to release the song."

What genre do you officially claim, and what genre do you secretly belong to?

Anji: "Officially I am a "Rainbow Rock" artist, because I like to make all flavors, colors and genres of rock music. Soft rock, alternative rock, hard rock, punk rock, even acoustic. This particular song is more of an electronic chill-hop song which is a departure from my usual genres, but I was very excited when my collaborator Micah of Electric Mallet asked me to create a topline song with him for his next project."

What do you do outside of music that secretly makes your music better?

Lots of reading - I love poetry, sci-fi and fantasy novels the most. My favorite authors are Anne McCaffrey, Brandon Sanderson and Rumi.

Have you ever almost quit? What made you stay?

Yes - I almost quit when I was sick from Long Covid for two years, because I was too weak to hold a guitar or stand up and sing. My heart couldn't handle the cardio exercise of singing or expanding my lungs fully. But I continued to dream of singing. So I kept trying. Even if I had to sit down to record, and take breaks after singing only one line of a song at a time.

Are you registered with a performance rights organization, and are you collecting royalties internationally? If not, what's stopping you?

Yes, my collaborator and I are both registered with ASCAP.

What's the hardest part of being an independent artist right now, and what's your honest strategy for navigating it?

The hardest part is doing everything yourself - I recommend finding a community to tap into so you all can learn together, learn on each other and celebrate each other's wins.

How would you breakdown your song so that it resonates with your fans?

Who influenced this release? Electric Mallet (Micah) is largely inspired by the lofi and chillhop scene and curates an uplifting, atmospheric sound with his vibraphone playing over custom beats. Anji Kaizen is largely inspired by other topline alt-pop artists and vocalists like Lights, Halsey, Ellie Goulding and Hayley Williams. What's the story behind this release? Anji was inspired by her experience with long covid, as she was disabled with chronic fatigue and debilitating illness for two years during the daylight hours but felt that she could "come alive" during her dreams "in the dead of night". The two artists agreed this spooky theme of being "undead" at night would be a perfect release for the month of October, just a week before Halloween. Tell us what makes this release stand out and why it's significant? Electric Mallet is largely inspired by artists such as Big Gigantic, Of the Trees, oddkidout, Laszewo and Griz. His music releases have all previously been instrumental so he was excited for the opportunity to work with a vocalist on this particular track and reached out to Anji Kaizen after hearing some of her other releases and topline vocals she had provided for other independent producers, bands and artists. Where did the recording take place? Anji Kaizen recorded her vocals at home in her backyard Studio, Kaizen Music Studio, using a Shure sm7db and Micah recorded his vibraphone in his home studio as well since both artists work full time and had conflicting recording schedules. Do you have any recent or upcoming performances to highlight? Electric Mallet will be playing Avondale estates farmer's market on Nov 22nd for 2 hours from 11 AM to 1 pm

Previous

George Palmer

"Piano-led pop rock with Beatle-ized harmonies and a song three years in the making."

Next

Dosimo

"Debut Album | 30 October 2026"