Wherever

"There is no particular reason. We just packed everything about who we are right now into it."

"Wherever" is a collaborative EP by Aichi-based rappers MONELA and YAN1E (formerly BIGYANY).

Completed after approximately two years of production, this EP features five tracks that put into words the actual feelings the two have experienced in their daily lives. Their current realities intersect-from past regrets and anxieties, to a reality that doesn't go as planned, inner conflicts, and the connections with others they've discovered amid changing circumstances.

A calm beat and an introspective, chill atmosphere run throughout the album. Distancing themselves from the chaotic sounds often found in recent hip-hop, they express an everyday warmth-similar to that of artists like Kota the Friend, IDK, and Isaiah Rashad-through their own unique sensibilities and lyrics.

In the first track, "Settle", they confront the past and anxieties they've each carried and sing about moving forward at their own pace. The following track, "240519", looks back on the inner conflicts they faced in 2024 while depicting their determination to carve out their own future with their own hands.

In "Birdwatching", released as a lead single, they depict the suffocation and confusion felt in daily life while focusing on the small glimmers of light found within it. Then, in "Tsunagaru", they affirm the connections with people that endure even as their surroundings and relationships change.

"So, Bye", which closes the EP, features Okazaki-based rapper Aoki as a guest artist, portraying the act of not dwelling too much on the past, living in the present, and moving forward toward tomorrow.

It's not about how far we've come, but how we got here.

Hesitating, pausing, and reflecting-yet still moving forward at their own pace.
"Wherever" is a work that captures the present moment of these two artists.