Aatocaster - superstition (studio works '23 - '25) - [self-released]

AT RADIO NOW

Aatocaster is a Los Angeles–based artist crafting raw, textured soundscapes that fuse elements of electronic, post-punk, and lo-fi. Distorted and danceable, the music pairs enigmatic, emotionally charged lyrics with ‘noisy’, digitally distorted visuals, inviting listeners into a world that feels at once experimental, exciting, unsettling, comforting, and tuned to the present moment.

In superstition (studio works ‘23 - ‘25), the mirror introduces Aatocaster with fractured beats and distorted vocals that straddle the line between intimacy and abrasion. Its lyrical ambiguity…half confession, half hallucination, set the tone for what is to follow. “kept me away” pulses with industrial urgency and a restless sense of catharsis, while “a seer’s port (c2k)” drifts through dreamlike disorientation, channeling the project’s themes of liminality, purpose, creation, and resisting nihilistic temptation. Those themes continue both sonically and lyrically in standout tracks, “smirk”, an expression of understanding and disdain for a perceived villain, “pendant”, a story about a symbol blessed by a lover which ultimately saves the narrator’s life, and “superstition”, a plea for a loved one to come to a shared understanding of the world.

At its core, Aatocaster is about contrast: beauty hidden inside noise, devotion inside distortion. Each track functions as both a personal transmission and a collective experience, encouraging listeners to project their own meaning onto the lyrics’ ambiguity (sometimes even indecipherability) and the production’s fractured edges. It’s music for those who find connection in fragmentation…a soundtrack for the surrealism of everyday modern life.

The aesthetic extends beyond sound. Aatocaster’s visual language is equally noisy and raw: distorted digital imagery, fragmented self-portraits, and lo-fi visual textures that mirror the music’s emotional landscape. Together, the sound and image form a unified world where imperfection is the point and identity itself feels fluid, unstable, and alive.

To accompany the album, Aatocaster created a digital art gallery and zine showcasing B-sides and alternate artworks paired with photographs taken across California during the making of the album, blurring the line between personal diary and visual archive. Like the music itself, the zine embraces distortion, ambiguity, and raw texture, offering another portal into Aatocaster’s world.

Rooted in the Los Angeles underground but reaching toward something more timeless, Aatocaster isn’t chasing mainstream fame so much as cultivating a devoted cult following. The project thrives on intimacy, intensity, and experimentation…less a polished brand than an ongoing artistic experiment in sound, image, and storytelling.