OHYUNG’s latest LP is a poignant, avant-garde journey through their transition
‘You Are Always On My Mind’ is “a declaration of love for raves and the dark, hazy rooms that helped me feel free”
Asian-American experimental artist OHYUNG returns to Phantom Limb with their latest LP, ‘You Are Always On My Mind’ —an ecstatic, rave-infused meditation on gender, self-discovery, and transformation.
Described by OHYUNG as “my trans self and my former self in conversation,” the album shifts between moments of euphoria and introspection, capturing both the exhilaration and uncertainty of transition.
“Sometimes written from a dark place, and other times from a place of happiness,” they explain.
Best known for noise, experimental hip hop, and ambient music, OHYUNG embraces a more pop-oriented direction here—one that shimmers with sleek confidence while still carrying the hallucinatory, avant-garde textures of their past work. 'You Are Always On My Mind' moves seamlessly through moods and sonic palettes but remains deeply rooted in raw emotional catharsis.
Central to the record is the liberating force of rave culture, which OHYUNG credits as pivotal in their journey: “It’s a declaration of love for raves and the dark, hazy rooms that helped me feel free—seeing people so uninhibited and beautiful, thinking, one day, that could be me.”
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Each emotionally charged track addresses a different aspect of OHYUNG’s transition. Lead single 'no good' confronts “the worst version of myself as a trans person, feeding doubt to my pre-transition self.” It’s a track laced with tension—the sound of fear colliding with the intoxicating promise of self-realisation.
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Elsewhere, 'dancing on the soft knife' soars with an almost angelic vocal line, wrapping around a euphoric string-forward production. “It’s set on the verge of self-discovery,” OHYUNG shares. “That moment in transition when you accept the truth of who you are and plunge into your new life—realising it all under the lights, lost in the music, reborn on the dancefloor.
OHYUNG’s ‘You Are Always On My Mind’ is out now; purchase here.
Henry Cooper is a Writer at Mixmag Asia. Follow him on Instagram.
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