QWAM

QWAM is a DIY pop disruptor blending hyperpop's glitchy textures with millennial indie rock nostalgia, creating a sound they jokingly call "MySpace core for iPad kids." Emerging from Toronto's digital underground circa 2020, the anonymous artist/producer gained traction through TikTok snippets of tracks like "Buy a Toy" and their collab-heavy EP *Friend$$ (Hyperduck Sauce)*, often pairing pitched-up vocals with drum machines and video game soundfonts. Their lyrics dissect modern anxiety through fragmented vignettes about parasocial relationships, Venmo-venom friendships, and dissociating at the mall – delivered with the chaotic sleepover energy of someone who still believes in Myspace surveys.

Known for DIY videos shot at dollar stores and karaoke-style live shows, QWAM embodies Gen Z's internet-literate DIY ethos while nodding to 2000s bloghouse acts. They've opened for glaive, racked up collabs with hyperpop peers like underscores and kmoe, and became a surprise 2022 SXSW highlight by performing inside a claw machine-themed installation. Their 2023 track "girls aren't afraid of blood" became a queer anthem via TikTok cosplay trends, cementing QWAM as the anti-pop artist who writes lyrics in iPhone Notes and designs their own merch like a Myspace page revivalist.

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