Behind a low-res, over-saturated filter, with strobing, rhythmic flashes of her smiling face, 1ycia thrives in a metaphysical world of play and expression, a digital sphere the viewer peers into through their screen, but can never enter. The only non-artificial part of this world is 1ycia herself, who, despite her exuberant, fantastical presence, is not a dramatic character, nor is her fluidity a performance, though that may be what she wants you to believe.

It’s not uncommon for pop artists to create characters. They’re means of creating a public persona, one that lives in a pixelated world and siphons the artist’s most extravagant traits, dramaticizing them to the point of fiction. But for Lycia Yousfi, no such separation exists between her and 1ycia, her musical moniker.

“[1ycia] is someone who is real, but someone who is displaying themselves through a screen,” Yousfi says in a Zoom interview. Opening the door to 1ycia’s glamorous world is like opening a time capsule, one curated by the maximalist aesthetics of decades past, with a thick layer of irony. But on call with her, Yousfi is stripped down in her Bay Area home, and the satirical party girl persona dissipates to reveal a driven young artist figuring out how to represent herself and her music in a digital age.

“Who can’t relate to displaying yourself in a digital age? You’re playing all these different characters depending on the app you’re on. And there’s nothing wrong with that! That’s just the nature of representing yourself.”

— Yousfi

Born and raised in the Bay, Yousfi has always been surrounded by artistic communities, her musical origins being rooted in communal spaces rather than personal projects. “I’ve always been a musical person,” she says, recalling the days of playing guitar for her high school’s jazz band and musical theater group. “When I was a kid, I asked my mom to print out the lyrics from the songs in Tinkerbell,” she says. “I’ve always felt like I needed to sing a song to feel it. To this day, I’m like that.”

The origins of ‘1ycia’ can be traced back to the Fall of 2023, when Yousfi transferred to UC Berkeley, the same year she met her producer and other “musical half,” Alex Balfanz. “I had this song idea stuck in my head that I could not get out,” she recalls. “It was a line that ended with the word ‘discoteque’ in French. I thought that would be such a good word to end a line with; it’s so rhythmic.”

When she approached her peers with the question, “Who can help me make a French techno song?” Balfanz, a student at Cal, offered his hand in producing the first 1ycia single, “Cigarette,” a quick-tempoed, distorted, electronic pop track with a catchy French chorus.

Creatively inspired by the rebellious, vulnerable, and unabashed attitude of pop punk, the core of 1ycia’s music is its relatability and candidness, elevated by textured, fast-paced rhythms and a whimsical online presence. “It’s kind of like, oh, maybe this is kind of corny, but the emotion is definitely there,” she says of the pop punk attitude. “The corniness makes you step into something different.”

On September 17, Yousfi released her first EP, bubblegum electro pop punk, whose name perfectly describes the bright and distorted sounds behind 1ycia’s confessional lyricism. Originally, “bubblegum electro pop punk” had been Yousfi’s Soundcloud bio for years, and when she and Balfanz had sat down together and began conceptualizing their first multi-song project, the four-word genre, which had become more of a motto, became the inspiration and title of the EP. “The genre comes through on every track,” she says, “but we wanted one part of the four to come out the most for every track.”

In “wykykyk,” the first song on the EP, the techno-pop melodies and lack of distortion give the track a youthful, video-game adventure feel, immersing listeners in the digital world Yousfi has created for herself, a world where ‘1ycia’ lets loose in her musical playground. While the intro leans into the more playful, exuberant side of 1ycia’s personality, “song idea” is a party anthem with cheeky, but simple lyrics urging listeners to “fold it, drop it, pick it up,” over powerful synth beats. The first half of the EP, which represents the “bubblegum” and “electro” portions of 1ycia’s ascribed genre, do the best job of contrasting and augmenting two distinct sounds.

“Inhaler” is the third ‘pop’ portion of the EP and a highlight in terms of the work’s musicality and Yousfi’s pop-punk influence. With declarative, punchy songwriting, 1ycia entices her audience to bare their biggest emotions through simple melodies, singing, “Won’t you come over and tell me I make it easier to breathe/ I hate that you only like me for the way I like you.” The EP closes with the track “freckle boy,” which blends the raw, angry punk attitude with distorted vocals and repetitive, building synth which leaves listeners far from the upbeat, go-lucky beginning of the EP.

Though each song on bubblegum electro pop punk has its own unique sound, encompassing the many facets that create 1ycia’s sound, there’s something familiar about the EP at large. Perhaps it's her direct and unafraid lyricism, or the youthful, angsty themes derived from her pop punk influences, but there’s something incredibly retro about bubblegum electro pop punk. Even with its modern edge, the EP’s sound can be traced back to the chaotic, danceable, and spontaneous nature of the late 2000s electronic scene that invigorated a generation of twenty-somethings.

But Yousfi isn’t a nostalgic artist; she’s not longing for the recession electro pop era, though that’s what’s often assumed.

“ [Nostalgia] is definitely not something I do on purpose,” she says, “Yet, I feel like I’m always invoking childhood. I’m letting the inner child speak.”

— Yousfi

And with her candid songwriting, ad-libbed giggles, and repetitive, catchy melodies, which she says give “baby sensory video,” her sound resonates with audiences young enough to remember the enormity of even the most prosaic emotions.

Following the release of her first EP, Yousfi has felt more eyes on her than ever before, a not unwelcome feeling that has her excited to make more music. “I've had the vision for this album called Bitch, Everything,” Yousfi reveals. “I've been working on it for so long, but it's still nothing.” The vision for her next project deals with the idea of totalities, which she describes as “a statement that is always true,” and a theme that permeates through her discography.

But even as new ideas develop into full-fledged projects, made alongside her right-hand-producer Balfanz, Yousfi is content with her self-image as an artist, desiring to continue making the same kind of resonant, youthful music that people can dance and relate to. “I don't see myself leaving the scene,” she says. “I love the music world and I love musicians. I love to see people create. It all feeds me.”

As we prepare to say goodbye, I ask Yousfi for her final words to the readers at Five Cent Sound, to which she responds, “Tap into your cringey, weird, teenager angst. That's where the good shit is. People should let things fall out of them. Throw up onto your paper, or into your mic. A lot of good things come of that. That’s my five cents.”

1YCIA: WHEN THE INNER CHILD MEETS BUBBLEGUM ELECTRO POP PUNK