Eyedress

Eyedress is the recording name of Idris Vicuña, a Filipino singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer from Manila, Philippines. He is associated with indie rock, post-punk revival and shoegaze, and his work also sits across electronic, psychedelic, indie, experimental and lo-fi styles.

Early life and musical beginnings

Vicuña is born in 1990 and is raised in the Philippines, where he describes part of his upbringing as being in a “ghetto”. He begins playing guitar at a young age. His family later moves to Phoenix, Arizona, where he is introduced to punk music, and then to Orange County, California when he is 13. In Orange County he joins the crust punk band Liberal Underground as a bassist. He returns to the Philippines with his family at 15.

Solo work and releases

At 20, he starts making beats on his laptop and sharing them online for free. After building a small following, he collaborates with Filipino singer Skint Eastwood on “Biolumine”, which brings him attention from a French label and leads to a record deal with Abeano Records, a subsidiary of XL Recordings. His debut EP, Supernatural, is released in 2013 and is recorded in his bedroom using FL Studio. He follows it with the free digital mixtape Hearing Colors and the EP Egyptian Night Club in 2014, as well as the single “Polo Tee”, which is a tribute to DJ Rashad.

After leaving XL Recordings, he releases the mixtape Shapeshifter in 2015. He signs to Lex Records in 2016 and issues his debut studio album Manila Ice the following year. Sensitive G follows in 2018.

Later albums and wider recognition

Eyedress relocates from Manila to Los Angeles and records new songs at home in Silver Lake. The singles “Jealous” and “Romantic Lover” appear before Let’s Skip to the Wedding, with both tracks becoming widely circulated on TikTok. “Jealous” is certified gold in Australia, Canada, Poland and the United States, later reaching multi-platinum status in the United States; “Romantic Lover” is certified gold and then platinum in the United States. Let’s Skip to the Wedding is released in 2020, followed by Mulholland Drive in 2021. The single “Something About You” from that album also gains broad streaming attention in the United States and is certified gold.

Mulholland Drive receives a nomination for Libera Award for Marketing Genius. In 2022, Eyedress is ranked at number 35 on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart.

The Simps and collaborations

Eyedress forms The Simps with Filipino American artist Zzzahara, and they release the album Siblings on Lex Records in 2022. The pair connect through their Filipino background and shared musical tastes, and Zzzahara later plays guitar in the group. The album includes “Tesla”, along with earlier songs “Miss Fortunate” and “On Fye”.

Eyedress performs at Coachella with the band in 2022 and debuts new material from Full Time Lover, which is released later that year. The 28-track album draws on hip-hop, post-punk and shoegaze. Afterward, he releases a cover of Blur’s “Song 2”, appears on Nosaj Thing’s “Different Life” from Continua, and remixes “L’s” by Fly Anakin, Pink Siifu and Fousheé. A Kevin Shields remix of “House of Cards” appears as part of the Lex-XX remix series in 2023. He also releases “Flowers & Chocolate” on RCA Records as his first single for a major label.