We are excited to publish an extensive interview with London-based metalgaze outfit World Coda. A project born from the artistic ties between musician and psychoanalytic scholar Yao and musical and visual artist Jin, the group is one of the most interesting and unique bands we have discovered recently. Their sound could be described as expansive, hypnotic, dystopian… yet the most important quality in their material is the large amount of escapism. Part shoegaze but with harder distortions and a more intense character, ‘cold solace’ is the perfect introduction to World Coda.
Marking the band’s latest single, the piece is directly taken from its overarching EP ‘Rupture’, out now. Shipping with a stunning and obscure music video, ‘cold solace’ wraps listeners into a cathartically gloomy aural universe, a sonic force that’s both angelic and evil, a blend of intents and moods that’s quite unsettling at first… truly special.
Intrigued by World Coda, we caught up Yao (the main artist and composer behind the group) to find out more about their artistry and future goals… interview below!
Hi Yao and band, thanks for chatting with us! I have delved into your artistic universe a fair bit, and I truly appreciate the constant push-and-pull between tender ethereal energy and hard-hitting, decadent euphoria. It’s a dualism that’s always been at the forefront of your music, but I feel like it’s even stronger in ‘cold solace’. Am I right in thinking that you have embraced a more authentic shoegaze imprint compared to ‘Before Eclipse’? The track feels more spacious than any previous material…
Hey! First of all, thank you so much for featuring us in your magazine!
The story of ‘cold solace’ can be traced back to seven years ago, when I was 18 and wrote the verse of ‘cold solace’. Back then, I was a big fan of Lana Del Rey (as I still am now) and learnt a lot of vocal performance skills from her. At the beginning of 2025, I was sitting at my desk, and this song enigmatically reappeared in my head. Coincidentally, I was by then super into doomgaze or heavy ambient bands such as Iress and Fvnerals, as well as some experimental/doom jazz like Radare, Lowering, and Bohren & Der Club of Gore.
I love them as what I feel from their music is not just ‘songs’ per sé, but also the mesmerising spaciousness and textural variations brought out by songwriting and arrangements. So I decided to use the verse of this old song to try a different direction of songwriting, compared to our Before Eclipse, which leans more toward melodies and grooves.
I decided to use my body as a receptor to feel the ‘spaciousness’ I felt in that music. So I was sitting on the floor, right in front of my guitar amp – like a cat – playing some riffs and chords to find the right feeling through the co-vibrations between my body, the vocals, and the guitar sounds. The song, written seven years ago, was reborn in this way, and later came the full song. I remember saying to our producer back then that I wanted to construct a certain ‘spatiality’ through the new song instead of purely a sense of narrative. I’m so glad we were able to achieve this.
So to answer your question: I wouldn’t call it a shoegaze imprint necessarily (and to be honest, I’m not very rooted in shoegaze culture), but I guess what ‘cold solace’ shares with the shoegaze tradition is our exploration of spatiality and some corporeal sonic experiences beyond the usual ‘listening’.
Being honest, I have not met a lot of ‘metalgaze’ outfits so far, with the majority of bands veering instead towards alt-rock territories. In that regard, World Coda is doing something pretty unique. I love how impactful the screamy vocals are, especially when they enter the sonic picture in ‘cold solace’. It really pushes a heightened sense of melancholia with a dystopian twist. I’d be keen to know where the metal influences are coming from. Do Yao and Jin both share a metal affinity?
I listened to lots of metal back in uni, mostly old school metal like black metal, thrash, death metal, and doom. In recent years, as I’m more interested in artistic innovation, my tastes have moved toward post-metal, particularly those influenced by shoegaze.
I started learning to scream quite randomly. It was still back in uni when a neighbour/friend of mine needed a singer for their crossover thrash band who could also do screams. I really wanted to hang out with them, so I self-taught screams, haha! It was also around that time when I started my post-black metal project Merrow under Pest Productions and began to use screams for my vocal expressions to a very large extent. I wish to break the ‘metal’ or ‘hardcore’ stereotype of screaming vocals and to bring out the artistic qualities behind it – it is cathartic, it carries lots of emotional weight, and it amplifies the expressiveness of other instruments.
And purely for the sake of vocals, maybe a lot of people would think screaming is the symbol for monstrousness, masculinity or evilness? But to me, screaming shows the very vulnerable side of the vocalist – just like our first cry into the world as newborn infants, at least in the way I do it, which is kinda influenced by Sylvaine and Deafheaven.
World Coda is a metal outfit. Our guitarist Jin is super into 80s to 90s J-rock and Visual Kei like Luna Sea and X Japan, some of which are more ‘metal’ than others, but not strictly so. Our bassist, Dan, also plays in a metalcore band, and he wears tight jeans a lot (though World Coda would prefer our members to wear pleated pants more HAHA). Our drummer Jamie likes post-metal, alt-rock, and doomgaze like I do. So yeah, we are definitely getting heavier and more metal after Before Eclipse.
I apologise if I dived into ‘cold solace’ right away in this interview, but it’s a really good track and it deserves attention. There’s a music video out now for anyone interested, a stream of lo-fi visuals interlaced by abstract imagery and nostalgic tinges. What was the inspiration for the video?
Thank you for the kind words! Jin and I made the video by ourselves at home. We are only photographers and are still beginners in cinematography. I hope it turns out well!
I am a big fan of arthouse cinema. Works by directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, and Jean-Luc Godard are my most-watched ones. I am always intrigued by the sense of detachment and melancholia in their visual languages as well as themes of intimacy, sexuality, romance, and existential ponderings. I wanted to recreate such moods through the music video of ‘cold solace’ as well as adding some abstract cinematography to speak to the textural richness and the lyricism of the song.
The lyrics of ‘cold solace’ are themed around unrequited love, not necessarily a concrete love story, but more like an existential concern of love. To what extent can we love, and how badly is it hurting when we love? Freud has this straightforward theorisation of love that when we love, we have to be wounded as narcissistic subjects. This means that to love another, we have to give up a certain amount of self-love.
I was also reading Pizarnik’s poetry back then, and I resonated a lot with the maniac love that leads to the death of the ‘self’ she inscribed. I believe love is transcendental and can be felt as love, like nothing else in the world, only when it brings you a glimpse of death. Therefore, all love is unrequited – if we want to carry on living, we have to be separated from the experience of love and the desire to fully merge into another person.
The video starts with scenes of intimacy, then transitions to a visual expression of hurtful solitudes as a doomed fate of humans in love. I tried to deliver my idea of unrequited love by using broken roses, rose petals, knives, and bandages – for me, they signify desires, wounds, injuries, and pain.
In the second half, the song turns to a more profound soundscape, and the lyrics say: “I see the sun is down; I see the night will drown us; so I sail to a lighthouse”, which kinda gives a feeling of the fear of love. During the preparation of this video, surprisingly, I ran into a deer in my hometown, Dalian (China). It was in a garden by the sea. I followed it and filmed its movements, from it coming to sniff me to then running away.
I was so touched by this encounter; its receding figure into the bush reminds me of how, in the end, I decided to leave a certain person. The encounter with the deer inspires me to unfold the last section of the video, which explores the theme of ‘departure’ from loved ones, as if it were an accepted fate, and the detachment from love, because, as human beings, we are often poor lovers.
From a lyrical standpoint, what does ‘cold solace’ stand for?
It is a reassurance that someone will be there for you, though the ecstasy is forever gone; that love is happening in its own way, just not as omnipotent as you wished.
I have read about Yao’s love for psychoanalysis, and I am curious: how does it influence World Coda’s overall ethos?
I am actually a doctoral researcher in psychoanalysis, mostly in poststructuralist psychoanalysis and related philosophy. As someone who loves to explore themes of psychic suffering, mental illness, and existential pain, psychoanalysis satisfies me a lot both intellectually and aesthetically. It allows me to see the side of the world and human psyche that normal life decides to hide from us, such as the madness, weakness, and maliciousness in every human being.
In this way, it touches me and invokes strong feelings that ordinary objects in life cannot. So in this stage of art making, my experience and feelings are unveiled, explored, and highlighted by psychoanalysis, which becomes my inspiration. I can’t imagine living without psychoanalysis.
You are obviously operating in a pretty obscure musical niche, although I’d argue that slowcore is a rather fashionable style these days. Do you think there’s a link between the need for extreme escapism and the failing world order around us?
The world is definitely failing us, especially for young people. We were promised too much as kids but offered too little when we grew up. With growing social, economic, and environmental problems in this world that allude to personal malaise, the early adulthood of our generation (I’m almost Gen Z) feels like a long-lasting disenchantment.
Although World Coda does not do slowcore only, slower and ambient music like ours allows listeners to find a shelter in this world, which you could call escapism, for that it is slow and its ambience feels like a space in another world, a room, or even a bed rather than just a few instruments playing there. Such music allows for indulgence because you can just listen to it and do nothing but be with yourself.
Psychoanalysis would call it alternative temporality and spatiality, and I think it is very important for us in the world of crisis or the world in ‘end time’, in which the public space is corrupting, and we only have our bodies and our sensations to trust, which could create for us another world to dwell in. I make music with similar desires; I want my songs to be the homes that I can live in.
How are you finding London in terms of musical inspiration? Have you connected with like-minded folks who relate to your artistic mission?
It is actually a great place to make art. Lots of opportunities are open, though it also comes with lots of stress and competition. I love London because here I can meet lots of artists in different fields and get inspired by their work. I like to go to galleries and independent cinemas, as visual art somehow inspires me the most, and this is what London offers me. Though I really wish there was food in London! I watched some vlogs or heard of it from friends in Asia about what they are eating after practices or gigs… I am genuinely envious. And I think it’s important: who doesn’t want a good meal after music?
Lastly, what’s next for World Coda? I know of a gig in January; is there also more music on the horizon?
Firstly, the production of our new album. This is super exciting. It will succeed the spirit of Before Eclipse III and the split EP Rupture. We hope to release it by the end of 2026 – if not, early 2027. Also, we’ll be looking for a label to work together for this release. And more gigs, hopefully festivals and a small tour in the UK/EU or Asia – it all depends on who will book us. So please book us!
In the end, huge thanks to Mesmerized Mag. It’s a pleasure talking to you and sharing these stories behind our work!