Forget Filters. The Duo Behind the Future of Hyper-Grit on Alter Egos, UK Garage Rhythms, and Why Being Truly “Ballsy” is the Next Wave.
Cameron B
The new single “Ballsy” from the duo Glitch Kitty and BGDN is more than a track, it’s a declaration. It’s the sound of the internet’s most experimental electronic subcultures meeting the raw, rock-and-punk energy of UK greats. For High Frequency, the debut hits every necessary cultural pillar: it’s future-facing music, built on creative anarchy, and fueled by an aesthetic that is unapologetically confident.
We caught up with Glitch Kitty and BGDN to talk about their creative process, the necessity of the alter ego, and the glorious tension of making music that’s “too much.”
The Origins
The partnership between Glitch Kitty (Zoe) and BGDN (Bogdan) is a fascinating creative collision that started roughly three years ago. Their initial link-up was through Glitch Kitty’s brother, and it began with a low-stakes task that quickly revealed their undeniable synergy. The very first tracks they worked on were disguised as submissions for a school project, leading to a hilariously deceptive process.
Glitch Kitty: “When I was trying to do my [music production] school, I didn’t know how to make songs, and Bogdan was making them for me, and I was basically saying that I produced them.”
BGDN: “I was pretending that it’s Glitch Kitty, so I was producing them poorly on purpose… it should be good but bad, you know?”
This playful, yet creatively rigorous, dynamic set the stage for their unique collaboration. After a series of casual sessions, the moment of real commitment came when they produced the track “Droptop.” It was clear then that their energy, speed, and shared vision were too potent to ignore. They realized they weren’t just making songs; they were keeping pace with each other’s fastest creative impulses.
The key to their synergy, Glitch Kitty explains, is a lack of external pressure in the studio. “There’s a lot of pressure in the studio, but it’s kind of like we’re doing it for fun, but also for work,” she says. They never go into a session thinking, we have to put this out tomorrow. Instead, they focus on finding a vibe and making something that makes them both happy.
BGDN: “We just like get each other’s energy, you know, like, and keep the flow going, inspiring each other… I feel like 90% of the time we’re cool with what we made. It doesn’t mean that we want everything out. But like, every time, we ended up having something.”
Unleashing the Demon Mode
The decision to create the Glitch Kitty persona—an alter ego with “no face” and “no filters”—was a necessity driven by a huge volume of excellent music that would have felt out of place released under their other, more established artist profiles.
BGDN: “I was like, f*ck, just let’s make a character with no face and let that character do whatever, you know, like, unleashing the demons.”
Glitch Kitty: “I was like, let’s create an alter ego where I could just do whatever I want. I had a lot of different styles that I wanted to try, but I wasn’t comfortable doing it under my old profile.”
This process of creative self-liberation birthed the core concept of the project: the “demon mode.” Glitch Kitty defines this as the moment she gets “super inspired and crazy.” The name itself is a perfect splice of their vision: “Glitch” references the chaotic, electronic, hyper-pop-adjacent production, and “Kitty” captures the badass, cute-but-demon personality. The initial moment of realization, confirming the alter ego was viable, happened during an artist retreat in North Carolina, where GK found comfort performing with a lamp over her head as a makeshift mask, setting the stage for the project’s anonymous, rebellious aesthetic.
The Ballsy Sound: UK Garage, IDM, and the Prodigy Influence
The track “Ballsy” originated directly from BGDN’s production, sparked by the chopped vocal sample on the pre-drop that sounded like “balls, balls, balls, ballsy.”
BGDN’s production is inspired by the greats of UK electronic music, specifically citing Burial’s Untrue and The Prodigy’s raw, punk-rock energy as key influences he keeps coming back to. This background is evident in the single’s chaotic, layered sound design, blending UK Garage rhythms with aggressive IDM synths.
BGDN (On production deep cuts): “I love that sound like, in the beginning… It’s like a Scream sound … that’s sampled from, like, the classic Lyn Collins ‘Think (about it)’ drum break.”
He admits to having his own “demon mode” when it comes to sound design, often finding inspiration through happy accidents. “I was just turning all the knobs till I get a cool sound. And I accidentally, like, did something and it started to sound like sounds on The Prodigy’s album.”
When discussing their genre, the duo refuses to be pinned down. “I don’t feel like we are trying to make specific genre,” BGDN states. “It’s just a feeling. If it feels right, it feels right for me.” This refusal to adhere to guidelines is precisely what makes them an exciting subject for High Frequency.
Culture and Defiance
The cultural implications of “Ballsy” are paramount. It is a track defined by an empowering, and queer-coded defiance that encourages the audience to live without a filter.
Glitch Kitty (On what being “ballsy” means): “Being authentically yourself, not caring what other people think of you, but not in like a insensitive way … just not giving a f*ck, but in a good way.”
This philosophy is driven home by the lyrics, which flip traditional power dynamics and embrace an aggressive, self-possessed identity. Lines like “These Diamonds dancing on me” and “Just bought a mansion for me / Now his money gone” establish Glitch Kitty as the ultimate boss, a woman in control of her wealth and narrative, who doesn’t need anyone’s approval for her success.
This financial swagger couples with a her subversion of gendered presentation. The “Kitty” persona is defined by a strong, almost masculine energy, as captured in the verse: “I’m ballsy / Big pants whenever I walk in.” This appropriation of male confidence and aesthetic was a beautiful moment of self-discovery for Glitch Kitty. She didn’t consciously write it to be subversive, but recognized the profound, liberating effect it had on her afterward.
Glitch Kitty: “I think my art is like, a lot of the time I will say something or do a song, and then I’ll realize, oh, that’s how I feel, and that’s me… Listening back to it, I’m like, Oh yeah, that was super gay of me to do. And then I’m like, oh, but that’s me.”
The track is an anthem for total independence: “Don’t need shit don’t need a co-sign,” she declares, reinforcing that this power comes from within. The message is clear: the duo is actively encouraging listeners to embrace both the masculine and feminine energies simultaneously, whatever that looks like in their “gender expression, identity, all of that.” This is the core of the Glitch Kitty theme: expressing yourself without thinking about what anyone else is going to say.
What’s Next?
While “Ballsy” is the first shot fired, the duo is already plotting the next move. They are heavily focused on getting the single into the hands of listeners, using direct, or should we say – ballsy methods, like walking up to random people on the streets of LA and asking them to listen.
Glitch Kitty: “We posted a video where we went up to just random people and, like, asked for them to listen to our music. And I feel like that was kind of the ballsy energy.”
Their follow-up single, “Kitty,” will serve as the true introduction to the character. “Ballsy was like the introduction, but Kitty is like the her revealing herself in her final form,” Glitch Kitty explains.
The visuals, like the sound, reflect a raw, real, DIY aesthetic. BGDN designed the single cover himself using collages and “f*cked up drawings” to avoid a polished feel. The track also sets the tone for the project’s attitude toward detractors, dismissing any opposition with casual confidence: “These fake ass bitches sitting in a tree / T A L K I N G / Shit about me? / Nice try / Bitch please.”
When asked for the motto that defines this movement, Glitch Kitty didn’t hesitate, cementing her lyrical sentiment:
Glitch Kitty: “F*ck these fake ass b*tches.”
The message is clear: Glitch Kitty and BGDN are here to push the boundaries, not wait inside them. Press play on “Ballsy” and find your own demon mode.
STREAM “BALLSY”
FOLLOW GLITCH KITTY X BGDN
Instagram: @glitch_kittyyy @bbogdannm
TikTok: @bbogdannm
YouTube: BGDNmusic, Full Song Breakdown
Patreon: BGDNMUSIC