UCLA student Dea is a new artist in the shoegaze scene, telling stories through cinematic soundscapes, obscured vocals and intentional lyricism.
Dice Tam, a rising second-year music industry student, who goes by the artist name Dea, released his first EP “SeeYouSoon” in March 2026. Dea said he spent nearly two years working on this release and used various Polaroids he has taken since his sophomore year of high school for the EP’s visuals and the covers of his released singles.
His six-track EP creates a cohesive storyline that ties each song together, he said. What began as individual instrumental tracks soon became an illustrative narrative, unfolding across carefully chosen lyrics and melancholic instrumentation, he added.
“I did a lot of the instrumentals first, so I was like, I kind of want there to be a story,” Dea said. “The more I wrote, the more the concept formed in my mind.”
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Dea collaborated on the song “Carla” with rising second-year music industry student Nora Weatherfield, who said the song was written as a narrative. Weatherfield added the thoughtful writing and spooky instrumentals of the track contributed to her interest in working on the song. Dea said he wrote the song in Amsterdam, inspired by the beauty he saw outside of his Airbnb window.
“I love the storytelling that he has in that whole EP, and then in that song (‘Carla’) specifically,” Weatherfield said. “It ties it together.”
The EP was also a chance to learn more about recording vocals and writing songs, Dea added. The artist said he rewrote most tracks on the EP multiple times, with the song “StaringContest” going through eight rewrites.
“That’s (his intention) what distinguishes him as a person who’s able to bring his visions to life,” said Eva Kroz, a rising-second year cognitive science and music industry student, and one of Dea’s friends and collaborators.
Kroz said Dea found a way to close the gap between what he told her was a lack of natural creativity, which she said she thought Dea had in the beginning, and where he is now. Kroz added that she thinks he has since developed an inate creativity because of the drive to do music well, and said she admires that.
“He draws inspiration from his life, but then makes it a broader idea that many people can relate to,” Kroz said.
Though Dea’s EP tests out the hazy, alternative rock genre, the artist said he has experimented in a variety of genres. Dea added he got his start in the music industry as a producer, working at an Oakland record label in high school. He said he learned through experimentation rather than formal lessons, unlike some of his peers.
“Teaching yourself on the go is an incredible feeling,” said Dea. “It’s given me the qualities that I love most about myself as an artist.”
Dea said his Oakland upbringing influenced him to start by making hip-hop beats. That influence still shapes his work today, he said, with his music built around production before melodies or vocals, even in his alternative rock songs. Dea added this production-first approach helps makes his sound distinct within the rock genre.
This passion for production also makes Dea a valuable collaborator, Kroz said. She added that she sees Dea as a producer and translator, who can take her ideas and make them into music.
“He’s very good at understanding the vibe of a musician and what somebody’s going for,” Kroz said.
Dea’s first live performance was “Concerts on the Hill,” during spring 2026, a show organized by UCLA Residential Life. Dea said he was initially nervous, having only received notice two days prior, but pulled together a group of instrumentalists and got to work deciding how to transfer his production-heavy sound to the live stage.
Dea said the experience of performing live was validating and made him more confident that he could deliver his music in one take.
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Kroz, who attended the concert, said Dea’s performance was impressively natural and calm, adding that his first time jitters did not get in the way of his meticulous musical habits. In the future, Dea said he hopes to perform at Bay Area venues, like Brick & Mortar Music Hall in San Francisco. Dea said he is currently working on a new EP, about the thoughts someone has alone after spending time with others.
“As I started making the project, it became my whole life, and I fell in love with the process,” Dea said. “All the parts of making that project were so fun to me and made me feel alive and inspired – I just kept trying to lean into that.”
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