KIMIKO Releases Debut EP 'Modern Dance'

# KIMIKO Releases Debut EP 'Modern Dance'

KIMIKO, the recording name of actress and performer Kimiko Glenn, released her debut EP Modern Dance on August 14, 2026, along with a new music video for the title track, also called "Modern Dance." The five-song project collects the singles she has been releasing since November 2025 and adds one new song, "BIG ICK ENERGY," to complete the set.

The EP is available to stream now. The video for "Modern Dance" was directed by DEATHCATS, the same team that handled the EP cover photography.

What Is on the Modern Dance EP

The full tracklist is:

1. Hang Out Forever? 2. Emotional Whiplash 3. Just Like That! 4. BIG ICK ENERGY 5. Modern Dance

The title track came together with help from Morgan Karr, who records under the name morgxn. Glenn describes him in the release as a longtime friend and someone she calls "the king of hooky pop melodies." After the song went through multiple production passes and verse rewrites, Karr hummed a melody into a voice memo that became the chorus. "He hummed into a voice memo, and I was like, 'That's it!! You're a genius!'" Glenn said.

The video for "Modern Dance" stars Vinny Balbo as Glenn's on-screen partner and was choreographed by Erika Soto. DEATHCATS shot it using a split-screen technique, placing scenes in bedrooms, on stages, and inside moving cars. Glenn described the production as one of her most relaxed shoots, noting that the crew was mostly women. "Having a mostly female-run crew made everything feel so light, supportive, and fluid," she said.

Who Is KIMIKO and What Led to This EP

Kimiko Glenn is widely recognized for playing Brook Soso on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, a role that was part of an ensemble that won three Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Her other television credits include The Guest Book on TBS, Liza on Demand, Broad City, High Maintenance, Drunk History, and Waffles and Mochi.

In animation, she voiced Peni Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and reprised the role in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, with a third film in that franchise still to come. She also voices Niffty in the animated musical Hazbin Hotel, Kiff in Disney's Kiff (a role that earned her four Children and Family Emmy nominations this year, according to the release), and Cyan in an upcoming Netflix adaptation of the game Among Us.

On Broadway, Glenn originated the role of Dawn in Waitress, the Sara Bareilles musical that received a 2016 Tony Award nomination for Best Musical.

Modern Dance is her first body of recorded music as KIMIKO. The lead singles built the project out over roughly nine months. "Hang Out Forever?" came out in November 2025 and followed a date that goes wrong. "Emotional Whiplash" landed next and marked Glenn's first time directing one of her own videos. "Just Like That!" followed in May 2026, shot as a series of TikTok-style vlog clips that obscure the emotional center of the story behind polished content aesthetics.

Glenn cited Lily Allen and Sabrina Carpenter as reference points for the tone she was going for across the EP: pop songs that are self-aware, funny, and direct about the frustrations of dating without losing their melodic pull. "The song was born out of frustration, like a lot of my songs are," she said about the title track. "I was going on dates with this person, and it felt like a battle of 'who can care less more.'"

The press and publicity for Modern Dance is handled by Big Hassle Media in Los Angeles.

What Independent Artists Can Take From This Release

Glenn rolled this EP out as a slow build, one single at a time, with a different visual concept for each video. By the time the full project landed, she already had a catalog of videos working for her online. Each single had its own creative angle: a narrative video, a self-directed piece, a TikTok format parody, and finally a choreographed split-screen film. That kind of varied visual strategy gives each release its own reason to exist and keeps an audience engaged across a longer window than a single drop would.

If you're an independent artist planning a project rollout, submit your music to our playlist and let the community hear it early. And if you're performing in LA, check the events calendar for opportunities to get in front of the right rooms.