Los Angeles, CA

Sarah Tudzin treats the studio like both a jungle gym and pressure cooker. This tension is the fuel behind illuminati hotties, her music project that combines sugary pop instincts with scrappy punk energy and chaotic experimentation to create a sound Tudzin has dubbed “tenderpunk.”

Tudzin launched the hotties after cutting her teeth as a sound engineer with the 2018 debut Kiss Yr Frenemies, a record bursting with sharp‑edged humor, tender introspection, and explosive hooks. When label turmoil threatened to stall the project, Tudzin responded with the now‑iconic Free I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For (2020), a self‑released mixtape that cemented her as one of indie rock’s most defiant voices. Its 2021 follow‑up, Let Me Do One More, expanded the sonic palette with swaggering rock riffs and bubblegum‑bright melodies grafted onto incisive lyrics.

Beyond her own music, Tudzin is also a sought after producer and engineer, working with the likes of boygenius, Slowdive, Weyes Blood, Speedy Ortiz and Logic. You could say that working on these releases helped Tudzin hone the balance of emotional clarity and adventurous production. In 2021, she launched the imprint label Snack Shack Tracks through Hopeless Records in another firm statement of artistic integrity and control.

illuminati hotties continues to evolve with 2024’s Power (which earned raves from Rolling Stone) and last year’s single “777,” a track co-produced with Jay Som that forges into fuzzy shoegaze- territory. Tudzin’s magnetic front‑of‑stage force that has to be seen to be believed, and you’ll get your chance this year at Sled Island.