The Migraine Aura
The Migraine Aura is the primary musical project of Tacoma, Washington-based musician/artist A.J. Dudick (known professionally as simply "A.J."), known for blending shoegaze, post-punk, dream-pop, electronic, experimental noise, and field recordings with diaristic lyricism, atmospheric production, and Lynchian surrealism.
History
Before founding The Migraine Aura, A.J. had spent more than two decades as a self-taught musician and producer. In the mid-2000s, he was the primary composer and producer behind the instrumental metal project Picnic Casket, which was featured on YouTube’s front page in 2006. During this period he also produced hip-hop beats, contributed to several short-lived punk and metal bands, performed DJ sets, and built a portfolio while attempting to enter the video game industry as a composer and sound designer.
During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, A.J. began writing a series of songs with a stronger shoegaze and post-punk influence than his earlier work. These tracks were independently released in October 2020 as Debut EP. Although A.J. wrote the lyrics, each song featured a different vocalist chosen to match the tone of the composition. The EP received several positive online reviews. The track “Your House” was included in ElectroWow’s “100 Best Songs of 2020,” while “Shut the Lights Off” appeared in filmmaker Donovan Wilson’s 2022 short science-fiction film Aidan, which screened at the Tacoma Film Festival. Artist Sylvea Suydam produced a stop-motion lyric video for the song “Wonder.”
In early 2021, A.J. released the three-song EP Camden, again featuring different vocalists on each track.
In August 2023, in collaboration with engineer and producer Lev Nalty, A.J. released the seven-song album Pacific Standard Time, the third Migraine Aura release overall, through Nalty's label Evry1 Records. It marked the first time A.J. performed lead vocals on every track. The album received strong online praise, with Eoin Masterson of Ignoreradio Shoegaze calling it “one of my favorite releases of the year,” and The B-Side Guys describing A.J.’s vocal debut as “nothing short of spellbinding.”
Later in 2025, A.J. was nominated for a Washington State Independent Music Award for "Best Electronic Act."
As of 2026 A.J. is currently working on a number of Migraine Aura-related projects, including the next full-length release as well as a collection of "unplugged" acoustic versions of previous TMA songs, as time and resources permit.
Sound and influences
A.J. considers post-punk, goth, shoegaze, and adjacent genres/acts such as The Smiths, New Order, The Cure, Depeche Mode, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Julee Cruise, and more as "where everything kind of begins and ends for me. The first time I ever heard MBV was when I randomly downloaded "Only Shallow" off of Napster during the summer between 8th grade and high school. It tore my mind apart. Bilinda Butcher's soft voice over the wall of noise and chaos was somehow heavier and 1000 times more 'brutal' and intense than any of the dirtbike nu-metal kids my age were listening to. It didn't make any sense to me at the time, but it changed how I perceived music forever."
A.J. has also cited the work of filmmaker David Lynch, video game music, film soundtracks, Nine Inch Nails, Prince, Oasis, The Beach Boys, The Misfits, the first 4 Metallica albums, Yasutaka Nakata, Angelo Badalamenti, Bjork, Justin K. Broadrick, Primal Scream, Deftones, "Berlin Trilogy"-era David Bowie, Beach House, Pizzicato Five, Carcass, Stereolab, Jawbreaker, Black Flag, Three Six Mafia, Ulver, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Grouper, Ryuichi Sakamoto, The Melvins, Richard D. James, Al Di Meola, Carlos Montoya, Rick James, Napalm Death, Wu-Tang Clan, The KLF, Xiu Xiu, Jandek, Wesley Willis, early rock and roll/soul, Japanese city-pop, noise music, meditation/"new age" music, musique concrète, Trojan Records reggae/dub, Italo disco, liquid drum & bass, French house, flamenco guitar, and Brazilian bossa nova jazz as influences.
Discography
Covers (uploaded exclusively to YouTube)
Live performances & Twitch streams
Due to time constraints and other commitments, A.J. has not made live performance a central focus of The Migraine Aura, preferring to concentrate on recording new music. He has occasionally performed Migraine Aura songs as a surprise guest at various shows and festivals.
A.J. will occasionally run streams on Twitch, where he will perform DJ sets, play retro games, take phone calls, interview fellow local musicians/artists, and collect donations for mutual aid-based causes.
