Meet YEO, Melbourne based musical chameleon known for bending genres and continuously exploring the dimensions of contemporary R’n’B, electronica and pop.
He’s put together something a little bit special and little bit off Hue and Saturation’s beaten path of tech-y sounds, with a banging mix of pop, R&B and hip hop from China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and the US.
How would you describe your sound? Do you have any significant influences?
I would describe my sound as impossible to categorise. Right now, it’s R&B, but it has been many things in the past. I love R&B and hip-hop and pop and country music and chip-tune and grew up listening to metal and jazz. It’s all mixed together over the last 13 years to form my current taste. I like nice chord progressions and voice leading. I’m influenced a lot by what I see (I love taking photographs as a hobby) and hear. I have people sending me links to new music every day, so I’m always discovering and learning.
Congratulations on your latest release with Singapore’s Charlie Lim, ‘By Myself’. How was it working with him?
He is meticulous, and I like that. Charlie and I see eye to eye on a lot of things. Work ethic, junk food, authenticity of art and thoroughness are all things we care about. I enjoy working with him so much because we also laugh at all the silly things that happen around us in the industry–similar to how medical professionals, surrounded by death, use humour to cope. Overall, it’s nice making music with your friends, especially when they’re keen to eat often.
You recently finished up your DJ residency at the National Gallery of Victoria for the Terracotta Warriors & Cai Guo-Qiang exhibition, how was it and how did you plan out your mixes to coincide with this?
It was a lot of fun! Being there regularly led me to actively seek out Mandarin music for the first time in my life. I developed a love for it and have learnt a bit about the scene in China just from listening to the artists and trying to find out what’s popular over there. I’d basically scour charts and blogs every couple of weeks to find anything new. Then I would add them to a playlist and during the night, building up from chill ballads and light pop to heavy hip hop and clubbier tunes.
You are currently in the process of mixing a new record, can you tell us a little bit about it and when we can expect to hear it?
It should be out before the end of the year, during the Australian summer. It’s a much slower record compared the previous ones, a little more pop and R&B focused instead of electronic, so it’ll make for good late-night driving and singing along. The songs were written during some of the toughest experiences of my life and detail my feelings as I’ve been navigating them.
“The songs were written during some of the toughest experiences f my life and detail my feelings as I’ve been navigating them.”
What else can we expect from YEO in the not too distant future? Are there any other side projects you’re working on?
There are heaps of collaborations on the burn with lots of Asian artists. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a fair bit of time in Singapore lately and that has put me in touch with the scene there. They’re all wonderful songs with talented writers like Abby Simone, Kitty Purnaz, Vanessa Fernandez and Tim De Cotta and I can’t wait for them all to come out. Oh, there is also a mystery duet on the way, where I’ll be singing in Mandarin!
TRACKLIST:
Lookin 4 - Crush feat. Joyce Wrice & Devin Morrison
· Nothing Wrong - 88rising & Higher Brothers & HARIKIRI feat. Goldlink
· Dejavu - BewhY · I Love It - DEAN feat. Dok2 · Cash Shit - Megan Thee Stallion feat. DaBaby · Iffy - Sik-K, pH-1· Rockstar With No Guitar - MyunDo · Lurkin - DaniLeigh · Party (Shut Down) - Sik-K feat. Crush · Who Dat B - Jessi · My Way - CzTiger feat. Banditgang Marco · Flex - GIRIBOY & Kid Milli & No:EL & Swings · 直觉 - 孔艺弦 feat. 邓鼓 · Ca$hmere - Ramengvrl · Throw It Back - Missy Elliott · Doctor - Chanmina · Get Munni - Lil Asian Thiccie & Zamaera ·
Follow what YEO is up to here. Images by Chris Yip.