Interview: Katya Yonder
My Q&A with the Métron Records signed musician and sound designer.
Selected Works is a weekly (usually) newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell, aka Yours Truly. Most weeks, Selected Works consists of a recap of what I’ve been doing lately and some of what I’ve been listening to and reading, paired with film photographs I’ve taken + some bonuses. All of that said, sometimes it takes completely different forms.
In 2020, I profiled the 1980s Japanese pianist, composer, songwriter and chocolate maker Yumiko Morioka for the most Balearic website in the world, Test Pressing. Ostensibly, the reason for this feature was the reissue of Morioka’s ambient piano cult classic Resonance (1987) - originally released through Akira Ito's Green & Water label - by a small but perfectly formed boutique imprint, Métron Records.
Afterwards, as I familiarised myself with Métron’s world, I became aware of another artist within their purview, the Russian multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist Katya Yonder. That year, Métron released Katya’s fourth album, Multiply Intentions. On Test Pressing, I described it as “an international smorgasbord of tastefully interpolated musical references” while citing Japanese music and anime, Azerbaijani musical traditions, environmental music, endless dream pop, Madonna, Brian Eno and Cocteau Twins, 20th-century video game soundtracks and Soviet-era films and music, amongst other comparison points. If you like the idea of dreamworlds or the sort of music that feels like slipping through a mirror into a dimension slightly adjacent to ours - Caol Áit and all that, Multiply Intentions might be for you.
Four years later, Katya is back with her latest opus, Cure, released again through Métron. Across thirteen richly textured and immersive songs that run the full stylistic gamut from cinematic ambient music, synthesised folk songs, and ornate high-concept pop to polished dream girl trap music, lullaby ballads and floaty electronic bangers, Katya digs deep. Cure is an introspective and confessional album about love coming unstuck, the struggles we battle beneath the surface, and the understanding, acceptance and personal growth that sometimes follows loss and failure. It’s honest and upfront music recorded during an era that often feels like it’s anything but.
Recently, I interviewed Katya via email. You can read a series of lightly edited and contextualised excerpts from our exchange below.
On Multiple Dimensions, you sang in four languages - Russian, English, Japanese, and French. What is it like answering interview questions in a second or third language?
It's not that easy. Sometimes, you feel mentally handicapped when you forget words or can't clearly formulate a thought that you could easily and much more floridly express in your native language.
Are books important to you? Do you have any favourite authors?
Before university, I read a lot: half of my home library, which included Poe, Bradbury, McCaffrey, Japanese literature of the early 20th century like Akutagawa and Tanizaki, Jane Austen, various philosophies and much more. Of course, Harry Potter, Palahniuk, Burroughs, and all those books we devoured as teenagers were published by "Alternative" (a publishing house). One day, I accidentally saw a book by Michel Tournier - The Forest King, in a store. Perhaps this book influenced me a lot at 17. By university, I had already swallowed too many books about art history, diaries of great artists, cross-research in anthropology and art, and mythology. Since then, I have not been able to read fiction, and books have somehow faded into the background.
How important is it to you to be able to be silly and still do serious things as well?
In my opinion, it is impossible to be a good artist without humour and self-irony. You always need to be able to laugh at yourself, at situations, even the most unpleasant ones, while remaining sincere, not going into clowning, raising serious topics, but doing it with due ease without stuffiness.
Why has ambient music or experimental music appealed to you?
I have always chased special states that music immerses you in. I have always searched and am still searching for what surprises my brain and ears and gives me a feeling of comfort in different ways. I cut out the coolest moments, even in the most unexpected compositions (Enigma, Nine Inch Nails, etc.) - everything that caused a pinching sensation in my chest or gave my ears pleasure. That's why I adore movie soundtracks. By the way, I have a whole DJ mix I recorded on this topic.
What sort of relationship do you have with Japanese music?
I have been impressed by Japanese culture since my early years, and I became an oriental art critic by education. Music was no exception because Japanese music is a unique synthesis of echoes of traditional culture and appropriated Western influences.
I can endlessly list my favourite performers from Japan, but of course, in the first row, there is always Yellow Magic Orchestra and its members, legends of Japanese New Age and ambient such as Hiroshi Yoshimura and many others. unknown groups like Pink Tank and their only album, Electric Cinderella (1984), and much, much more.
Could you describe the conditions under which your new album Cure came together?
I had depression for a long time, which reached its peak a year after my divorce in 2022. Even beforehand, I felt that I needed this very "cure". However, I only gradually found it at the beginning of this year, when I said goodbye to an unpleasant past and some people without whom my life became much easier and more pleasant. Afterwards, I began to feel much more confident and harmonious with myself. I also found my little happiness. Although there are nuances of the outside world here (we now live in different parts of the globe) - the material for the new album is already on the way, hahaha.
My world has changed radically in 4 years, which has helped me understand myself better and give myself a chance to heal and start a new good life. I was married, living in Yekaterinburg, and denying myself many opportunities because of the factors that pressured me. Now, this is not the case. Music is the language I use most easily to talk about myself and my feelings, so it's like breathing or eating. The question of motivation doesn't arise for me - I'm always in this.
Is this your pop album? Do you have a vision for what pop music should be?
Not quite pop. In some places, yes; in others - not at all. Technically, it doesn't sound like pop music - there is no compression, and the vocals are sunken into the sound texture. I deliberately refused compression so that the sound would be as transparent and exhibitionistic as possible. I wanted you to hear every sound nuance, and I sunk the vocals so that they would be more of a part of the overall picture, an instrument because, in my music, it's not only this that's important, but everything as a whole.
Who do you consider to be good pop artists?
There are many, but the most valuable are the most unique. I noticed that only unique artists whose voices or sounds you can always recognise become stars. Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Mac Miller, Doja Cat, Kanye West, Britney Spears, Eartheater, Azealia Banks, Playboy Carti and a bunch more - all of them with their unique, recognisable visions.
There are some hip-hop and trap elements in parts of Cure. I was wondering how much of an influence hip-hop had on you growing up.
I didn't like rap as a kid. I started liking it when I grew up, but even then, it was more melodic and less "boyish". I especially like the new wave of ethereal pop divas like Eartheater and powerful new rap artists like Bree Runway - I've always liked this powerful feminine energy that pierces every nerve in your body. I want to reveal my potential in this regard, too. I guess this stylistic element seemed very attractive, so I added it to my music, too.
What’s your first distinct musical memory?
I'm not sure that it was the first one, but I remember sitting at my mother's Elegy Soviet piano and playing major thirds on the black keys, walking along the major pentatonic scale, although, of course, at that time, I didn't know what it was.
I hear your parents had a great record collection when you were a child. What were some of the highlights? I’m assuming some of this influenced you later on?
I constantly asked to turn on Tchaikovsky, and I loved to jump with coloured nylon ribbons - white, pink, and purple - around the living room and dance. Then, I discovered the records of the Space Ensemble and collections of Italian and French songs. I especially loved Abba - for their fantastic production and vocals, although I did not understand what these songs were about. I adored the Pulse collections with a lot of vintage synth-pop like Zigmars Liepiņš and others. I remember there was also a record of Arnold Schoenberg's Enlightened Night (one of his earliest works, sometimes called the pinnacle of late romanticism) and much more.
By the way, in my childhood, I hated the Beatles. I remember that this music caused me physical discomfort, although much later, I was able to penetrate and understand their charm. Undoubtedly, all this left a strong imprint on my perception of music in general.
From what I understand, you grew up in Yekaterinburg, which I believe is the industrial capital of Russia. Was it an encouraging environment in which to begin pursuing music? What was your experience like there?
To be honest, I wouldn't say that this geography influenced me because I grew up in a literal ivory tower of what we had at home and then - what we could find on the newly emerging broadband Internet. I was much more influenced by the MTV channel, which appeared closer to the beginning of the 2000s, where I was incredibly fascinated by the hits of Madonna, a galaxy of artists from the Mickey Mouse Club, so from the Urals in my music, probably, you can't find anything except the charm of the Ural nature. I have always been extremely far from the Ural Rock Club and similar musical associations.
How important has the internet been to your music?
Well, it's an inexhaustible source of inspiration and knowledge in general. Especially when you don't even live in the capital of a rather isolated country for some time now. With the advent of broadband internet, I greedily downloaded and searched for all the most interesting things, sometimes even randomly. Now, however, it has become much more difficult to find those very "pearls" that I have always looked for - streaming offers too standardised and often automatic algorithms for searching for similar artists. Even last.fm in the distant past was a little more convenient. Although it may have just seemed that way to me
I read that you started playing the violin at age three. I think it's interesting when you start playing an instrument super young - because, in many ways, you’re learning technical musical skills before you’ve developed your musical taste. What was that like for you?
I was five years old (music school usually doesn't accept people earlier). At first, studying was very interesting, although I was never that star as a performer. Many years later, I realized that it was not only my growing laziness but also neurological problems: my brain does not always synchronize with my limbs (I have epileptic activity of the right frontal lobe and disruption of neural connections, apparently due to cerebral edema at birth - double umbilical cord around the neck).
As an adult with my own instruments, I realised how one-sided musical education can be: we were not taught to "speak" by instrument. It was more of a technical school with standard techniques of "how to play", even regarding the sensory aspect. Recently, I’ve felt that it is very important to live through what you play in your music. Although, perhaps, this is an isolated case.
How did you develop and add to your musical skills as you grew up?
In addition to music school, at 14, I began to study vocals in the school choir. When I was 17, I joined a group. In 2013, I decided I wanted to make music on my own. I mastered Ableton and continue to improve both artistically and technically. When I started performing, I understood even more about the importance of dramaturgy in performance, and I am still honing this skill. In addition to my music, I work as a sound producer. I make music and sound design for advertising and cinema, which is always challenging. Over the years, thanks to my work, I have learned to work in almost any style.
When did you start doing sound design? How did that open up for you?
Sound design appeared in my life over time when the first orders for music for videos and advertising appeared. This is around 2015. It goes hand in hand, you know? Over time, I learned both - standard techniques and tried a lot of experimental ones, like, for example, in my work with cosmetic crash tests for Flacon-magazine, where the original idea was to voice real things and processes with unusual sounds. Until now, this has been one of my favourite periods in work - a lot of freedom of creativity both in terms of music and in terms of sound design.
What did you use to make music when you started? And what do you use now?
At first, I composed various small compositions on my mother’s piano, processing them with the available tools from the computer’s built-in sound card; later, I started using Ableton and became a full-fledged producer.
When did you start playing music live and touring? You were in the dream-pop band Tip Top Tellix, right? Was there a scene or a touring circuit you could become part of?
Yes, we performed for about five years. We even went to Exit 2011 in Serbia, Novi Sad. However, in the group, I only sang and composed toplines to lyrics that I didn't write, so you could say it's not my music at all. As an artist, my own visions practically weren’t even there at all. The group fell apart in 2012 during vain attempts to finish the album. The guys couldn't cope with their perfectionism. They’d change every song a thousand times without finding an ending. I decided to do everything myself from then on. However, it was an interesting experience.
You released your first few albums through the St Petersburg cassette label Floe. Was there a community or scene around the label? And was it hard to find like-minded music people at the time?
Rather, it was a small division of the larger label Fuselab, releasing cassettes. If there was a community, it was very niche and small. Finding people who shared my vision was still not easy for me, and at that time, there were only a few.
How did you connect with Métron Records? And how has working with them changed things for you?
After parting ways with the floe label due to differences in our views on my release, I started looking for new opportunities: I researched labels that release artists I like and similar ones. I sent out emails with my material everywhere. Métron responded and asked me to record a podcast first, which eventually became my previous album. Since then, I have become less shy of myself as an artist. I have grown a lot over the years – thanks to the label's support. They gave me additional media opportunities, like a good review on Pitchfork, and helped with financing the video for the song ‘Вновь и вновь’. In every way, they pulled me out of the shyness imposed on me by other people over the years, so eventually, I started singing again, even though I struggled with the status of being called "just a girl singer" for a long time. I am very grateful to Jack and his team for everything. We continue to work as best as we can as a team.
From my observation, you generally support your music with a well-defined visual sensibility. How did you develop the way you want your music to look - and what have been some of the influences along the way?
I have synesthesia - I feel every sound as a complex of characteristics: colour, temperature, texture, density, sensory impressions, etc., and I really love movies. I understand that in today's world, a musician won't survive without the appropriate visuals. It's a powerful tool to make a more complete statement about yourself.
Is Instagram a blessing or a curse (or something in between)? Why?
At the moment, it's the only platform where life happens for me. A little bit of TikTok, but I only recently started using it - it's hard to adapt to it when you're 33 (hahaha, kidding). I've only just concluded that as an artist, it's not enough to write music. You need to make videos and talk about yourself and your music in this way. So, I guess it's both - a blessing and a curse.
In response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Katya would like to make clear that she is anti-war and anti-violence in all forms. This album is about love, compassion and kindness. Cure by Katya Yonder is out now through Métron Records in CD and digital download formats. Order your copy here.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
Objekt’s New Label Is a Proving Ground for Experimental Club Music at Its Most Audacious: With his new label, Kapsela, the Berlin-based producer bids farewell to a fallow creative period and greets a new spirit of possibility in his productions. For Pitchfork, Phillip Sherburne.
Ela Minus Loves Her Tiny Wooden Synthesizer: The Colombian songwriter, producer, and synthesizer designer talks about the Pocket Piano, a piece of gear she likes so much she named a song after it. For Hearing Things, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd.
Cash Cobain on sexy drill: "Instead of rapping about killing each other, it's about having a good time": For Mixmag, Cash Cobain talks to Adam Davidson about shifting the needle in New York drill, reassurance from Drake, and his ambitions outside of rap.
We’ve Got A File On You: Kathleen Hanna: We’ve Got A File On You features interviews in which artists share the stories behind the extracurricular activities that dot their careers: acting gigs, guest appearances, random internet ephemera, etc. For Stereogum, Rachel Brodsky.
Soccer Mommy’s Visceral Chronicle of Loss: On the new album “Evergreen,” the artist Sophie Allison makes sadness come alive and transform. For The New Yorker, Hanif Abdurraqib.
Bridges for Music: nurturing South Africa's next generation of electronic artists: Bridges for Music is a trailblazing non-profit organisation based in Cape Town, focusing on empowering youth through music education and cultural exchange. Offering a state-of-the-art academy and mentoring, it provides young people in the Langa township with opportunities to develop skills in music production, DJing, and entrepreneurship, fostering personal and community growth — and its vision and influence extends far beyond the local level, too. DJ Mag’s Mick Wilson spent some time in the Langa community to learn more.
FIN.