Interview: Yasmin

Planet Notion talks to the Scottish DJ-turned-solo artist and discovers that not only does she make the most excitingly current, melodic urban dance music, but that also she is an incredibly headstrong tour de force. After speaking to this lovely gal, we’ve fallen head over heels for her talent and passion for creativity. Read what she had to say below.

2011 was quite a year for you; are you happy with how it went?

2011 was a wicked year – so much happened. I got to go and do all the festivals, had two top 40 singles, supported some amazing acts like Chase & Status, Eliza Doolittle, Snoop Dogg, I got nominated for a Mobo, presented a Mobo, did a campaign for Lucozade… I got to do so much and enjoyed every minute. I’m gonna work my butt off some more and hope I can do more of the same.

So have you been to festivals before as a fan before you started playing them?

I’ve never camped at festivals – I don’t think I’d be any good at it! But I do love performing at festivals because everyone there is so open to new music. Some people turn up to the stage just to see you but equally a lot of people discover you for the first time. Everyone’s up for having fun, so you get the best crowd at festivals.

I heard you for the first time when you featured on Devlin’s track ‘Runaway‘, just before you got signed. You said that moving from having established yourself as a DJ to being a solo artist was like starting from the bottom again. Were there any skills you learnt as a DJ that you could transpose to your solo work?

Just perseverence. I’ve been DJing since I was seventeen, and for the first couple of years I didn’t get a lot of respect and everyone was always second guessing my ability. I really fought to earn everyone’s respect and to earn the great gigs. With music it’s the same – it’s not an instant  process, so I have to prove myself all over again.

Did being known as a DJ help when you were looking for your tracks to be reworked?

I met Shy FX and  Labrynth before when I was a DJ. I’m very hands on in picking who remixes my songs. The music that I make is not necessarily club music, and I feel like I need to get the right production around it. The more I work on my craft, the more I realise it’s important for me to say certain things through my music, and I’ve really honed in more on the writing. All of the music that I DJ is a source of inspiration.

I saw you tweeting DJ EZ the other day – love him.

Yeah, I tweeted saying I wanted him to DJ at my wedding and he said he definitely would. So all I need to do is find someone to marry and we’ll have a great wedding party!

There’s so much ’90s garage- and RnB-influenced music around at the moment, and your music clearly references those types of sounds – were you into urban artists like that when you were growing up or did you listen to other genres?

Yeah, I grew up on the ’90s hip hop soul movement that people like Mary J Blige and Teddy Riley were pushing – RnB over hip hop beats. From things like the music to the way I dress I never just look at one person and think that I want to be exactly like them. What I do is take inspiration from the ways that people do things and I find how I can do it in my own way.

In your track ‘On My Own‘ you sing about being driven to succeed -  “I could have had a nine to five, or been in school just like my parents wanted” – which I can definitely relate to. How have your parents reacted to what you’ve chosen to do? Are they supportive?

It was difficult for them to be involved at first because they couldn’t exactly come to the club with me while I was DJing. I could tell them what I was doing, but there was no physical evidence. Now, they see me in magazines and can come to my shows and get to be a part of it, so they’re much more comfortable about what I’m doing. As I said in ‘On My Own’, this is a really difficult path to take – if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Making the kind of music that I make is particularly hard – I want people all over the world to connect with it but I also want to keep it credible and dignified. It’s difficult, but my parents support me and I persevere.

As you said, this industry is very competetive. What do you think it is that made you different and made people listen to your music?

I’m quite an honest person – I’m open with people, and they connected with my presence online. I chose an unconventional genre of music – trip hop is coming back now but there wasn’t really anything like ‘On My Own’ when I put it out. I just hope people see that I try to do something different each time I make a song.

Where do you think you’d be without the help of social media? Do you think it’s been an integral part of your success and popularity?

I think it’s an integral part to every successful artist’s career. Tinie Tempah was blogging non-stop on his blog, Milk and Two Sugars; Ed Sheeran got his break on SBTV; Jessie J used to put videos of herself singing up on YouTube. It’s not an option to not utilise the internet, and it would be silly not to. The internet has opened gates for artists and the quality of music is so much higher now.  The internet’s here, and you’ve either got to roll with it or get rolled over.

You worked on your new single, ‘Light Up The World‘, with Shy FX and Ms Dynamite, who is so established in the industry. Did she teach you anything valuable at all whilst you were working together?

She didn’t give me tips in particular, but she very much leads by example. She not only pursues her career but also she has a family and the amount of work she puts in to make both work is so commendable. She must function on no sleep! But she’s so positive and happy, she has a good spirit that it is just infectious when you are around her. So that’s what Ms Dynamite has passed on to me – positivity and a good work ethic.

You worked with so many great producers and DJs last year. What do you get from working with other people that you may not necessarily achieve when working by yourself?

Experience. I’m very new to this, and I got signed and released straight away, so I’ve done a lot of learning on the job. I guess I have a raw talent that I’ve never really understood; I’m getting to grips with understanding it and working with other people helps.

Have you got your eye on any new artists that you’d tip for 2012?

My very good friend Bluey Robinson has signed to Sony RCA – he’s a megastar waiting to explode, an incredible talent who just radiates music. He’s performing at HMV’s Next Big Thing next month. If you ever get the chance to see him perform, you have to go. Bluey is like a mix of Stevie Wonder and Justin Timberlake; he’s set for world domination.

Daley is another incredible soul artist who’s signed to Polydor I think, and a girl band called StooShe who are full of attitude and are like a feisty Sugababes.

What are your plans for 2012?

I’ll be getting an album out, and I did an acoustic session recently consisting of two covers (including Frank Ocean – ‘American Wedding’) and two original tracks, so I’ll be dropping those over the next couple of months. I’m doing a lot more DJ gigs and playing HMV’s Next Big Thing at The Borderline on February 5th. I’m also collaborating on a jewellery line, so I’m working on that at the moment and it’ll be sold in Topshop. A friend of mine works in TV and we’re in talks about co-writing a little TV series – that’s a world I want to explore. I want to film documentaries that are less stylistic and more about telling a story.

You also said you want to set up a label, right?

I’d love to have my own label – I believe that within me is a great A & R trying to get out! I’d like to help people out and collaborate with other people. I like to see everybody win – I’m much more of a team player than someone who’s totally selfish. I’d love to develop artists and give them time to create and nurture their talent rather than having the pressures to instantly make a load of money.

-Bronya Francis