5 Q&A With Yodashe
Can you share any interesting or unique musical elements or production techniques used in "Salarywomxn?"
I produced this track towards the end of London's first lockdown. “Salarywomxn” acts as a response to a soundtrack I had created for the Japanese short film ‘Salaryman 6’ as part of a film scoring exercise at Uni.
The film has a dark minimalistic aesthetic and describes the everyday life of a Japanese salaryman which feels like a never ending loop. Bit like ‘Groundhog Day’. So, I built the soundtrack as a loop with a Godardian ‘spin’: adding unexpected sound-effects, sounds being cut abruptly or appearing only once in the film, melodies which represent sonic characters etc.
When I finished the scoring and sound design exercise, I felt some of these sounds needed to be expanded and celebrated, so I created this shorter, more conventional (in format) electronic music piece to elevate little musical themes and weird sound effects used in the score. The melodic phrases which appear once in the score were given more space to expand and develop, in a sequential way, one giving way to the next one, after having taken its full dimension to then fade out.
“Salarywomxn” starts sparse and minimal, to gradually build-up and become further distorted until it explodes in the last part, fading out to the minimalistic beats which take us back to the start, in a continuous loop, like the concept of the original Japanese film.
Have you noticed any particular interpretations or connections that listeners have made with "Salarywomxn?"
I have had different incoming feedback from my music friends / my musical circle but the most interesting one came from the barista at my local train station.
On the last mixing day for this track, I was waiting for my take-away coffee from the stand outside the overground station, on my way to the studio. The barista noticed I was super focused and asked me what I was listening to. I passed on my headphones to him and said "See for yourself…what you think? Is it done? I need to approve this mix today".
He listened for a couple of minutes while he was preparing my coffee and then passed the headphones back to me and said "This beat messes with my psyche, mate! The beat really messes with me. It’s 'off the grid’ and it makes me feel nervous, uncomfortable, it really messes with me...did you make this?”
I explained to him I was just about to approve the mix and release the track and that this was my exact intention, to be slightly ‘off’… and promised to come back with a more regular beat.
How do you feel "Salarywomxn" represents your artistic identity?
“Salarywomxn” definitely has a ‘punk ethos’… it looks like it could fit in a specific genre but the details of the track i.e. the ‘off-grid’ beat make it awkward/odd and sit on the fringes… It questions what should be expected of this type of music and what should be acceptable for a 4/4 electronic techno track.
Other than that, the structure of the track is very important in the development of the song. The various layers and elements, they are explicitly defined, the way they move in space, the panning etc. I tend to think of sonic composition as interrelation of sounds in space.
Can you introduce yourself and share a bit about your journey into music production? How did you become a producer?
Music has been part of my life in various ways since I was a kid. I started as a classical pianist and chorister, performing works written by other composers and then joined various bands as lead vocalist.
Only when I was accepted to Redbull Music Academy my perspective in music making and production shifted completely. In order to prepare for the academy I took time to learn Ableton and create new work to be performed live in NYC and that’s when I really delved into music production and initiated my solo electronic project.
Since then I have kept expanding my studio skills with the aim to be self-sufficient in sculpting and shaping sound to deliver the vision I have in my head, in an unmediated way, using analogue or digital gear.
Can you share a project that holds particular significance to you? What made it memorable, and what challenges did you overcome?
My debut electronic album - which I will be releasing in the next few months - is a really special project. This album was written and produced as part of my thesis project for the MMus in Music Production at Goldsmiths, University of London.
The record is built around the sound of the vintage EDP Wasp synthesizer, which I randomly discovered in the studio. The wasp is a very rare instrument with unique sound which I spent months exploring while creating a repertoire of sonic seeds and musical ideas to be worked into full tracks.
The aspect I found most challenging was that unlike making a single or an ep, this work needed to be developed as a coherent whole consisting of 10 or 11 tracks and also be completed really fast, within the period of 3 months.
I found myself developing multiple tracks at once, learning to operate in a continuous flow, jumping from one track to the next, developing strategies of efficiency, making decisions faster than ever before in my musical life. Making this project was definitely intense, rich in ideas and experiences, with invaluable lessons learnt and I can’t wait to share it with you.