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Yoko sat down with us to discuss her rising stardom, her artistic process, her sorority days at the University of Colorado Boulder, and more.
Amidst the burgeoning talent pool of the bass scene, Yoko shines as a vibrant beacon of authenticity and refreshing newness. Her rise within the scene from local clubs in Denver and underground shows to venues as big as The Mission Ballroom has been inspiring to see as she continues to tick off major artist milestones like her upcoming appearance at Red Rocks next month with Mersiv.
With styles ranging from downtempo to dubstep and halftime, Yoko’s talent is evident in every release as she’s honed in an original style and acute attention to detail uncommon for blossoming artists. Since her album Wake The Dreamer was released earlier this year, she hasn’t slowed her roll on new music or live shows.
Before her set at The Astral Project Festival earlier this month in beautiful Woodbury, Tennessee, we sat down with Yoko to talk about our shared love for intimate festivals, her creative process, her sorority girl to DJ pipeline, and more! Be sure to stream her most recent single, “Dial Up” on Spotify and read on for our conversation!
Hey Yoko, thanks so much for chatting with me today at The Astral Project! How was your experience last night? Any first impressions on the festival or standout sets from other artists?
Of course, thank you for having me! Yeah, so I attend a lot of festivals both for leisure and work, and the smaller-scale festivals really have a place in my heart. I was able to stroll in here and get right into the festival groove, and from the get-go, I was having a blast. The sound is awesome, the people are great, and I love Tennessee!
You and I love these small-scale bass festivals for many of the same reasons—the intimacy, the setting, the sound systems, etc. But has anything specifically stood out to you about this festival? Like the fact that we’re literally at a distillery right now.
I agree that the distillery is the best part! I love that the lineup is very diverse and brings some interesting different parts of the community together. I think that’s my favorite part. It’s a true breath of fresh air as an artist to get on stage knowing there are new faces and new ears experiencing your project as well who may not have before. So that’s why it’s just as fun to me to play to diverse crowds as EDM-centered ones.
Your set kicks off the Shiner Stage for late-night sets tonight after Resonant Language closes the main stage. Which vibe is your favorite, a daytime set or late-night?
I think the late-night crew is my favorite to play for. I don’t know why, but it’s just an entirely different energy, for sure. [Laughs] The gremlin energy, yes! And with it being cold here, of course, everyone’s in their big coats mobbing and just the best kind of late-night energy.
How much of your sets do you plan ahead of time versus playing off the vibe of the crowd?
Yeah, it’s definitely always changing depending on the show or festival and my schedule! I love to plan out my festival sets if I know the schedule ahead of time. For example, tonight, I’m playing after Resonant Language, who is a huge inspiration to me, so I wanted to plan this one out as much as I could.
At the same time, it can be hard to plan everything out. I have so much new music, so I’m always working right up until the last minute. Last night, I was even up late working on new things for my set tonight.
Is a smaller crowd like this one more or less challenging to read than a sold-out Mission Ballroom in Denver?
I would honestly have to say the smaller stuff like this is more challenging, you can totally see and feel everyone’s energy more! When there’s a big gap between you and the rail and, say, a 1,000+ crowd, it’s a lot harder to gauge their energy and easier to put your head down and focus on what you’d prepared.
When it comes to small events like this one, I’ll second-guess myself the entire time, thinking, “Oh, maybe this or that would work better,” and end up switching things up on the fly. It definitely makes it more exciting to play. I love everything about these intimate crowds.
You kicked off the year strong by releasing your debut album, Wake The Dreamer. This album really shows off your talent for painting sonic stories within your music. What are some things you take inspiration from when you create projects like this one?
Lessons with other artists. Having a lesson with Resonant Language was obviously a major inspiration. But I’ll also take inspiration from all kinds of random things like movies! Wake The Dreamer was heavily inspired by Ex Machina. I watched that movie and was just like, woah, I could write a lifetime’s worth of music on this, and boom, the album was born.
What about other musicians who have inspired you, both in this space and non-electronic?
I’m actually a huge vinyl collector! I was gifted my mom’s entire collection as a 10-year-old, and from there, I was always diving into crates at the record shop down the block from my school. I listened to a lot of old stuff growing up. I only listened to ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s, and old soul and country. [Laughs] Weird stuff! And so I get inspiration from a lot of different areas. I also just picked up scratching this year!
That’s so awesome to hear! So you have some huge things coming up soon, like playing Red Rocks for the first time! Did you have any specific “aha” moment early on in your career or even recently that made you realize you were on the right path in your music journey?
I just played Mission Ballroom so that was a huge moment of like, wow, I really did that! It took me like a few months to honestly process the fact that I played there. Playing Red Rocks will be insane and is a dream come true as well.
I find a lot of like aha moments in other realms rather than playing. When I log on to my phone and see that an artist I’ve listened to forever is starting to follow my project or bought my music on Bandcamp, that’s huge! That feeling never dies down, honestly.
Lastly, I did some digging into Yoko’s lore and had to ask about your pipeline from sorority girl at the University of Colorado Boulder to festival girl all of the way full circle to DJ girl!
[Laughs] Honestly, no one has brought that up before. That’s hilarious because nobody knows about it, and that’s always a fun party story. It was a time in my life! I had just moved from Seattle, immersing myself in a whole new state, and of course, I didn’t know anyone. I went in with the mindset of wanting to meet new people, so my mom suggested Greek Life.
When I got involved, I quickly realized that it was pretty party-forward, but I met some really cool people right away. It wasn’t long before I realized I didn’t want to be in a sorority anymore. But I made many of my close friends in it, and those friends introduced me to electronic music.
I started DJing while I was going to these festivals, and you know, playing all the normal shit. But I quickly realized I wanted to be making my own stuff. I wanted to DJ my own stuff. And so then it just became, alright, how do I learn while I’m going to college and just utilize my free time as best as I can?
By the time I left college, I was getting booked around Denver. I was just super influenced by the underground and wanted to make a different sound than everybody else, and that’s how it all started.
