As you might have already discovered for yourself, music and spirituality are inherently entwined, it’s not uncommon for ravers to undergo a spiritual awakening and for myself, I’ve felt closer to ‘source’ on the dance floor than anywhere else, so when Yulia Niko’s debut album ‘TWINSOUL’ dropped into Broke Magazine’s inbox, I was determined to borrow a few moments of her time following the release for a quick chat to find out more. Here’s what she had to say…
Broke Magazine: Cheers for catching up with us Yulia!
Yulia Niko: Hello Broke Mag, really happy to be chatting with you today!
Broke Magazine: Before we get into the new single, we wanna learn a bit more about your background, you’ve been listening to, making and collecting music since your youth. How did you first come across the electronic scene?
Well, sometimes the worst accidents or situations bring the best changes to life. I realized this at a very early age; back when I was 15, I got into a car accident and was in the hospital for a few months. I ended up with a CD player and a bunch of CDs in my hands. I’ve been listening to house music since then, and felt the hypnotic rhythm inspiring me and enlightening me that I wanted to work in music. Funny enough, I learned from this experience to be ready for anything in life, and I actually went on to become a musician.
Broke Magazine: Can you remember picking up your first pair of decks, and what was the process of learning to DJ and produce like for you?
Yulia Niko: Of course I do, it was a pair of old Technics turntables at a local club in my hometown. I learned first to play on vinyl, and honestly, it took me a while to understand and to feel it with my hands and ears. I spent about 3 months learning until the promoter invited me to play for a crowd, and I’ll never forget how shitty it was – my hands were shaking so much and I could not catch a beat with a needle but, people still liked my selection of music so it was all fine at the end. Before I learned to mix, I was a dancer, which definitely helped me to feel a beat and recognize when a DJ mixes another song. When I first asked someone to teach me, it was DJ Taga.
He told me to take mixes of other DJs and try to recognize the very first moment when the next track starts coming in. I think this lesson helped me a lot with smooth mixing, and I still do this now. Recognizing a beat takes time and comes from experience, because you need to recognize right away if it’s too slow or too fast. When you play vinyl, there is also such a time limit to do this, so it’s a lot of pressure! I’ve now been DJing for 19 years and still I think there is more room to grow, but I am pretty happy with my technique and I enjoy it a lot.
Broke Magazine: Your new album ‘TWINSOUL’ is dedicated to your dad, who sadly passed away. We’d love to learn more about him. Can you share a few details about his personality and the impact he had on your life?
Yulia Niko: I left my parents’ house when I was 16, and built my career by myself without any extra support from anyone. My father was a nice man; he was fought in war twice in the last 10 years. He was super simple, quiet and kind of always in his own world. He actually didn’t like to listen to music much because he was telling me that my music was like “hammer hits to his head”. But when I was with him, I was always playing him Jazz, Sade, or something smooth, without those “hits”. I thought, slowly I will play harder and harder and maybe one day, he will end up enjoying one of my songs. But sadly, there was not enough time. Because of this, the album is a mix of hammer hits and real songs, which I think he would really enjoy. Well, at least a few like Exito, Come Too Far, or Soul of The World…
If I’m being honest, he probably would be happier if I were a lawyer, which was his wish. So, I had to get my law degree before I could dedicate my soul to the music. Now though, I can see that the education paid off and even though I am in the music industry, I realize it’s also very important to be aware of law and economics side of things, so I’m grateful that he pushed me to go to school. It always gives me extra confidence that I have a backup, and is kind of why I still go full on with my career; just for fun and to see how far actually I can make it. But seriously, I miss him very much and am very proud that through this album, and even this interview, I keep memories of him in my heart, reminding of him to myself and others – he probably would have never expected this!
Broke Magazine: Parents questioning career choices is something a lot of creatives can relate to, you pursued your path, and it paid off. What advice would you give to others doing the same right now?
Yulia Niko: Parents, friends, strangers… they all will ask you, “what are you doing to your life? Are you sure?” – which is a bit true, from my side at least. But life is short and to spend it in a boring office maybe isn’t the best scenario (at least for me). If you feel like you can bring something extraordinary to this world, go for it and don’t listen to anyone! I have been like this since I was 15! I All I did was dream about what I would do with my life, and now I am so happy about it! Hope you are the one, go and show to all of them, and know what you are doing. We’re all about bigging up women in music. Can you name-drop three female DJs you’ve been listening to recently that deserve more attention? I am a big fan of Steffi, Anja Schneider and Nina Kravitz of course 🙂 For me, they are three truly talented, strong artists, who are real legends.
Broke Magazine: ‘TWINSOUL’ is a term people might know better as twin flames. It refers to a single unit of consciousness split into two souls that incarnate into separate bodies. In the early stages of producing your album, you found similarities between yourself and young photos of your father, which ultimately inspired the album’s artwork. Can you explain some of these resemblances to our readers?
Yulia Niko: Yes, you’ve said this all correctly! You know when everyone tells you that you look like one of your parents, but you think hm, okay – do I? After his passing, I was looking at old pictures, and of course, now that I am more mature and know my body so well, I saw my shoulders, my knees, foot, nose, my hair… but actually, it was all him! And of course my mother kept repeating, “you are behaving exactly like your father!” There are also some aspects of my behaviour that resemble him, which I don’t like and try to avoid doing. But nobody is perfect. At least I have someone’s mistakes that I can learn from.
Broke Magazine: Following our last question, can we hear these synchronicities relayed anywhere in your new music? (Which we’ll all be listening to on March 8th, btw).
Yulia Niko: In lyrics, yes, absolutely. This album is more as a story of my life, which I dedicate to my father. The first song of the album called “Soul of the World,” featuring Illinois on vocals. This track is most related to the subject of the album, and I used the same synth from my track “Molly and Sally” on it. She sings:
I’m not the same
I have to know
I had a dream
I have to go
To the soul of the world
Then is Exito featuring Sil Romero. It would be nice to read these lyrics to my father, who asked me all the time “So, when are you going to become famous?” He was king of making fun of me, and this song has such great lyrics:
El exito es un camino no un destino
El exito es un camino no un destino
El ego tiene miedo
Quiere controlar porque tiene miedo
[Success is a path not a destination
Success is a path not a destination
The ego is afraid
He wants to control because he is afraid]
Same with all the other songs, if you read the lyrics, you will find more clarity in what’s going on here 🙂
Broke Magazine: Production-wise, your music focuses on positivity. How do you pull this energy into your sets and releases?
Yulia Niko: I think if we start from lyrics, all the songs have a positive message, it’s more than enough to build an uplifting, energetic, inspiring record. It’s similar to cooking; if you do it with love, and mix the right ingredients, it will arrive at the right place. The album does not have one style – all of the songs are very different because each one has a story behind it.
Broke Magazine: Moving on from the album with one final question, you mention each track represents part of your soul coming together following the wake of your father’s passing. Can you expand on what you mean by this and the inner healing you experienced during this process?
Yulia Niko: Most of the ideas for the songs on the album were in my head for a long time. Some I thought I would never finish because I couldn’t figure out where and how I could release it. I think albums are a vehicle to show maximum creativity and you have the freedom to do whatever you want, because as a techno/house DJ, I always have some borders I can’t cross in terms of my tracks. After his passing, I had a revelation one night and realized that I am the only one who is responsible for my life and need to finally accept what my heart tells me, without a single doubt. I wanted to make an album, even though I took awhile off to recover, because it helped me to distract myself from grieving and make something positive that is a beautiful memorial for him and something new for my fans.
Broke Magazine: Speaking of souls, each is unique and encompasses its own energy, can you delve into the characteristics of yours?
Yulia Niko: Wow, hard question! As my astrology says, in my past life, I was a healer. Somehow, I sometimes think that people feel better after talking to me and actually use my advice – and it helps them. In the music scene, I am very open, and I try to be attentive to all creative people that I believe in and help as much as I can. I think I could be a sound healer if not a DJ, but I think somehow I stuck in this loop of producing vocal songs. I don’t produce music without vocals probably for this reason and actually last year, after releasing my record “I’m Everything” feat EREZ on Get Physical Music, I got messages in IG from strangers that the track was healing them in heavy moments of life. Check it out if you feel like it… it would help me stay inspired on the road too!
Broke Magazine: “Everything happens for a reason” is a rule you resonate with, and we can really relate to that. Can you give our readers an example of a time you saw this manifest in the reality of your own life?
Yulia Niko: Everything happens, or doesn’t happen, for a reason! If you keep calm, it will benefit your life and your art. Apart from the album, I have a very busy traveling schedule every, and after many years, I’ve learned to not panic or get upset. If my flight is canceled or something unexpected happens, you could miss something or something you wanted to happen might now. It doesn’t mean that “I don’t care”, I do care and I try to be super punctual, but you can only keep going if you are organized, calm and focused. We are not superheroes and if life gives us some difficult challenges, better just go with the flow and maybe miss a show! Of course, there have been situations when I wanted a track to be on a certain label, and the A&R was rejecting it and telling me that “it is not good enough”, which is always painful, but I never gave up and kept trying to improve with motivation to make him love it the next time. I guess, just be patient and accept all that life has prepared for you! If you are hardworking, what you wish for will eventually come, it might just take a bit more time than expected!
Broke Magazine: You’re based in Berlin now but have lived in New York and toured across Europe. Out of all the rave scenes you’ve experienced, which city has the best one?
Yulia Niko: It’s hard to compare the best two cities in the world, but at the same time, they are absolutely opposite! I definitely choose Berlin, because it’s an easier city to live and easier to find everything I need for my job. For example, every party or afterparty you go to in Berlin, every second person is a DJ so it’s easy to make contacts and collaborations. In Berlin, techno music is the main culture and in New York it’s modern trend that is slowly taking over, at least in Brooklyn. You can have lots of fun in both anyway. Each city is unique and has a lot to offer. Whilst we’re talking about Berlin, which venues do you visit regularly that our readers should try out? Right now, I am in love with the new setup of the club Ritter Butzke. They did a reconstruction and changed the sound system, which makes each set there is my favourite ever. You can watch my latest set from there now, which is hilarious, because I didn’t know it was actually recording. It was a very alive set. Also, for the album tour, we are doing a show there on April 13. I am super excited to be back!