YAZ LEÓN * 2001
( One For The Future? You Choose… ) - Wednesday 24th July 2024
Words by Isaac Solanki. Photography by Amy Lindsay (Creative Opportunities). Styling by Catherine Braga Abou Nasr (Creative Opportunities) using pieces from Simone Li and Hyland Carter. BTS by Isaac Solanki. Thanks to Jessica Lamb (DSTNCT SPACE).
Introduce yourself and describe your sound…
“Hey, I’m Yaz León, a producer and songwriter who’s continuously learning and developing through experimentation within a diverse range of genres. From the soulful vibes of R&B and neo-soul to the raw energy and narrative of indie alternative rock and folk-inspired songwriting, I like to keep my music making process as free as possible. At the minute, I’m fully embracing being able to explore without the confines of a specific sonic identity and as a result, I’m really pleased with how open my music is becoming.”
What do you think makes you different to the other young up and coming artists of today?
“I think it's definitely the production side of things; there’s a crazy amount of bedroom producers out there right now, which is great but I feel like a lot of them tend to stick to a specific style or sub-genre, having found some kind of continuity in their sound. I guess maybe to my detriment at times, I like to keep it very unhinged; I don’t have a set production script or favoured genre that I follow each time when I’m making a song. It’s all very much a work in progress and I'm very proud of how much I've improved as an artist in terms of being able to move what I have going on in my head into an actual sound.”
What’s your story? How did it all start and what challenges have you faced along the way so far?
“I'm definitely a late bloomer when it comes to music. I was more into art and science at school, I guess I was a little bit of a study nerd, however, playing around on GarageBand has always been my go-to thing to provide me with a much-needed escape.
The onset of lockdown during my first year at university was extremely challenging but it actually came with a silver lining for me. I suddenly found myself with loads of time and I began to really hone in my skills and learn more about a load of new music making techniques, mainly through YouTube videos. I was really putting the nerdiness to good use and I thought why not release a song – I was pleasantly surprised by its reception. Convincing my parents to get on board with it all was initially a bit of a challenge but my determination and stubborn nature ultimately won them over; I wanted to go for it, so they supported me.”
Moving forwards, what are some of your short-term and long-term career goals for the future?
“I'm really looking forward to doing some festivals, I’ve been wanting to for a long time now but I haven't got any in the pipeline at the moment; we’ve been really busy in the studio making music recently, so the gigging and stuff has naturally taken a bit of a backseat.
Long term, I'd love to release an album, that's always been the big goal for me; I’d love to get some kind of deal at some point too so I can properly make music for a living. Then, the final end goal has obviously got to be doing it all on a huge scale. Massive sold out shows with the whole band - I think it’s every artists dream.”
Talk to me about some of the unsung heroes of your music career to date. Is there anyone that you perhaps wouldn’t be here today without?
“There’s loads. Firstly David, who was on the shoot with us; he’s undoubtedly like family to me. My friend Cassie is another one, she holds a special place in my heart and even has a song on the EP dedicated to her as a surprise - through thick and thin, she has been my rock on countless occasions. Among the many beautiful individuals in my life, my mum, whose continuously supported me, has to get a mention too.”
“Gully” by Yaz León
“It’s actually the one that I was most insecure about before its release; I thought it was almost a bit too striped back at the start but looking at it now, I think lyrically it’s definitely some of the best work I’ve created. My team pushed me into making it the last single release before the “Bleach” EP and I’m so pleased that they did.
It's actually about a very specific déjà vu moment, I’m explaining the feeling from a core memory; I remember jumping into the sea with a childhood friend of mine around the age of 10, our eyes were open under the water and it was a really sunny day. I can still picture it all so clearly and I chose to write poetically about the feeling.”
Favourite lyric from the track…
“It’s perhaps a little bit vague but I feel like “there's a glow behind your ear, it sends the blood up to my head, because I've never been so sure, that you and I have been here before” really describes the personal déjà vu experience. I love the fact that it makes the song feel like it could be attached to some kind of romantic setting but I also really like how open it is to interpretation.”
