Austrian born, Berlin-based rocker Uche Yara radiates a bold, effervescent energy. Meeting NME in Dalston on a cold November night, the multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter is defiantly cheerful, even as we climb up the grungy concrete stairs of a worn-down building for our interview. “Reminds me of Berlin!” she says, gamely, of the unglamorous setting she finds herself in.
Yara is in London for Pitchfork Festival (her first ever performance in the city), bringing her rip-roaring rock show to the iconic Cafe Oto. A beloved space for the capital’s underground and avant-garde music scenes, it’s not her usual type of venue. But she’s got this in her stride anyway – playing live shows is how she got her start.
Discovered straight out of high school at her first performance at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Yara toured extensively around Europe without putting any music out, forging connections with audiences purely with her electrifying stage presence. Before releasing a single song, she had already played Wilderness, The Great Escape and opened for The Rolling Stones at their Vienna show in July 2022, alongside local band Bilderbuch.
This September, she kicked down doors with her first track ‘www she hot’, a vigorous and innovative rock anthem that flits between distorted vocals chants to blasts of amped-up guitar; she introduced herself as a genre-bending artist playing in the same riotous sonic spaces of 100 gecs or Genesis Owusu. The track has firmly cemented itself as one of this year’s most eclectic debut singles. Yara’s latest twin-release ‘Sophie’ and ‘Panama’ join ‘www’ in featuring unpredictable structures, unique vocal effects and influences from across punk rock, psychedelia and R&B.
NME caught up with Yara to discuss coming up as a live musician and opener, how the cities she’s lived in have influenced her music, and how she constructs her unconventional songs.
You’ve been really focused on live performance. How do you approach your shows, especially with audiences who may not be familiar with your work?
“Being on stage has always been the most natural thing to me. Playing my songs to audiences live before releasing them always felt like the most direct way to approach my music.
“Performing in front of new audiences can be scary, especially as an opener. People are mostly waiting for the band to come on and don’t necessarily want to see you. In those situations, I find it’s all the more important to just be positive and give the audience some time to understand me and what I’m doing.”
Being an opener is a really unique experience. Have you felt like you’ve won people over in those situations?
“Yes, and it’s so satisfying! I always focus on putting my energy out there, even when I don’t necessarily receive something back. I’m mainly just honoured to open for bigger acts. It’s comforting to play in that big construct, without the full pressure of carrying that whole evening as the main character.
“I can get an impression of what that’s like, but I can hand over to the ‘big guys’ and watch them do it. It’s a real ‘tastemaker’ experience for me – in the moment I’m glad I don’t have to carry a two-hour concert in front of a stadium, but it shows me that at some point, I would love to.”
The three songs you have released so far are very powerful. What do you hope people take away from seeing you perform them live?
“I do quite a rock show. Whilst I have a bunch of other different songs in my back pocket, right now I feel it’s important that people who see me live aren’t confused by me playing music that’s completely out of the rock world that they know me for. I try to build a bridge in my live show from the rock setup to demos that are also in that powerful rock direction.”
You rock out to guitar at your shows, but also jam on the drums too. How do you build your music around the various instruments that you play?
“There’s always one specific idea, like a great drum groove or a catchy melody that turns into a vocal line. With my latest single ‘Sophie’, the line was ‘Sophie, you’re so mean!’. When I have that groove or melody, within a few seconds I’ll be able to hear the total song in my head. After that, it’s all about trying to write down and record the things I’m hearing. But even before starting that, it’s already quite clear to me what will happen. I hear all the pieces.”
“My dream is to have that moment where people scream my lyrics back at me”
Your music has been mostly self-produced. What is it like starting to involve more people in your music?
“This year was quite intense because I’ve only recently had to learn how to communicate my vision to other people. I was used to sitting alone in my home studio doing everything on my own. With more people now involved, I’ve had to learn how to say what I need.
“It’s not easy, and I still struggle finding the words for all the things that I hear in my head. But it’s coming more naturally as I go, the more people I talk to and work with.”
You grew up in Austria and are now based in Berlin. How has each place shaped you and your music?
“Austria is where I learned how to play instruments, from guitar to drums to piano. There was so much space at my parents’ house in the countryside, and I could be loud at any time. I grew up and learned music in a really free and playful way.
“I moved to Berlin after I graduated high school. What struck me immediately was the lack of space, as I moved into a flat share and could no longer make noise. I couldn’t bring my drumset with me, and I didn’t have access to a studio at the time. Things switched from being really free to neighbours saying: ‘Are you mad? You can’t play drums here!’
“At that point, I started sampling myself and finding a workaround for loud instruments. I also started being really playful with my voice and learning about vocal distortion.
“One week I visited my parents at home in Austria, and took the opportunity while I was there to record as many drum loops as I possibly could whilst I could make noise!”
The way you play with vocals is really unique. You often sing in a low register, but also manipulate your voice. How do you decide to use your voice in this way?
“Tierra Whack is the greatest inspiration to me. She is so playful with her voice, and her music has a great sense of humour. Listening to her was what first made me think, ‘Wow. I have my own type of voice and should use it, including the whole register.’
Years ago I felt pressure to have the kind of high, clear, pop vocal that you hear on the radio, like Ariana Grande and Caroline Polachek, who have really high and sophisticated vocals. But I just can’t sing that high. In fact, my voice goes really low. I always thought that was something people wouldn’t understand, but at some point I just started embracing it. I’ve now grown really confident in the way I sing.”
Your newest song ‘Sophie’ is sung from the perspective of a person whose lover is being cruel to them. What was your inspiration to create the song this way?
“The topic of love and how we treat each other is universal. It felt so clear to me to use the character ‘Sophie’ in the lyrics, as it’s a popular name in many languages and was a way of showing how relatable this experience is, how anyone can through this at any time. I wanted to approach the topic in a different way, so I decided to switch roles and sing from the other person’s perspective.
“I thought it was especially powerful to sing from this perspective in my low register. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the song is sung from a male perspective, but I felt a power and darkness in the lower register.”
Your music is very maximalist and can feel like multiple songs in one. How do you approach putting arrangements together?
“I put the pieces together in a way that feels easy and lighthearted to me. I didn’t realise how complex the songs were until I showed them to people and they responded with total confusion. ‘There’s so much going on! It sounded like five songs in one piece’, they would tell me. But that’s just where my mind goes!”
Do you have a statement of intent with your music moving forward?
“My dream is to have that moment where people scream my lyrics back at me. Where we just sing together and people feel understood. I want to share that experience with the whole room.
“I’m a fan girl too, so I know how beautiful it feels to stand in the audience and feel so connected to the artist on stage. I want to give that to people and show them: ‘I see you. Let’s do this together.’”