Yajin

Hey! So happy to talk to you! Right now, I’m in Vienna, sitting on my girlfriend's sofa because there’s construction chaos at my place. It’s a bit stressful, but honestly, I enjoy it. It feels like being thrown into a new chapter, which keeps things interesting.

I mean, sometimes I just have to stick with the first idea, which came to me back in 2017 or something like that. I had this idea for a name that was a bit inspired by Dragon Ball and felt like it could capture the sound of my music best. Not that Dragon Ball had anything directly to do with it, but I felt like the names had something special about them. And sticking with an idea I had when I was younger also has a lot of nostalgic value to me.

Thank you so much! Yeah, it’s been a while. I think I needed that time to realize I shouldn’t let perfectionism hold back my releases or be too overly curative. But I have a couple of tracks lined up now. For me, making music involves so many different phases. Which means there is a phase where I create the very first idea, and it doesn’t have to start with some amazing concept—it’s often just experimenting with synths and seeing what happens. That’s honestly the best part, where 90% of the song’s spirit takes shape. Then there’s all the other work that comes afterward, which I also enjoy, but it can be time-consuming, especially doing everything myself. I generally think about everything I do as a whole thing, and sometimes the focus shifts a bit.

I rarely use old material—maybe I should more often, but usually, I just start fresh if the spark isn’t there. For me, a track really has to be born as you said it. I think of it as finding the seed of an idea; once I have that, it’s like the rest of the path is already mapped out. I know what’s missing; it’s just a matter of finding the sounds that bring it to life. With untied, it felt like the track evolved into a work that’s meant to be shared. My songs are always tied to my current state of mind, like a diary, but it’s a diary where I get to build a world that mirrors my headspace. I’m really drawn to ideas of other dimensions or planets. It’s the same with untied; I thought about my experiences as if they happened somewhere imaginary, in a different realm entirely. But it doesn’t always have to be my own experience. I also like to make up something new, because once it’s there, it exists. So, who’s to say it couldn’t happen someday?

I always start with the instrumental, putting everything into a space you can really feel. I love convolution reverb—it's the type of reverb where they capture actual spaces, and I think it’s amazing. After setting that up, I just sing whatever nonsense comes to mind, and that often turns out to be the main vocal line that drives the track. From there, I write lyrics that build on that feeling, like they’re adding another layer. Words have their own rhythms and tones, so it’s almost like finding the perfect puzzle pieces that lock into the song’s flow. I think about each track as one connected thing—you have to weave and layer elements so that each sound has perspective and depth in relation to the others. The way sounds interact and blend, finding just the right balance, is what makes the whole process so fascinating for me, because you can work with any sound imaginable.

I think it’s really about a shift in mindset I was going through, and I wanted to capture that feeling. It wasn’t one big realization but rather a series of small things that added up over time. Ultimately, it’s about appreciating the fact that you exist and can enjoy life for what it is while also embracing choices. You can create an environment where you feel more like yourself. Looking back at my older work, it’s funny to see that everything makes sense now even if I doubted some parts of it. At least, that’s how I see it. In the moment, reality and thoughts can feel so random, but when you bring even the most random ideas together, and you feel there’s something special there, it often reveals itself more fully after some time has passed. That’s the fascinating side effect of archiving memories in the shape of music: you can learn from them again in a different way when you get older.

For this track, and a few others, I keep imagining this small rocky island in shades of monochrome grey, where there’s a little dog playing with a metallic spinning creature. This spinning top-like thing gets its spotlight on untied. I couldn’t really explain why, but it just feels right. It captures a liberating feeling for me. By mapping things out this way and attaching a song to each visual in my head, I feel like I’m able to capture the full essence of the idea, even for myself. I’m a big believer in intuition when it comes to starting a project—trusting those initial images and letting them guide the process.

It’s funny; I actually talk about this a lot with friends who also produce. It’s not so much about listing new skills I’ve learned; it’s more that I’ve gotten better at knowing what’s good, what fits, and what I genuinely like. It feels like I’ve trained my ears to sense what might be missing or what’s too much. Even with something like EQ curves, I wasn’t really listening to them back then. Now, I just trust what feels right. In terms of direction, I wouldn’t change a thing—I’m happy with my earlier work for what it is. I might just tweak the mix a bit!

Yes! Besides music, I love experimenting with physical objects. After studying product design, I started a design studio focused on creating functional objects with an artistic approach. But I don’t really separate the two—whether it’s sonic or physical, it’s all about creating things that excite me. In my head, it’s all part of one creative output. I enjoy the differences between these two fields. With music, I can work more intuitively, while in design, I’m constantly challenged by real-world limitations and the properties of materials. It’s a different journey—design requires meeting specific criteria, which pushes me to make decisions based on the realities of the physical world. Both processes have their unique pleasures.

It’s really important to me. I think every song benefits from having a visual representation of how it’s meant to be experienced. Sometimes that extra layer deepens my love for a track, or it puts the song into a new perspective I hadn’t thought of. But other times, it can also be disappointing if the visuals clash with the music. There’s definitely a risk in creating multimedia content for something meant to be purely sonic, but when the vision is right, it can add so much. Since I work alone on all of my solo tracks, it just makes sense for me to handle the visuals too. I don’t question if they connect, because I’m the only one who sees the song exactly the way I do, so capturing that is like a natural extension. It’d be different with a big team and set goals, but I make music mainly for myself. I wouldn’t want any outside pressure or commercial aim to interfere with making what I genuinely care about.

Definitely more music! I haven’t made it official yet, but there’s an EP in the works, with more of my vocals and more impulsive, dynamic instrumentals. I’m really enjoying the direction my music is taking, and with each song, I feel more confident. I’m also really into collaborating lately; the shared experience of bringing something to life with others is a completely different thing, so that’s something else to look forward to in the future.