Interview: Yuna

If you’re not already familiar with Yuna from her hit single “Crush” ft. Usher (or my favorite, the catchy-as-all-hell, “Rescue”), you’ll probably be familiar with some of the company she keeps. Her latest album Rouge (out now), features Tyler, the Creator, G-Eazy, Little Simz, and more. She’s been a professional pop singer-songwriter for over a decade, and her work has only gotten more ambitious as time has gone on. Her hungriness to establish herself as an international artist brought her from Malaysia (where she first became a viral MySpace hit, and later earned numerous awards for her debut EP) to Los Angeles, where she’s lived for the last 8 years and recorded her last 3 albums. We had a chance to chat with Yuna via email about the work that went into this impressive collection. 

ALLSTON PUDDING: Your last album drew inspiration from small yet distinct episodes of your life, hence the name Chapters. Did you have any overarching goals/themes in mind when you sat down to write Rouge?
YUNA: I didn’t have a theme in mind when I wrote Rouge. I simply asked myself, “What have you always wanted to write about, but you’ve always been scared to say it in your songs?” and that’s how we got Rouge. It’s definitely an album that came from an honest place, “what you see is what you get,” kind of thing. I’m not trying to write a hit after hit—let’s just sit down and focus on what has been bothering Yuna lately.

AP: You’ve mentioned in other interviews that making this album was “freeing.” What were you able to accomplish this time around creatively that you weren’t able to pursue in the past?
YUNA: I’ve always felt a little scared exploring my love for funk music… worried that it’s too upbeat or fun for a Yuna song. My fans have always loved the chill, relaxing, wholesome Yuna, but I really just wanted to have fun on this album. I think I felt more free working on this album, I wasn’t holding back.

AP: Which track from the album was your favorite to write and produce, and why?
YUNA: It would have to be “Blank Marquee.” The first time my writer Chloe Angelides, producer Robin Hannibal, and I sat down and wrote this chorus to the song [“Who are you without me?/ You’re just a blank marquee/ Tryna cop my steez/ Get your own POV”]…we were screaming! It was so much fun! We were looking at each other like, “Oh okay, so we’re really saying this!” It was kinda like a fun, sassy song to sing.

AP: When you first sat down with Little Simz to discuss the writing of this song “Pink Youth,” did you have different approaches to how you both wanted to portray female empowerment?
YUNA: I actually finished the whole song before I sent it over to Little Simz. I met Simz 2 years ago in London and I just loved her whole energy. She’s the real deal. I just sent it over, I told her what the song is about and what I felt about it, and I let her do her thing! She killed it! I still can’t believe I have her on one of my songs… she’s amazing.

AP: I love the superhero motif for the “Pink Youth” music video, too! Can you talk about the differences between the processes for storywriting in that video and songwriting? Will you consider scripting projects again in the future?
YUNA: We were trying to find an idea for a music video for “Pink Youth,” and my manager said “Hey, let’s do animation,”… but I’m not a huge fan of animation UNLESS if it’s anime, or comic book animation, or something in those lines. We reached out to Carl Jones and my husband Adam Sinclair (who also directed “Blank Marquee” and “Forevermore”), and I made like 7 page story/moodboards of this world that we would want to see in “Pink Youth”… and the rest is history! I honestly love the project so much, I would be down to really get involved in animation projects like this one. It looked so cool!

AP: What specific trait about “Castaway” made you want Tyler, the Creator on that track (as opposed to any of the other tracks you’ve written)? How did that collaboration play out in the studio?
YUNA: “Castaway” is about my first meeting with a record label, and I was pretty bummed that they didn’t really give me a chance. It really is about someone not believing in you, and you refuse to give in, and just find another place to chase your dreams. So when I finished recording it, I really wanted someone to jump on it, and I felt like the music, the lyrics… Tyler would be perfect on it! And true enough, he did an amazing job. I’m so happy that he’s on my favorite track of the album.

AP: Overall, this album has a lot more collaborative works than previous albums. What’s something that all of these artists share that made you want to bring them all together on Rouge?
YUNA: They’re real human beings. It’s really hard to see the real human beneath all the tough artist exterior. But these people, somehow—I’ve met them, talked to them, and I know a little about them just enough to know what they care about, how they treat people, how their eyes light up when some things were mentioned—that’s important to me. Because I care about my work and if I’m working with someone, they better be people who care about real things.

AP: Now that you’ve been living in the US for the last 8 years and your last 3 albums have been produced in L.A., how has your process for creating music evolved from when you  recording in Malaysia?
YUNA: Of course, after going on a lot of writing and recording sessions, I became better as a songwriter, and my love for music grew immensely. Malaysia was great and I loved working with my friends, but I needed to expand my horizon, and in L.A., I was able to walk down different paths to discover new things that I can do as a singer-songwriter.

AP: You’ve mentioned that you had never labeled yourself as a “Muslim singer-songwriter” until you came to the States and that label was thrust upon you. Now that Trump has been elected and anti-Muslim hate crimes in the US have been on the rise, have you reflected on what it means to a public figure who is so open about her faith?
YUNA: You just have to be tough. I’ve gone through a lot of challenges being who I am and doing what I do, and it’s important for me to keep on going. This is my life, and I’m going to live it. This is my job, and I am going to do my job. It’s important for me to stay positive, and alert of course, but promote peace and love at all times, with a smile on my face.

You can see Yuna at The Sinclair this Thursday July 18th at 9PM. Buy tickets here.