Spanish-Iraqi artist, Yaz León, hails from South London. She follows up her recent ‘Bleach’ EP with this VIPER Presents interview…
What five words define your sound?
Your. Dad. Would. Appreciate. It.
Tell me something unique about your creative process.
I don’t really have a consistent creative process. But I can tell you, I’ve stopped thinking about the outcome of any song and now just try to experiment with the production before I even get to the lyric topic.
Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?
I think ‘gully’ is a great place to start. That’s the best example of my sound. At the moment…
What inspired you to make that song?
I was a little tired of writing about this one person and I wanted to force my brain to think about something else. So I tried to describe a memory that I think was a bit weird to have stuck in my mind, about my first time experiencing dejavú.
What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?
Honestly, when I started persisting with songs even through all the cringe I feel about them. It’s all in my head most of the time.
What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?
The best experience I’ve had on stage was the first time people sang my lyrics back to me. Flexxxxxx.
What is your favourite song to perform?
‘4th wall’ is jokes because it’s quite a dynamic song and very left field R&B so nobody’s ever expecting it in the set, especially considering how some of my other songs sound.
Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?
Honestly, I’m not sure which one, but I remember specifically fixating a lot on the ‘X&Y’ Coldplay album. Think I must’ve listened to that thousands of times and dissected without fully realising.
What’s the meaning behind your name?
My actual name is Maria Yasmin as my parents wanted to choose a name for me with nods to each of their cultures, Spain and Iraq. León is my mums maiden name, so I took the first name my dad chose (Yaz) and a last name that belonged to my mother and grandmother (León).
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?
I’d probably be a gardener or conservationist honestly, I like being outside.
What’s success to you?
Mental and financial stability. Making music with my friends full time.
What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?
I was in the middle of doing a Psychology degree and got really depressed and bored. My counsellor told me to try doing something I liked doing as a kid, so I pulled up GarageBand. That’s pretty much it. NEVER GOING BACK. I did actually graduate though!
Where can people keep in touch with you?
I think, Instagram is about it. @Yazleonn
