yunè pinku’s music taps into many facets of being a young person in the early 2020s. “I try to grasp the weird in-between feelings that everyone has but no one describes, like where you feel like you should be happy but you’re not, or, if you’re at a party, and sort of tune out.” Her music bottles this disembodied feeling of detachment. Half-Malaysian and half-Irish, the South East London-based newcomer layers wistful, syrupy vocals over production that draws from the UK rave canon but with a restless, textural slant. It’s music for pre-drinking while applying eyeliner; the messy afters; the 8am Uber journey home.
Having recently dropped her mesmeric first singles ‘Laylo’ and ‘Affection’, yunè pinku is now on the cusp of releasing her debut solo EP. “The project overall is about sort of anxiously attending things and the constant sense of trying to be tougher.” ‘Bluff’ employs scuttly garage drums with golden era UKG bass stabs, while ‘Affection’ takes on a dubby bassline reminiscent of experimental early 00s post-dubstep, with her voice like a synth cutting into the production. Prior to this, yunè collaborated with rising Australian dance star Logic1000 on ‘What You Like’. She has also been co-signed by Joy Orbison, who invited her to contribute a guest mix on his Radio 1 residency. “I was so happy they took a chance on me, especially considering I didn’t have anything out.”