Recognise: Yazzus

Has Yazzus managed to bring back that lost spiritual rave feeling by making her own music? She says she has, somewhat — especially when vibing out in her room at night, surrounded by fairy lights and rave artwork. More than anything though, the production process seems to bolster Yazzus’ confidence in herself. While some artists complain of getting tired of listening to their own tracks, she’s the first to admit how much she enjoys her music. “I’m a really cocky producer, I love every song I make. I’m literally like, ‘You did it again! You smashed it out the park, congrats!’,” she says through infectious laughter. “I’ve wanted to be a producer since I was a child and I never thought I could do it, and now that I’m doing it I just feel really blessed,” she explains. “So every song, I’m amazed — I’m so happy.”

And so she should be. Though her first forays displayed raw talent, tracing the progress of her releases over the past two years shows a clear evolution, resulting in the hybrid rave sound of the Yazzus we know today. “When I made the DEEP MEDi pack, I honestly didn’t put in as much effort as people think,” she says. “Now I’m definitely paying more attention to different percussion and different sections — everyone always says that my tracks are like three different songs in one and I’m just playing up on that more.”

Along the way she’s dabbled in different areas: ‘Dreamwalker’ for Worst Behavior went full cosmic footwork, while the remix of NARA’s ‘Daddy I Want A Pony’ for SZNS7N was unforgiving hard techno, brought on by a year locked down with techno obsessive flatmate and DJ, Nakamo. And you can probably guess which often maligned microscene she celebrated on ‘All I Want For My Birthday Is 26 Donks’. “I think after countless experiments, like ‘OK, let’s make a rave track, let’s make a jungle track, let’s make a techno track’, now I think I’ve got my style — and I’d say it is a combination of techno, rave and jungle.”

This month sees Yazzus slow the pace (slightly), with an EP of 140-150bpm breakbeat techno thumpers for Aussie label Steel City Dance Discs, which she produced during the summer last year. While at the lower end of her tempo spectrum, the release is no less raucous than usual, delivering high-octane action that begs for a packed-out warehouse; from the sneering hoover intro of ‘Sleazy’ to the rebellious synth blasts of closing track ‘Beef Lo Mein’ (a subtle reference to Black Lives Matter).

There are more releases in the pipeline with some respected labels, and some surprising remixes on the way too — all strictly off the record, so keep your eyes peeled! In the future, she’d like to integrate the visual side of her creativity more (having studied 3-D design she produces much of her own artwork), but for now, the most pressing plan is a move to Berlin in the summer. An unexpected benefit of the lack of parties has been saving money, and a combination of the vibrant Berlin music scene and the depressing reality of Tory Britain has prompted the lifelong Londoner to up sticks. “I think it’s the right time to just branch out. After Berlin I wanna do Tokyo, I wanna just go round the world as much as I can,” she says. “Who knows, maybe I’ll be the next Berlin techno princess!”