INTERVIEW: Aya Yves on new single 'erase me': "Emotions are a universal experience and it’s really special knowing I can put something out and share in that feeling with whoever’s listening."

Image: April Josie

Australian singer-songwriter Aya Yves can always be relied upon to create music that is deeply personal, moving and relatable while brimming over with the kind of pop sensibilities that sweep you away. This modus operandi continues with her recently released her new single ‘erase me’.

Written by Yves with Ciara Muscat and Chris Chidiac and produced by Xavier Dunn (Jack River, GRAACE), it is a gentle, dark pop track with a shimmering soundscape, subtle electronic beats and a truly majestic vocal performance from Yves. The lyrics tell the story of catching feels for a particular person only for them to ignore you and divert their attention to someone else. “I hate that I watch you erase me out of your mind,” she sings.

First releasing music under the name Vendulka six years ago, Aya Yves has proven to be one of the most impressive young artists in Australia and possesses the drive, talent and critical support to be a contender for one of the country’s future breakout global stars. She is an artist who should be on your playlist right now, and we recently caught up with her to chat more about her career and the creation of ‘erase me’.

Hi Aya! Thanks for joining us on Women In Pop! How is everything in your world right now?
Hey! Thanks so much for having me. My world is feeling really positive at the moment which is a breath of fresh air. I’ve been writing a lot recently and getting back to feeling like my creative self. The last two years had really stunted my creativity and drive. Feels good to be getting back to myself.

Your new single ‘erase me’ is out now and is absolutely incredible, congratulations! Can you talk us through a little bit of the inspiration behind the song?
Thank you! It feels good that it’s finally out in the world. Funny story, I had been seeing someone casually for a few months and swore to myself I didn’t see it being serious, or myself having feelings. We went to a festival together and I saw them hook up with multiple other people that weekend, which turns out - really sucked to see. I felt like I just didn’t exist in their mind anymore - which really hurt. Made for a good song though!

There is a real melancholy to the lyrics as you sing about that broken relationship and jealousy, but it is matched with a smooth, soulful pop vibe and a really gorgeous vocal performance from you. What was the sound, or feel, you were going for when you recorded it?
Honestly this one took a lot of work to get right. This was the third iteration of production before I was happy to release it into the world - I almost gave up on the song at one point.  I wanted to get the balance of a pop and quirky sounds that I love, and have it work as a bit of a bridge from the last EP - What We Look Like With The Light On - into songs I’ve been writing more recently. Xav really did a phenomenal job and after working together so much he knows the sounds I love.

Can you tell us a little bit about the creative process for ‘erase me’, how it went from concept to our ears?
So after I’d experienced the shitty dating scenario, soon after I had a session booked in with KEEKS (Ciara Muscat) and Chi (Chris Chidiac). I’d never met them before but just opened up about what I’d experienced and how I felt about it. We pulled in some of my favourite references, one of which was BANKS (as always), and I remember the song came quite easily.

Once the demo was done it was a matter of getting the production juuuust right, which as I said earlier took a hot minute. Eventually we landed on the song you hear today and I’m so proud of it!

You just mentioned you nearly gave up on ‘erase me’ and you recently posted on Instagram that you had sat on this song for a while and and didn’t think you would ever release it. What was the reasoning behind that?
So ‘erase me’ was written around the time I was finalising the last EP (about two years ago) and I had all these songs ready to start releasing. I had essentially a year’s worth of music to put out into the world, and knew I wanted to finish ‘erase me’, but didn’t know when that would be.

Xav was the first producer I had worked with at all for my project, and just to do something different I thought I’d try working with some new producers. The song went through a few different versions, but I think we weren’t creatively aligned - which isn’t any fault of theirs, more of a taste thing!

After a few different versions and producers, I ended up sending it to Xav this year and asking his thoughts, because honestly I was ready to just shelve the song and move on. He thought it was worth finishing, and got to work. He nailed it really quickly to be honest. Really glad we pushed through and everyone can listen to it now.

Your music is always very raw, very honest, and you are very open about your own struggles and story in your lyrics. Does that ever come with a fear, or an anxiety that you are opening up your personal life for everyone to know about and pick over? Or is the therapeutic value of creating the song the most important thing for you?
It’s a bit of both honestly. I think it depends on the song and subject matter. The catharsis of writing about my experiences is huge - and the thing is no (or very little) experiences are unique. We all go through the same emotions in life, we love, we lose, we experience grief, anger, joy, and everything in between. Emotions are a universal experience and it’s really special knowing I can put something out and share in that feeling with whoever’s listening.

I have some songs up my sleeve that I both love and am so terrified to put out because it’s literally like I’ve opened up my diary and am letting the whole world read it. I think the honesty in my music is what I’m slowly coming to be known for. It builds really trusting relationships with people who listen to my music which feels really special and I can’t imagine doing it differently.

You have been releasing music as Aya Yves since 2020 and for several years before that as Vendulka. How do you feel you have changed, or developed, as an artist over that time?
I used to view music really differently. I grew up listening to folk and classical music thanks to my parents - and they have pretty strong opinions about ‘music made with computers’ or ‘that rock noise’ (as they like to say). As kids we’re so easily influenced so my music taste was so limited. Getting older, I found all these other worlds of music that really blew my mind and influenced the kind of music I want to make.

Once I decided to launch Aya Yves into the world I felt like I had so much more freedom. Aya was nobody, so I could make myself into anybody. I could make any visuals I wanted, any sounds I wanted without a preconceived idea of what my sound was or used to be. I’m sure a lot of that was me putting those limitations on myself, but stepping into Aya Yves was me giving myself permission to create whatever I wanted.

As you’d hope with the more time you spend doing something - I just feel like it’s always growing and getting better. I’m prouder with each new song I write. Every show we put on gets bigger, every crowd gets louder. I’m constantly evolving and finding new layers of myself - which is pretty damn exciting.

Being an artist today involves a wide range of creative outputs - writing, recording, making videos, performing live. What part do you enjoy the most?
Definitely performing. I love them all, but playing shows is my absolute favourite thing in the world. I cried the first time I heard a crowd singing my songs back to me. Absolutely surreal feeling.

You are an independent artist, which usually means you have to do everything yourself. That comes with a lot of freedom, autonomy and you can really own, and explore your artistry in any way you want. On the other hand, it must at times get a little overwhelming. How do you juggle the two sides, and what does being an independent artist mean to you?
It really is a battle! I definitely don’t have the balance down pat - I tend to really stress a lot over every tiny detail (curse of perfectionism?) which I’m trying to work on. I’m very lucky to have recently started working with my manager Bianca and have the incredible team at The Annex on board again so it’s not completely on my own. I’m very lucky to have a really supportive network of people around me, and very talented creative friends who believe in me and the project so that always helps when I’m feeling overwhelmed.

Being independent is badass if you can sustain it. I think it’s important for emerging artists to have had some time getting to know the ins and outs of not only their artistry, but also their business! There are pros and cons to both being signed to a major label and staying indie - but my take is the longer I can keep ownership and keep building, the more momentum and leverage I’ll have when and if I choose to work with a label. It’s exciting knowing I’m in control of where I go.

‘erase me’ is out now, what else is coming up for Aya Yves for the rest of 2022?
So much! I’m so excited to be supporting Jaguar Jonze this week - that’s going to be one kickass lineup, there’s another Canberran - Sophie Edwards opening as well. I’ve been writing a lot so you bet there’s a whole bunch of new music on the way… did someone say another EP?

Definitely want to get cracking on the tour front later this year - we’re yet to play anywhere other than Sydney or Çanberra, so I’m keen to get the band and I all around Australia ASAP to have a boogie with everyone.

‘erase me’ is out now. You can stream and download here.

To keep up with all things Aya Yves you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Aya Yves is supporting Jaguar Jonze at Oxford Art Factory Sydney on July 9. Tickets on sale here.

Image: April Josie