Currently residing in Berlin, Yulia Niko is a DJ/Producer who upon receiving her law degree settled in Brooklyn where she spent four years developing her production.
Photo Credit: Yulia Niko – Official
She was mentored by New York’s most respected underground artists and DJs, fine-tuning her style of music production with releases on her own imprints and others on notable labels including Get Physical, Crosstown Rebels, Hottrax, InTheMood, 8Bit, Scenarios, and Rebellion. Her sets and music production are a genre-bending hybrid of melodic house, with underground techno.
EG caught up with Yulia Niko to talk about the drop of her latest release on REALM Records, her upcoming performances for RÜFÜS DU SOL’s Sundream Baja in Mexico, and more.
EG: Hi Yulia! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us once again. How have you been? Where are you based right now?
Yulia Niko: Hello EG, always happy to be back with you! I’ve been very busy and successfully achieving all the dreams we were discussing last time (laughter). Right now, I’m touring around the United States but still based in Germany, just moved a bit more south from Berlin.
EG: First of all, congratulations on the release of your new collaboration with Paul Brenning, ‘Just A Feeling’! What has the initial reception been like?
Yulia Niko: Last year I got major support from Gorgon City, and the guys invited me to make something for their label. I called Paul, as we had just made a super nice record, ‘Looking In The Sky’, on Scenarios and I asked him if he would be interested in trying to record something again. I sent him a few demos and he sent me, like, 4 different songs. He works so fast it’s incredible. I picked vocals from ‘Just a Feeling’ and started to modify it into something that came out now.
EG: So, what can we find on ‘Just A Feeling’? Is there an emotional trigger here? What was the process of working with Paul on this one like?
Yulia Niko: I think it was more stress coming from my side because we had a super short deadline and, for me, it’s the worst. I like to work only when I feel inspired (laughter). But most of the time when I am stressed or depressed, the best music has been made somehow. When I met Paul a year ago, I knew that I found someone with whom I would work with for a long time. Funny, he actually reached out to me by email the next day. So I think Paul already knows me very well and that’s why this project came through so fast. Basically, this project is a result of our life and experience working together.
EG: Is it hard for you to find studio time with all the touring? Does it also require you to be in a “unique” mindset?
Yulia Niko: Oh, I just moved to a new city in Germany, and it is so hard to focus on daily life when I am touring so much. I just recently found a new space for the studio and I’m so scared of how much work I need to do to build it. It will pay off though when I finish, so I can sit and work as much as I want.
Last year, when I made an album and had a few months of break, I wanted to stop making so much music and let my upcoming album breathe, but this break created a huge panic in me that I was so unproductive. I ended up making a few edits, so it adds some spice to my sets and makes me so much happier. Definitely, now the plan is to find more time for the studio. I simply miss it like crazy.
“When I met Paul a year ago, I knew that I found someone with whom I would work with for a long time”
EG: On another note, you’re set to perform twice at RÜFÜS DU SOL’s Sundream Baja in Mexico. You must be very excited about this one! What can your fans expect?
Yulia Niko: We already had some shows together with RÜFÜS DU SOL and the guys are giving me such support, as well as being some of the best humans I’ve ever met. Their shows are always super professional and such a beautiful crowd. Of course, I am beyond excited to play at one of the most beautiful and perfectly organized festivals in the world. The first weekend, I invited my friend Arodes to play back-to-back. He is working so hard and I love what he is doing, so it will be a very nice experience. The second weekend I will play by myself. I will play each Saturday around sunset time and I am preparing some nice, groovy, sometimes afro, unreleased tunes. Sets will be online on Apple Music afterward, so don’t worry if you could not be there this time.
EG: How do you prepare for this kind of show? How is it different in terms of a club set, for example?
Yulia Niko: I am playing pretty much everywhere the same. I just check recent promos and new music and add to my USB what I feel like and what fits my taste. There’s no formula for preparation for any show. Mostly I need to come 15 min before the show, read the crowd and just go with the flow. I very much trust my intuition while I do play.
EG: Are you a big festival kind of person? Are you usually able to make time and catch other acts? Any particular names on the roster that you’re looking forward to listening to?
Yulia Niko: After playing for 18 years, it’s hard to be excited again so much about going to a festival. But there are some which I always stay and let go. I like different styles of music, so every act at Sundream is bringing my attention. But of course, the live show by RÜFÜS DU SOL, I’ve never seen and I am super excited about that one.
EG: How do you keep entertained when not in the studio? Have you checked out any good movies, series, books, or albums you’d recommend?
Yulia Niko: Oh man, I do want to remind you that I am a woman (laughter).
I have so much stuff to do when I am back home for a few days. Laundry, cooking, organizing the house…it already takes so much time. Also gym, some beauty care…but in the background, I love to listen to jazz, it is so mood uplifting and happy. Sometimes my ears need to rest from just “Boom Boom Boom”…when I crash to the sofa from being so tired from all this daily routine just something easy on Netflix, helps me to cool down and go to sleep.
“I just recently found a new space for the studio and I’m so scared of how much work I need to do to build it. It will pay off though when I finish, so I can sit and work as much as I want”
EG: What’s next for Yulia Niko? What particular milestones are you looking forwards to this 2023? Where can your fans catch you next?
Yulia Niko: My album ‘VITAAL’, including 10 songs, on Armada Music, plus touring the world. Let’s see what next will come to my mind and I will start to make it work. For now, I’m focusing on these 2 topics.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, Yulia! We wish you all the best for the future.
Yulia Niko: Same to you guys! Wish you a beautiful summer. Hugs
Yulia Niko is set to perform at RÜFÜS DU SOL’s Sundream Baja in Mexico. Purchase your tickets here.
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