ireallylovemusic vs yarah bravo from one self
having made one of the 2005 summer albums combining soundclash beats, hip hop culture and soul for the soul the one self album has seriously impressed. ireallylovemusic caught up with the small but mighty yarah bravo of the band.
first things first - tell us just how you managed to team up with a dj called vadim who is based in london and an mc called blu rum who isn't
Cause the world ain't as big as the people make it out to be. And Especially within the music scene, it's tiny... everyone knows everyone, or have at least heard of each other some how. When i finished school back in sweden, i took a trip to London to go record shoppin, hit the clubs and make as much noise as i could, and obviously i managed to get my self heard. Through people like Skinny Man and Task Force and i hooked up with Vadim, and through Vadim i met Blurum.. And we all just vibed.
did you have any reservations as to joining the gang in such an adventure when Vadim started approaching you about it - or was a natural progression in the working relationship you already had with him ?
The group was actually my idea, i mean i knew vadim was keen to have a group of some sort, and that's why he created the Russian Percussion. But there was a lot of members there. And to actually get organized and record an album would've been almost impossible. I told him, dude, can't you see it. The core members are right here in front of you. I felt that we were all experts in our field, but that there was something missing in each one of us as artists for us to be able take it to the next level by our selves (at this time). And at this moment in life, our musical minds were so intertwined that it was inevitable that we weren't gonna influence each other. Vadim is a great producer, a master mind of sounds, Blurum has a wicked voice and style, and i obviously hold it down on the mic and bring my flavor to the table, creating my own sound and vibration. If we put all of those ingredients together we can't fail. No way.
who came up with the name of the collective ?
That took a little while. The music was there, the friendship was there, the collective was there, but to find an appropriate name for it turned out to be harder than we at first thought. We went through so many names, it's ridiculous. But One Self was the only name made us all bounce our heads in unison, and totally agree that it described in 2 words exactly what we're about. At the end of the day we are 3 individual artists coming together as ONE! And we truly believe in unity.
were there any other alternatives proposed ?
Oh yes, the list was long ha ha...
one self - it's very 'soul 2 soul'-esque name for a collective - was this intentional ?
I think i answered that above = ) as three characters put together to form a unique whole ..
just how did you decide upon how each track would end up ? was it a case of Vadim dictating 'right a sweet soul smoocher for you yarah, and a hard hittin street beat for you blu' ? or, did you all approach each track and decide together as to which track suited which vocal style?
I get totally inspired by the beats i receive. The music is like a black board, and i be the white chalk drawing out the images. So when i hear something i like, i jump on it straight away. Vadim would never tell us what beat to get on, or say something like 'this beat is for you Yarah and that one is for Blurum'. He totally trusts us as artist, and knows that if we feel a certain beat he made, we will flip it, dip it, honey cote it, and then he will put it in the oven to perfect it. And i think the album shows a good balance between the sweet and the hard hitting. Like for example, Bluebird was originally my song, then Blu rum did a verse on it for the video version, which came out wicked. The 3rd single Paranoid, was originally Blu rums song, but i've laid a killer verse on it for the single. So we will keep experimenting!!
did you find the disjointed beat of 'be your own' hard to swing into when adding your vocals?
No i found it extremely exciting if anything. I love the stop and start type of beats where you can follow a pattern. It's more challenging. And challenging is good for me. And we re did the vocals for Vadim's Dub mix, which came out phat as well.
the sound of the album is very interesting in that it seems distant from the current styles of production (ie the machine driven clinical hop hop productions a la dre/timbaland/neptunese) that saturates the airwaves - what are you trying to achieve with the whole 'one self' groove, and why ?
We just make music you know. We would love to change the world with it of course, but not sure how much of that is possible. So for now we just make music for us. How we see it, interpret it, and flip it depends on what inspired us to make it in the first place. And the fact that we are so different, but yet so so similar, as we come from very different backgrounds, different countries, eating different types of food and grew up listening to different types of music. But we all found a common ground in hiphop, and there for we eventually found each other. We don't represent a hood, a town, a borough or even a country. We are the children of today, where borders don't mean shit, it's all about the passion of creativity and expression that matters. For me this is my mark on the world, one of the things i would like to leave behind me. It's my way of expressing my self through rhyme and beats. Just like some people go out and drink and fight, or pick up the brush and paint, or build houses and murals etc. We just found our niche!
which is your favourite track on the album - and why ?
not too sound corny or anything. but it really depends on the day. You see, there are different moods flowing through out the album, some are uplifting, some are thought provoking, some are just beautiful, while others might even be aggressive. So it depends. I mean right now i would say "Over exposed" because earlier today i spoke to a very good friend of mine, and she said that her little sister was really inspired by that song. Her sister is 13, and as any 13 year old you love watching tv and music videos, and without knowing it you are getting brainwashed to think you have to look and act a certain way, and if you're not, then you think there is something wrong with you, when in fact there is something wrong with our society. And i mean when you're 13 you shouldn't have to be worried about those type of things. And i've seen this little girl grow up, she is beautiful, but she just doesn't know it. And it means so much to me to know that through my song i can still communicate with her, even though i now live in a different country and barely see her, my words still reach out to her and touch her, as if i was there, telling her to turn off the tv and go out side and play... "tv freezes souls"
what has been the best part of the whole 'one self' project so far?
There has been so many amazing things happening to me the last few months, so it's really hard to say. It has all gone so fast. But if i had to mention a few things, i would say, rocking packed out shows where people know the lyrics to your songs is definitely one of high lights. And the overwhelming positive feedback on the album, the never ending uplifting reviews. Making the 'Bluebird' video was also a lot of fun. And having my first ever website (www.yarahbravo.com), which had something ridiculous like 25.000 hits the first month, that was overwhelming, i never thought i would receive so much love from the people. The list goes on...
and, apart from nosey questionnaires, the worst ?
my health, being really run down and stressed out. but i guess that's a small price to pay for a dream, right?
tell us about your route into the world of mc'ing alongside the singing? when did this start? did it come naturally, and who were your tutors/role models prior to you establishing your own style?
I grew up in a very musical household, with both my parents being musicians, so they always encouraged me to express my self through music and poetry. My parents had a band, and they would always jam and rehearse at the house, and i was always included. They took me to all the music festivals they went to, the first one was actually the Roskilde festival, when i was still in my mums belly. so there was always music around me from the start. The music they listened to was mostly Brazilian (samba, bossa nova) and other south american music, plus Blues, soul and jazz. And then in my early teens i discovered hiphop, and I fell in love with the whole artform straight away. And if i previously had written poetry, now was the time to switch it up, and put it to a beat. and there Yarah Bravo the mc was born... I grew up on rappers who had the delivery like Organised Konfusion and Freestyle fellowship. So i’m all about having the poetic lyrics, but also have the crazy deliveries to match. But now a days i try not to be too influenced by other hiphop artists as i wanna create my own individual style, the Miss Bravo style...
did your parents understand when you told em that you were going to be a hip hop star ?
They thought it was just a phase i was going through. My parents didn't exactly live a very normal life though, you know like following all the rules of society etc.... As both of them were freedom fighters in Latin America in the early 70's, they were just pleased that i didn't choose the jungle and the role of a guerilla fighter as my path of life (yet). So they are pretty happy with the choices i've made. But they shouldn't feel all that safe just yet = ).
And by the way, they love the album, they know the lyrics, they jam to it, they paint to it.. so it's all good.
is one self simply a vehicle for yarah to eventual solo stardom - or can you see the group becoming a long term proposition ?
People keep asking me for my solo material, labels ask me for my solo material, friends, family, they've asked me for years.... and they can all keep asking. Cause i wanna be totally ready when i do it. I wanna get into production as well you see. So my number one focus at the moment is One Self. One Self wouldn't be One Self if i wasn't in it. Of course the music my partners create will always be beautiful. but it was the threesome that made the sound. And we gotta see how far we can take it now.
having checked out the video for the excellent single bluebird (the summer track of 05 if you ask me), watching the epk, and checking the superb cover art - you come across very differently as most other females in the rap game. Basically, you smile a lot, and you actually look as if you are enjoying yourself. are you by nature a smiley happy person? what makes the smile disappear ?
A good observation on your part, i must say. I have so many things to smile about. The fact that i was born is miracle, the fact that my parents met, and that amnesty international rescued them from the dictator ship of Pinochet in Chile and brought them to a safe place where they could give birth to me. Damn i'm gonna smile till the day i die. A smile is the most powerful thing, people just don't smile enough these days. True i am a naturally happy and positive person. And I will try to spread love every where i go. What's the point of acting hard. I know i got skills, i know i kill it on stage and on record, i don't need to hide behind a hard surface, with a makeup of attitude, when my music literally is my heart poured on to beats. I might look like a kitten, but i sure bark like a dog...
"small in stature, but big in voice, hair and sunglasses" - is the look something you have defined over the years, or, do you fear getting a haircut? do you ever get the urge to just get it cropped off - especially in the heatwaves that we are prone to in the uk (hmm)?
Ha ha ha... that's funny... I just straighten my hair when it gets annoying, or wrap it up in a turban. I've done some independent hair dresser work, so i'm a pro, at handling the fro. ha ha...
what would you like the rest of the world to know about yarah ?
I'm a great cook, and i want to to open a restaurant in the future with all organic homegrown food. A mixture of flavors that i've experienced through out my tours. In the tour van I travel with my own juice machine, fridge and cooker, to be able to stay away from all the E-numbers, preservative and colorants that is served upon our plates on a daily basis, that we don't really need in our food. who gives a shit what color the food is, if it tastes good. Even the food has become vain now a days ha ha...
and of course, what would like us to never find out about yarah?
Now what kinda question is that? Of course i'm not gonna tell you... otherwise you'll know my deepest secrets, and we don't want that, now do we = )
thanks !
No thank you!!
one self album out now on ninjatune, and is, of course reviewed here.