mademoiselle yulia says...

Late last year Kirin Big In Japan hosted an event by the same name. The Kluster Sydney staffers headed down to take in the headline-making madness that was this CarriageWorks affair. Before watching Cathy tackle birds to a dramatic classical music soundtrack in a pseudo dollhouse-like, birdcage-esque enclosure and Daito Manabe shock themselves for electronic music’s sake, Kat Hartmann sat down with Mademoiselle Yulia to gain some insight into one of the hottest young things to come out of the Japanese underground in some time.

Covered: high school girl band, meeting Vivienne Westwood, dreams of Egypt, the internet and Love with Beni Single

Kat Hartmann: You’ve got your fingers in quite a few creative pies: the singing, DJing, MCing, your label, GIZA, your fashion writing for Nylon and your blog Honeyee. Have you always been this industrious?

Mademoiselle Yulia: Yeah, I’m kind of busy but I love to do everything! I just want to do as much as I can and get involved in anything that comes up. Singing is what I wanted to do from when I was very young and I have been studying design, so this is what I want to do too.

KH: Tell me a little about your creative history. What were you like in high school? You were the frontwoman for girl band, Girls Mind. Tell me about that.

Y: I was in a band for six years playing guitar and vocal. The band suddenly broke up but I still wanted to do something with music, which is why I started DJing.

KH: How did all the projects begin?

Y: Some people from the band Revolver asked me to design jewelry. I said, “I am not interested in it” but I started and really loved it so it became my plan. They gave me a chance to do that.

KH: What’s it like being a female creative mind in contemporary Japan?

Y: It’s really fun. Actually, at first when I started DJing there were no girl DJs. Now there are so many girls DJing. There are a lot of good things to do.

KH: Is it the same in fashion and photography?

Y: Yes.

KH: There seems to be more of a blurred line between underground and mainstream in Japan than, say, the US. Why do you think that is?

Y: Japan is very different, for me I am in the middle because I know some really popular people and I am from really underground too.

KH: What impact has the internet had on Japanese creative culture?

Y: It has had a lot of impact. We are in a very tiny country far away from everywhere, but we are very good at internet so we know everything. There is no time difference now between what happens here, or London and NY. We can keep up with everything now and that has really influenced us [in Japan].

KH: You share blog space with some pretty impressive names on Honeyee. Can you tell me a bit about that site and your blogmates? How did you get involved?

Y: They asked me to do that; I had never done blog stuff before. They told me that I am really mysterious. They told me that they want to know I am doing on a normal day, what has influencing me.

KH: You were recently included on the CNN The Tokyo Hot List: 20 People to Watch. Can you tell me about some of your fellow list mates?

Y: I know Yuya Nara, who is my really good friend. I don’t know the other people but I have a lot of the same friends as Tao [Okamoto]. I don’t know why I am on the list. I didn’t know, actually, I found it because my friend told me and I was like, “what the fuck?” I am really proud and lucky.

KH: You have mentioned before that fashion enjoyment is very important to you. How does that ethos translate to your jewelry designs?

Y: I design by myself and I go to the factory by myself. I produce everything by myself, it’s hard work but a lot of fun and good experience. When I was young I really wanted to be a clothes designer and that’s why I am really into it. But now I know it’s very hard to make for everyone I just want to make stuff for myself. My mum is a fashion stylist so fashion is very important to me.

KH: Tell me a little bit about the Egyptian influence. Where does that come from?

Y: Actually it is one of my dreams to go to Egypt. It’s my dream place. I don’t know why I am really into it but it is from when I was little. I watched the TV and saw the pyramid and Egyptian stuff. I’d love to study history; I was really into it when I was in junior high.

KH: Your art has put you in contact with plenty of interesting people. Vivienne Westwood being one of them. Tell me about that memorable experiences?

Y: She is very big for me; I was a really big fan of hers. Last time she came to Tokyo was five years ago, I met her then; I was just a fan. I don’t know how I got the gig DJing at her afterparty - some people known that I am a big fan, they must have hooked it up. Vivienne really loved my set, so I was very happy.

KH: Any other highlights?

Y: The reason I could come here [to Sydney] was because of DJing. It was same for Paris, Hong Kong and a few other places. I’ve met so many really good people. [Getting the opportunity] to go somewhere really influences me. It makes me want to keep DJing, keep traveling and meeting new people.

KH: Top live experiences?

Y: DJing in Paris was a big experience for me. It was the opening party of Uniglo and they invited me as a DJ. It was at a really big venue and there were so many people that I had never met, it was in Paris and I didn’t speak any French so I was really nervous, but they were very nice to me. I was also DJing at Summer Sonic which is a very big festival in Japan. I used to go there to watch my favourite bands so I couldn’t believe I was actually DJing there. Oh and Vivienne Westwood!

KH: What can people expect from Neon Spread 2? I hear you’ve included an original track on this one, ‘Touch Me’?

Y: I didn’t make the track; I just sung and wrote the lyrics. I’ve never done it before so I was very nervous to make the music but I talked a lot with the track maker and he totally understood what I wanted to do. Verbal, my boss, he helped me a lot. He is very good at making music and knowing beats. I want to make more of my own music. I will start working on my own album early next year.

KH: Finally, what can I expect from tonight’s performance?

Y: I am DJing twice, so the first set will be opening music and then when the people get into the party mode I am going to sing my song, and some 80’s Madonna. Another thing that is interesting is I am also making song with Beni Single [DJ Damage/Riot in Belgium]. Last time he came to Tokyo we decided to make some music so we worked on ‘Love’ then. I rerecorded it last week - I am rapping on his track.

KH: When can we expect to hear that?

Y: It will be out soon, on his album.

mademoiselle yulia, vivienne westwood, kirin big in japan, summer sonic