Let yeule take you back to the golden age of Tumblr

Taking her recording name from a Final Fantasy character and producing dark, glitchy post-pop, it’s no surprise to discover that Singaporean producer yeule (a.k.a Nat Ćmiel) is Very Online. Whipping up electronic fantasia with debut LP Serotonin II, her kaleidoscopic sonic palette – shifting from ambient to glittering synths, all accented by breathy vocals – is the synthesis of an adolescence spent combing the Internet for new sounds and developing her aesthetic tastes on Tumblr.  It’s on the blogging platform that she would develop her interest in electronic producers like xxyyxx, as well as classic indie bands like Arcade Fire and The Shins.

So, coming together to help us mourn the creeping demise of Tumblr and the fact that we’re not fifteen anymore, the artist has curated an extra special ten-track playlist of what she was listening to when the Internet seemed like a free-for-all of creativity, expression and alt-aesthetics. Mimicking the late trntbl (essentially a playlist compiling every audio file you ever reblogged on Tumblr) it’s an eclectic mix from the likes of Pixies, Portishead and Nathan Larson.

Below, she talks us through the stories behind some of her favourite discovered-on-Tumblr gems.

1. xxyyxx – “About You”

I first found out about Marcel Everett’s project xxyyxx when I was like 14. I still remember this vividly because it really changed the way I viewed minimal production and the way that [this style of production] could create such vivid imagery in my head. It was one of the most pivotal projects and it gave me a lot of inspiration to start producing my own music. I heard it in the same year that I wrote my first EP. Marcel and I were mutuals on Tumblr and they were really supportive of my demos whenever I posted them. They probably didn’t realise how much they changed my whole trajectory in music.

2. Trailer Trash Tracys – “You Wish You Were Red”

This one was a little different, because I found it off someone else’s trntbl. I can’t remember their URL now, because this was way back in 2013. I used to check out people with similar blog aesthetics and lurk on their playlists. I never knew this person because we never talked online, but I felt like I knew them from a long time ago because we reblogged each other a lot. Back then, there was this feature called “crushes” and you could see who was also lurking on your blog.

3. Radical Face – “Welcome Home, Son”

I found this song by accident through someone’s amateur VHS video on Tumblr. They filmed videos of their life in Quebec and it was all snow and wide, long streets that led to rivers or forests. This was definitely not Montreal but maybe somewhere in Trois-Rivières or something. This track was playing in the background and i don’t think there was Shazam back then so I typed out the lyrics on Google until I found it. Kind of a weird memory…

Yeule plays London’s Electrowerkz on 11 February, click here for further information. Check out her playlist of trntbl picks via the player below and on Spotify.