“I felt compelled to... explore grief and darker subject matter in a personal way.”
WRITTEN BY JAE F (@_THEGHOULNEXTDOOR)With Pride Month in full swing, I wanted to showcase a band that I believe truly encapsulates the spirit of the movement.
As a member of the LGBTQ community (I myself am queer and non-binary), I immediately resonated with Yama Uba’s music and felt a sense of solidarity with the band.
Their songs are deeply personal and beautiful depictions of life experiences and emotional and physical pain. The new single “Phantom World” is a perfect introduction to Akiko and Winter’s incredible artistry.
Read on to learn more about Yama Uba.
Photo by Kevin Brown
DARKNESS CALLING: What was the inspiration behind forming Yama Uba?
AKIKO: In 2017, I felt compelled to do a solo project that could explore grief and darker subject matter in a personal way. It started as a dark noise art project, with singing, spoken word and multimedia projection. I was doing performances of each set as stand-alone art pieces and writing it all from scratch each time, which was emotionally exhausting. After I purged enough shadows, I started moving more towards a more minimal darkwave sound so I could focus on vocals and lyrics. But during the pandemic, it started feeling lonely to work solo when everything else in life was also isolated. I really admire Winter’s guitar work and knew she’d be the ideal collaborator, so I invited her onto a few songs. It immediately clicked, and we’ve been working as a duo ever since.
WINTER: I originally saw Akiko perform in Yama Uba back in 2018 and I was completely blown away. I felt very inspired and empowered every time I saw them play. I've always been a huge fan of everything they've done and had the privilege of joining the band during quarantine. Now that we have been playing together as Yama Uba, it has brought me a lot of healing and empowerment and helped me to break the barriers of limitations.
DARKNESS CALLING: What does the song writing process look like? Is it a collaborative effort?
WINTER: The song writing process can differ but usually it starts with Akiko and I playing together until we hear something that we both feel creates the atmosphere of what we are looking for. Sometimes, Akiko will have a beat and we play with ideas and possibilities. Other times, it starts with a simple synth, bass, or guitar line that expresses the feeling we want. We both collaborate on our ideas and are constantly growing from that.
AKIKO: It’s intensely collaborative. Songwriting and sound building are closely tied together in Yama Uba. We’re always texting about recording and live sound setups, sharing songs we love, and analyzing song structures throughout music history. So even when we’re not writing or practicing, we’re building the sound in our heads. When writing, I start with a basic beat, or Winter starts with an awesome guitar riff. We spend a long time on the basics, making sure there’s good flow, new techniques and some ear candy. Then I start messing around with vocals, and we write lyrics about a feeling the track reminds us of, or sometimes I have half-formed lyrics that go well with it. We discuss concept and execution, restructure as we go, and eventually it all comes together.
DARKNESS CALLING: Where do you draw inspiration for your songs?
AKIKO: I’ve been asking myself that question lately! The name Yama Uba is based on a myth, and mythical creatures have come up a lot in our songs: angels, witches, shapeshifters. Whenever I’m facing a rough patch in life, these archetypes show up for me, and I guess they end up in Yama Uba’s realm. Lyrically, I often connect disparate concepts that feel emotionally similar, maybe things I’ve experienced in multiple lives. Musically, in Yama Uba I’m about luxury, dragon energy. I’m into living in a dope ass cave, breathing fire, surrounding myself with treasures — treasures like snappy snare drums, crying guitars, fat synths.
WINTER: I draw my inspiration for writing in Yama Uba in so many different places I couldn't narrow it down to just a few. I’m very inspired by old 80’s new-wave and post-punk bands and movies. I love the soundtracks and the expressive feelings that can be heard and seen. I also gather that same inspiration outdoors in beautiful spaces like lakes, the ocean, the forest, and the mountains.
DARKNESS CALLING: The new single “Phantom World” is a beautiful, dark, and deeply personal account of living with a chronic illness. Was this song written as a cathartic release?
AKIKO: When I wrote “Phantom World,” Yama Uba was still a solo project, and pretty much everything was a cathartic release. I was starting to play shows as Yama Uba but also super busy playing in Otzi, running my label Psychic Eye, doing some activism, and working full-time, and it was too much. There's a physical cost to anything I do. As I say in the song, I “pay in pain.” In writing the song, I learned to accept my pain flares as a sign to pace myself, to learn to say no, and to appreciate those periods of recovery as a time to wash away day-to-day problems. Chronic pain is something I now see as both a blessing and a curse — it’s the one thing that ensures that I prioritize my own needs. Since writing that song, I think I’ve been better about that.
“Chronic pain is something I now see as both a blessing and a curse — it’s the one thing that ensures that I prioritize my own needs.”
DARKNESS CALLING: Both of you (Akiko and Winter) play in other bands (Ötzi and Mystic Priestess, respectively). How does the energy differ playing in Yama Uba rather than your other bands?
WINTER: I think both Mystic Priestess and Ötzi are a lot different than Yama Uba. Both Mystic Priestess and Ötzi are high energy bands with a lot of fast-paced changes. In Yama Uba there’s just the two of us, so I think it creates multiple possibilities and perspectives of what we want to do with the sound. A lot of my work in Yama Uba is more influenced by new-wave and some 80’s synthpop, while for Mystic Priestess and Ötzi there are a lot more elements of punk for me. In Yama Uba it is more focused upon post-punk, new-wave, with elements of deathrock in there.
AKIKO: It’s so different! Ötzi has always been more punk and very rooted in the present, very aware of what we’re up against as femmes in a male dominated scene. In both Ötzi and Mystic Priestess, I think we’re expressing some anger and stubbornness to survive under cis patriarchy and in the “real world.” We’re expressing our usually subdued power. But with Yama Uba getting into gear during the pandemic, there was barely any music scene to be aware of. So we had more freedom to explore and grow, to experience ourselves as just two people in a music studio that could exist at any point in time.
In Yama Uba, we get to imagine a world where there are no limits, where we can focus on our music as if we had the same resources as all the biggest bands in the world. Just thinking that way changes you. And you find that your music changes accordingly. Ötzi and Mystic Priestess feel more to me like hounds at the gates, barking at the moon, and Yama Uba feels more like a cat lying in the sun. Ultimately, both energies are essential to our survival, and we love the time spent in all of the bands.
DARKNESS CALLING: Now that the world is slowly getting back to normal, are there any plans to tour?
AKIKO: We have vague plans, but not until 2022, when things are more settled. Everything in Yama Uba so far has been about learning to take our time, so we try not to fall victim to FOMO as other bands announce dates. We have some US West Coast shows booked in April 2022, potentially an East Coast tour in May, and are considering Europe, Mexico or Japan for late 2022.
WINTER: We would love nothing more than to get back to touring once it is safe to travel around again. We've met many friends all over the word during quarantine that have been anxiously awaiting to visit!
DARKNESS CALLING: What’s next for Yama Uba?
WINTER: We’ll be releasing a limited edition 7" in the coming future. We are continuing to perform for Twitch livestreams until venues start to fully open back up again. In the meantime, we’ve been focused on planning this new release we are working on, and afterwards a full album. Thank you!
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