The experimental pop project YU Musick, led by musician Yuri Moraes (YU), has surprised listeners with its latest collaboration. The track “Burn The Boats,” released on 20 October, features an innovative partnership with rapper Yung Buda. The single is already available on the main digital platforms and also has a music video on the project’s YouTube channel. The song, which opens the releases of the project’s new album, entitled “GRACIA MASIVA,” is an intriguing mix of musical genres, including metal, drum and bass, rap and jazz. The music video, co-directed by YU and Ramon Abreu, takes viewers into a dystopian and esoteric reality, complementing the sensory experience of the music. In addition to the musical collaboration, YU and Yung Buda will also be teaming up in the world of fashion, with a collaboration between their brands, “So Damn Bright” and “7k,” entitled “SO DAMN BRIGHT 7K” or “SDB7K” for short. The YU Musick project, which mixes elements of electronic music, pop, jazz, rap, industrial and black metal, emerged in 2021 and quickly rose to prominence on the national music scene. With a unique and innovative approach, the project continues to push the boundaries of experimental music in Brazil.
“BURN THE BOATS” is an experimental song that mixes several musical genres. How did you decide to create a track with this unique combination?
I think it’s become a very natural thing for yu to mix styles. It ends up happening in a very organic way. I think we found our face on the first album and we’re expanding our identity to a darker point now on the second album.
Could you tell us more about the collaboration with rapper Yung Buda and how the idea of working together came about?
LR Beats ended up becoming a great friend in the yu process. He introduced me to many Brazilian artists. When he showed me Buda’s work, I immediately identified with him. I think he was a great match for our aesthetic and the music just blew me away.
Yung Buda is singing in English for the first time on this track. What was the motivation behind this choice?
It came entirely from him. The yu is almost always in English. He arrived with the verses in English and wrote new ones on the spot. The guy just blew me away.
“GRACIA MASIVA” is the new album from the YU Musick project. What can fans expect from this album in terms of musical style and themes covered?
I think it’s a darker, more collaborative album. The first one purposely had few feats because I wanted to show what we were all about a bit, but yu’s idea has always been to mix styles and collaborate. We collaborated with a lot of artists that we love on this second album. I think it has a very unique identity and is an evolution of HYENA.
The music video for “BURN THE BOATS” has medieval and futuristic elements. What message or atmosphere are you trying to convey with this unique visual?
I’m a big fan of directors who are extremely sensory, like Jodorowsky and David Lynch. When these concepts and images come to me, I rely on them a lot and try not to rationalise too much. I think the visuals in BURN THE BOATS convey exactly what I wanted to convey, but I don’t know if I like the idea of saying exactly what it is.
As well as musical collaboration, you’re also working together in the world of fashion. Tell us more about the “SO DAMN BRIGHT 7K” collab. How did it develop?
I’ve been building SO DAMN BRIGHT alongside yu. SDB focuses on three things: clothes, vinyl records and events that mix fashion and music. I told Buda about this plan and he went crazy and wanted to be a part of it. So we put SDB together with Nova era 7k to make this partnership for the SDB7K collection, which has just started with our BURN THE BOATS shirt, which was at the launch event and will be on our website https://www.sodamnbright.com.br on Monday.
How does YU Musick stand out on the Brazilian music scene? What are the most distinctive elements of your sound and approach?
We’re finding out now. We’ve always focussed on being a global project, one step at a time. I believe that several Brazilian scenes have begun to embrace us and I’m very happy about that.
Can you share a little about the creative process behind the song “BURN THE BOATS”? How did the composition and production of this track come about?
There’s a book by Napoleon Hill that I really like, Think and Grow Rich. In the film he makes this analogy with a battle in which the general had a much smaller army than the enemy and he decided to burn the ships. In other words, either they won the battle or they died. It’s an analogy with not having plans B in life. It’s funny that as soon as we recorded this song all my B plans in life really fell apart and I had to focus a lot on my A plans, which materialised right around the time we were recording the music video.
You shared that YU Musick and Yung Buddha fans have complementary audiences. How can this collaboration attract and unite these different groups of fans?
We feel that the public is really enjoying the union. They’re asking for more collaborations.
What is your vision for the future of YU Musick? What are your plans and ambitions for the project?
I think the next focus now is to release GRACIA MASIVA and finally make our stage debut. We’ve put together a really good 10-piece band called The Satanic Church of Jesus Christ of America, which has members from incredible bands like Nomade Orquestra, Samuca e a Selva, Caranguejo Escorpião, 1LUM3, Leticia Picolo and Uri The Machine. I’m very happy about this moment. On 15 December we’ll be opening this show at the Fabrique Club alongside Yung Buda and Nikito Labrae.
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