PREMIERE: Yossi - Lost Souls (EP) + 10 Questions
4 years after releasing his debut EP ‘For Some Reason’ Yossi returns with ‘LOST SOULS’ a 3-track collection that continues his poetic exploration of the existential questions of life.
This dark, edgy and through-provoking EP is underscored by instrumentation and production from Dylan Van Der Molen. The EP opens with ‘The City’. A bleak picture of London. An alternative hip-hop beat houses Yossi’s distorted vocals, giving a grungy underground tone to the track. Whilst a guitar leads the musicality of the track a melodic bell fluctuates in and out of focus, contrasting the soundscape with a euphoric sense of hope through the gloom.
The second track and title track ‘Lost Souls’ was written during the Lockdown of Covid-19. Dream-like pads and atmospherics paint a colorful psychedelic and cinematic soundscape underneath Yossi’s heart-felt powerful vocal which leads the mix. He starts musing on a few individuals trapped in their homes, separated physically and spiritually from their communities. The track laments a society slowly losing touch with reality. The track ends with a moment of hope and peace, acknowledging that “Everything is perfect just the way it is right now, And there’s a lot that still needs changing but we’ll figure it all out”.
The third and final track ‘Tryfan’ was, as the name suggests, written in Snowdonia. Ominous tones and textures undulate beneath Yossi’s vocal to create a trippy soundscape exploring the psychological, spiritual and metaphysical implications of our domesticated modernity upon the natural human.
Yossi sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:
1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?
It probably started subconsciously thanks to my wise, beautiful hippy parents who sung to me regularly, as a baby and young child I was exposed to a variety of genres, particularly folk, Klezma, rock and reggae. My dad would dance holding me and I would sleep, I was never left to cry as a baby. These things gave me a strong sense of belonging, love and safety from a young age which I believe have allowed me to feel grounded and connected when I speak on stage.
When I was about 9 years old a friend’s older sister picked us up from school in her car. She can’t have been much older than 18, it was the first time I’d ever been driven by someone who wasn’t a ‘proper adult’ my parents age. And it was the first time I heard loud music in a car. I lied to Callum’s older sister and casually said ‘yeah’ when she asked if my mum let me listen to Eminem. Curtain Call the hits, I think it was Mockingbird. The rhythm, the story telling, the emotion in the song hook. I was gripped. A few years later at around 12 I was lucky enough to take part in a Breaking Convention Workshop before watching a show called ‘Marcus the Sadest’ at the Arts Depot Finchley by Jonnzi D productions. The show featured Bashy who I had been obsessed with since getting the Chupa Chups mixtape on CD. But the idea of seeing a rapper acting in the theatre kinda blew my little mind. This crossover of rap, theatre and lyric writing workshops planted several seeds, some of which have bloomed, some of which I am yet to water consistently. Creating spoken word physical theatre is certainly on my radar.
2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?
As a child: Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre were iconic heroes, almost mythical. These early heroes were followed by the likes of Bashy, Ghetts, Devlin, Skepta, and Wretch 32 who still inspire me to this day. To collaborate with any of them would be a dream come true. Seeing George the poet on the Young Kings intro was a big inspiration. More recently my taste has veered away from traditional rap and I am most inspired by artists such as Kojey Radical, Kae Tempest, Nix NorthWest, Namesbliss and Inspekta Veg.
3. What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?
This EP ‘Lost Souls’ has taken me years to get out so I think I’ll be promoting that for a little while. But I do have a few new singles that aren’t on the EP that will follow it later this year and I’m working on some spoken word music with some exciting new collaborators composing music for me. There’s a lot going on with Write2Speak, we are running spoken word workshop projects in schools, colleagues and universities across the UK as well as running regularly spoken word open-mics in North London.
4. How would you describe your sound?
Grime influenced spoken word. I dunno. You can decide. Listen to it and make your own mind up.
5. What's your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?
Putting out my first EP ‘For Some Reason’ was a huge achievement considering that I knew nothing about making or releasing music and I started from scratch with just an idea and the goodwill of producer R.Tise. Truthfully I take more pride in the work I produce and facilitate supporting young people to express themselves through spoken word. Every year my organisation Write2Speak produce projects which enhance the lives of thousands of people through workshops and performances, giving many young people and their families their first performance experience and supporting them to grow in confidence and improve their wellbeing.
6. Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?
I don’t think I’m in a position to advise anyone on how to ‘play the music game’, honestly I think I’m still struggling to work out the first move. However, in recent years I’ve made significant progress building Write2Speak and reflecting on this the advise I would give is as follows: Just do it, don’t wait, don’t worry, especially not about views or engagement numbers. Just put your shit out. If you have a dream or an idea make it happen, start small but start. Work out what you want, tell people about your aspirations in real life, start thinking and speaking it into existence while taking action that will progress you towards said goals.
7. Are there any artists on your radar right now that we should check out?
You should check out Vanders VIII.
8. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?
The only album I’ve had on heavy rotation recently is GNX, a masterpiece of music and lyrics. Mostly I’ve been repeating the top few hundred songs on my liked playlist, this month the most commonly recurring artists there are: J Hus, J Spades, Pa Salieu, Artan, Joe James, Wretch 32, Avelino, Bashy, Scrapz… The good shit.
9. What do you like to do when you're not making music?
That’s easy. When I’m not running spoken word workshops for Write2Speak I’m climbing mountains, diving and travelling. I love exploring nature and taking on physical challenges. Last year I spent 4 months travelling Nepal and Borneo. I trekked the Everest 3 passes trek and visited Everest base camp, unguided. I also discovered Freediving and am currently working on my personal best of a 20m free immersion dive on one breath. You’ll often find me in the beautiful mountains of Snowdonia in north west wales.
10. Name Three things you can't live without when in the studio?
A studio would be nice lol. I’m a fairly simple guy, I don’t really go anywhere without my glass bottle of filtered water and my natural medication. So I’m good. In the future I’d love to have a studio in the middle of nowhere, somewhere beautiful by a river in the mountains.