Having already established himself with a breadth of dazzling delights these last few years. fast-rising artist YKARE is back once again to deliver his vibrant new single 'torta fever'.
Channelling more of that bright and infectious indie-pop aesthetic he has earned a reputation for, 'torta fever' makes for a wonderfully fun and enjoyable listen. With its shimmering textures, breezy atmosphere, and stellar hooks layered throughout, he is kicking off his new year with one of his more impactful efforts to date here.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with him to find out more about his origins and what has been inspiring him most lately.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
I played guitar and piano growing up but felt always wished I could sing. It wasn’t until I was older I would start teaching myself how to sing by writing lyrics and singing them in my garage.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
When I was younger I loved all kinds of music. I remember listing to a lot of artists like Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran because I loved their vocal talent and would imagine myself being the one writing and singing their songs to girls I liked.
What was the first album you remember owning?
Being homeschooled I was limited to what I was allowed to listen to (my parents were fairly strict) The first record I owed was a various Justin Bieber songs from his album “My world 2.0” these songs I had download onto a broken iPod nano I found in a lost in found.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
One song I wish I could have written myself is a song by Zach Verzache called “juvenescence”. I found this song randomly back in 2017 and fell in love with how it perfectly depicted my life at the time and looking back how it framed what my teenage years were. I still listen to it a lot especially when I want to reminisce.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
When Im writing and recording music I have to be alone. I started writing, recording and engineering all my music alone in my room and have continued this throughout almost all of my records. I love being around people and am a very extroverted person, but when its time to put what my heart is feeling into words I need to be alone to hear what my heart is telling me.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
Currently I have been listening to a lot of beabadoobee, I love the way she writes music and her voice and how she’s able to carry emotion with her words. I also have caught myself listening to a lot of music from an artist named Souly Had. He’s an artist I listened to a lot when I was 16 and have grown up with him.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
I would want to open for Joji. In way he’s a role model for me, he started as a content creator and slowly became a musician. I find myself similar to him in a way because in 2024 I blew up on TikTok and in 1 year gained 3 million followers across platforms, I hope to show people that I also have art to share with the world.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
I find that the most rewarding part is when people share with me how my music has helped them. My main goal is to help people feel less alone, artists like xxxtentacion and juice wrld helped me in my younger years and I wish to do the same for the younger generation.
And what is the most frustrating part?
The most frustrating part is how music is a competition sometimes. With social media becoming a competition for attention, artists have to become the best content creators, marketing managers, engineers, graphic designers ect. Sometimes I feel like this terrain of social media has caused artists to devalue themselves because of what they see around them causing them to quit. “Comparison is the thief of joy” is something I tell myself to combat this.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
The best advice I have ever gotten is that at the end of the day the music I make is for me, I am sharing my innermost thoughts and feelings with the world in hopes someone out there resonates with it.
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YKARE's new single 'torta fever' is out now. Check it out in the player below.