In an ever-evolving music industry, the ability to be innovative and authentic is what can set special artists apart from others.

Yb. is an example of an artist who is taking risks for himself, not trying to be what others think he should be and going completely against the grain to traditional ideas of how music is typically released.

The latest release from Yb. is a ‘mixtape’ called BULLETPROOF and features something for everybody as it doesn’t define itself by a particular genre.

Futuremag caught up with Yb. to discuss the mixtape and the feelings of finding success in such a competitive musical landscape.

FMM: It’s been over a year since we spoke to you, how would you describe the last 12-18 months in a nutshell?

Yb.- It’s been pretty hectic. I feel like I’ve definitely been doing a lot within the last year or so just making sure that we’re putting music out for everyone to listen to and I’m also working part time.

FMM: Your Spotify numbers have really blown up in the last 12 months, with more than 71,000 monthly listeners and some songs hitting more than 1 million plays. How’s that been to watch your progress play out on that?

Yb.- I think it will never cease to amaze me how many people tune into the music and I’ve always had the intent of making it for my friends and family, not expecting to even get any traction whatsoever. So when I looked back at that stuff I’m just so grateful for everything. 

FMM: Your Blackphemy EP in particular had a lot of success. Have you had a chance to actually reflect on the numbers it has reached?

Yb.-Yeah I think this year I’ve definitely been doing that. When Blackphemy first came out it was a lot of stress trying to just pitch it to the world. Then this year I’ve had time to listen to it from that perspective. Looking back I think I have definitely taken a lot more out of the EP when the stresses and everything sort of passed. I’m still so proud of it. It was my baby, I was just so glad it was out.

FMM: I love the message of the BULLETPROOF release which you call a mixtape, and how it doesn’t aim to fit a certain box - it doesn’t belong to any specific genre. How was this idea sparked?

Yb.- We wanted to get music out after Blackphemy but I think the EP had such a narrative. I feel like with this EP in particular I didn’t really want to have a direction. I didn’t want to have a narrative, I just wanted to get my favourite songs out at the end of the year. So I think that’s where the mixtape idea came from. It’s almost an anti-concept. BULLETPROOF is just songs, I hope you enjoy it all at once - there’s no like ‘Oh you have to listen to this one first and then this one”. We really worked hard on them and we made sure that every song on the EP was quality and (people) can enjoy it and listen to it in their spare time.

FMM: I think going against the grain these days is very important in the music industry to set yourself apart from others. Have you got any other innovations up your sleeve?

Yb.- I’m working on some things at the moment that I can’t speak about too much, but yeah I’m working on some singles to be released close to mid next year. Then time will tell if an album or another EP is coming out. There’s gonna be a lot of touring hopefully next year as well, just going to try and perform as many festivals as I possibly can and gain an audience from that, try and get some more Triple J play. So that’s just the plan. Next year, we’re just going to hit the ground running with the music we have.

FMM: There’s a quote you’ve said about this release that it’s basically a big ‘Fuck You’ to opinions and perceptions. Is that another example of you trying to go against what people may be expecting of you?

Yb.- Yeah I talked about this in Blackphemy, the moment you consider skin colour, I think that naturally people assume that you’re going to go some type of way with music and I think that what this (release is about) - this one’s a folk song, then this one’s a dance song, then this one’s an indie song. I like the idea of not being able to be tied down by a specific genre but being able to do multiple things and try multiple things. I listen to so much different music and my partner put me onto a bunch of cool stuff. I think naturally as I’m creating the music, I had in my mind, we have such a diverse range of genres that we listen to. So I don’t want to tie myself down to one specific genre. I just sort of go with what the feeling is. And we sort of build from there. 

FMM: Sometimes artists in Australia, regardless of how good their music may be, don’t get the attention they often deserve. For yourself, do you have any particular goals when you release something?

Yb.- I always want to have love from people in Australia. It’s nice to note I have people listening like Sydney, Brisbane even Perth. I love knowing that Australia has my back and I feel like the next go from that point onwards is trying to hit the American market because I think that’s such a huge market but yeah I love having the support of the Australian people. I think it’s really hard to push yourself as artists and so many people are doing it, there’s pros and cons.