Meet Yorke, a Byron Bay based musician, whose debut single, ‘First Light’ has struck a cord within the Australian music scene. We had a chat to the breaking act and delved into her start with music, the development of the Yorke project, and more.

Futuremag Music: Hey Yorke, how's life in Byron treating you?

Yorke: Hey guys! Byron life is treating me well, thank you! Recently I’ve been splitting my time between Byron and Sydney for my music, so it is always nice to come home and be able to go for a walk on the beach and watch the whales. I’m moving to Sydney in a couple weeks though, which is going to be amazing! Can’t wait to go to heaps of gigs.

Futuremag Music: Could you talk us through how you moved into music? 

Yorke: I’ve been writing music since I was eight, and have previously released music under my own name. I don’t really know why I started writing, it was just something I decided to try one day and never wanted to stop.

Futuremag Music: How did the Yorke project come about?

Yorke: This year has been spent focusing and honing my songwriting and working with some really amazing people. My sound and self really matured, so I decided to start afresh to honour that. The name Yorke seemed the perfect fit, as I love New York and it has always inspired me. 

Futuremag Music: What direction are you looking at going?

Yorke: I also love the fact that everyone seems to get something different out of visiting NYC. It can make you feel so many different things. I want my sound to emulate that. Cinematic indie-pop laced with emotion.

Futuremag Music: Can you dissect your debut single 'First Light'? What went into the production, writing, and overall composition of the track? What's your favourite aspect of writing a track?

Yorke: I worked on ‘First Light’ with Chris Collins (who is an absolute genius) and he really brought the best out in the track. We wrote it on guitar, which is a little unusual for me (I usually write on keys). Chris started playing around with some chords and we wrote the entire song in about an hour. I wanted to write a song that you can imagine blasting in your car late at night. We then started playing around with the production to make it gritty. I think the real winner of that day was when we experimented with singing each chord in the intro, which originally was piano. 

We sat with this demo for about a month before we headed into Cooper Lane Studios in Sydney to finish it. Recording the real instruments really brought the track together. The drummer George was incredible and that combined with the gritty guitar added so much life.

In general, I think my favourite aspect of writing a track is that feeling at the end of the day when you’re listening to the track for the last time, and the energy is still in the room. It’s hard to explain in words.

Futuremag Music: A quirky one to wrap it up. If 'Yorke' was a cocktail what would be in it to best describe yourself and your music?

Yorke: Damn, this is definitely the hardest question out of all of them. Given my name, I should probably be saying a Manhattan but I’m not a big fan of whiskey! I’d definitely have to say a Lychee and Mint Martini. Fresh, Classic, Sweet and the mint adds a slight organic feeling.