Yugen Blakrok – Carbon Form

By starrymag | January 16, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) It’s hip-hop. It’s moody, downtempo hypnotic shit.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Roots Manuva, Wu-Tang Clan, Tricky, Portishead, Killah Priest.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Carbon Form.”

 

A) It’s one of the last songs I recorded for the album because I wasn’t too sure about it at first – I thought it was too raw. I tend to disregard traditional songwriting structures when I’m creating but after Joel and I had recorded it, I felt that it captured and embodied my strangeness perfectly. “Carbon Form” is really about exploring the essence of the human being from an elemental level, all the way up.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) It’s uncompromising, hard and intense. We all have that side to us.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

A) For the video, we used specific spaces to represent religion, science and nature. Within these concepts, the divine feminine energy that permeates all is the focus of the video. Throughout history, this role has been suppressed, subdued, silenced and manipulated. For the video, the goddess is presented as powerful, larger than life, occupying and owning these spaces. She is in constant creation, weaving like the spider (Arachne) and electrifying/animating/giving life.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics? 

 

A) Not really. I scribble thoughts, ideas and concepts down as rough rhymes and use the music to craft and polish the verse or song. The overall feeling is inspired by the beats, that often influences where I choose to go with the lyrics.

 

Q) Your forthcoming album was co-produced by Kanif the Jhatmaster. How much of a say though do you have in the production of your music? 

 

A) I have all the say in the world. Kanif and I have been working together almost a decade at this point. We influence and push each other, each understands the other’s aspirations and way of thinking. We share similar tastes. Sometimes I look at us in the mirror and see a beautiful two-headed monster.

 

Q) What can fans expect from a live Yugen Blakrok performance?

 

A) I can’t really speak for everyone on the receiving end, but I suspect it’s something like a psychedelic trip. It’s lightwork and soundwaves, all energy.

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your upcoming album Anima Mysterium as a whole?

 

A) I like to think of albums like books or films, as portals to other worlds. I hope you guys find a door to all the galaxies within.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you? 

 

A) I dig intimate spaces where you can see everyone. It’s nerve-wracking and intense, but it’s a really special energy. That. One of my favorite gigs was in the basement of a squat-house in Switzerland, folks moshing, sweating and wildin’ out – there wasn’t a clean sneaker in sight.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) Aesop Rock, hands fucking down.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) I love Zetina Mosia’s voice on anything. Sa-Roc’s energy’s dope, too. I’ve also been listening to Mr. Freddy from Swaziland and Fifi the RaiBlaster. They’re mad eclectic and experimental.

 

Q) You were featured on the Black Panther soundtrack! How did that make you feel?

 

A) That was a bit too surreal, even for me.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) Learning that my peoples are all about our evolution in real-life too, not just wishful thinking. The whole mission is to connect. Social media’s just a virtual web. There is a more mysterious web that connects us and it’s not only magical, it’s scientific too. I want to discover all the ways, all the webs.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) Thank you.