Artists who offer more than just their music for audiences to cling on to have a magnetic kind of allure to their artistry, especially when they stand for and fight for a cause that transcends the realms of music. Recently, I discovered a collective of artists who serve as a luminous example of that sentiment, and they are simultaneously crafting a multi-colored sound that's embodied by a range of influences.
I'm talking about the Mexico-based I.M YONI (Independent Musicians of Yoni), a group of 5 creative women from different parts of the globe united to address gender equality through art. The vibrant single "Brilliando" featuring French superstar Corine was my gateway into their world of florid synths and pristine production thanks to this anthemic Disco banger. However, their debut EP Premier exhibits how I.M YONI transcends the borders of culture and genre as they create songs in multiple languages, within the genres of Funk, R&B, Dance, and Pop among others. Through their work, this trailblazing collective is not only opening doors for women in creative fields but also stand tall as a source of inspiration. In this interview I.M YONI discusses being a woman in the music industry, female energy, creating their debut EP Premier, and more.
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What were the members of the collective doing before I.M YONI, and what motivated you to start making music together?
We are a collective of musicians and each one has their own personal projects. Estefani Brolo is the lead singer of a Costarican based band called Patterns and has an electronic project with Ana Rizo that goes by the name BroloRizo. Josefa and Esperanza de Velasco are Orchestra Directors and Composers, they own a music studio in the center of Mexico City and formed the first Orchestra made up of women. Ana Rizo has her own solo project that goes under her name where she sings and composes. Ximena Duggan is an athletic and actress, she was second place in the TV Show Survivor Mexico and she's currently part of Exathon.
In which way does the name of the group 'I.M YONI' describe what you guys stand for and the sonic aesthetic of your music?
Independent Musicians / Movement of Yoni. Yoni means female energy and is also used to name the female reproductive organ. We chose a name that was representative worldwide of the female energy that makes up part of every living thing. It also goes with the creative energy where everything is born such as our music.
So there are 5 people in the band, I can just imagine how this makes your creative process so fascinating! What would you say are some of the pros and cons of producing music with 5 people?
The richness of the music is mostly because we all imprint different vibes to the songs as we co-create. Sometimes the song is born from a playful jam or musical conversation in the studio or someone brings an idea in which we all collaborate, each with their own unique sound based on our own musical experience which can be defined by what we listen to or the instrument we play.
I saw that one of the reasons I.M YONI united was to address gender equality throughout art. What are some of the ways the collective goes about addressing gender equality?
We co-create with women in areas that are yet not very common for women in the music industry especially within dance music like production, composition, instrumentation, mixing, etc. This way we learn about them and from them and we are able to act as a platform for their work. We believe that gender equality is very important within arts as through art we built societies.
How do you generally think that gender plays a role in the music industry?
Overall gender has always played a role in arts mostly cause many of the work women do get lost or its credits went to men. In the music industry to this day there are not enough women producing, not enough women mixing or even composing; we are still under the shadow of the male gaze and in order to see the whole picture, culturally wise, we need to have both.
Who were some of the women who inspired you when you first started making music? And who would you say are some of the women who serve as an inspiration in our generation right now for young female producers/musicians?
Fortunately, we can name many: Susan Rogers: she was Prince engineer for many years, her work and workshops are an inspiration for sure. Leslie Ann Jones: the first woman engineer to work at Capital Records. Her list of work is huge. Also composers and musicians like Joan Jett , Nina Simone, Ella Fritz Gerald, Janis Joplin, Carol King. Also, Diane Warren has many big industry hits under her name.
And in Latin America the great Chavela Vargas who also was a revolutionary. Today we look up to women like St. Vincent, Grimes, Melody Gardot, Esperanza Spalding, Adeline, Emily King, Blondish, Black Madonna and so many more. In Latin America Natalia Lafurcade, Gaby Moreno, Lila Downs...
A massive congratulations on the release of Premier, I've been really enjoying the project since it's release. How are you trying to make people feel, or what kind of space are you wanting to put people in after they've experienced Premier?
We are very excited about this. Glad you enjoy our work! We want people to hear some of the colors and rhythms we can bring to the table. This is our presentation card. We made sure it has a bit of the elements we enjoy in music production in terms of sounds and vibes. We want people to enjoy the freedom we experience while co-creating with other artists from different backgrounds and languages.
What did you see in Corine, Lyric Christian, and Sarah Maison that made them the perfect candidates to contribute to the project?
Each has a very unique color in their vocals and the way they construct the melodies. Their work found us sort of speaking. In the case of Sarah Maison, her song "Gang" was part of many mix sessions that "Perfect Place" was part of too, her deep vocals and Arabic background stood out immediately. In the case of Corine, we saw her perform with Polo & Pan and her vibe and subtleness captured our attention. Lyric was a recommendation from the label. When the label heard "I Don't Want Anybody" they sent Lyric's previous work and we thought it was amazing. In the end, we realized that all of our collabs have a cool and easy-going vibe which made it perfect to collaborate.
Which track did you find yourselves really struggling to finish and why?
We are very happy to say that the tracks that we chose for the EP are the ones we found were flowing at that moment,
"Brilliando" is certainly my favorite track on Premier. How does the music video capture the narrative of the track?
The video is also a collaboration with Anne Cecile Jemin's production company Heirson tv alongside Directors Leo Cannone and Thibaud Lomenech. They presented a dark environment to contrast with the brightness of the song.
What have been some of the key lessons that arose from working and releasing Premier together?
We definitely learned to be patient and grateful for every step of the process. Also to go for the best idea, not our own idea. To work for the project's best interest.
One thing you like, and one thing you don't like about the music scene in Mexico?
We like that Mexico's indie scene is very big and people enjoy supporting music and feeling part of the growth of the band. We don't like that due to the insecurity that there are not many venues for music anymore. You have to be very creative in order to keep working as an independent project.
I'm very keen to hear what you guys will be putting out next. What's the next goal for I.M Yoni?
We are working on a more Latin-influenced album at the moment. But also in parallel, we started to work on the second EP that will follow Premier.
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