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Yeule

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Yeule
Yeule performing in Seattle in 2023
Background information
Birth nameNatasha Yelin Chang
Also known asNat Ćmiel
Born (1997-12-16) December 16, 1997 (age 27)
Singapore
Genres
Instruments
  • Piano
  • synth
  • vocals
  • guitar
Years active2012–present
LabelsNinja Tune,[1] Bayonet,[2] Zoom Lens[3]
Websitehttps://www.yeule.jp/about

Yeule (/ˈjuːl/ YOOL; stylised in lower case as yeule) is the musical project of Nat Ćmiel,[a] a Singaporean songwriter and producer. Formed in 2012, they[b] incorporate elements of ambient, glitch and Asian post-pop.[3] Their name is derived from Final Fantasy character Paddra Nsu-Yeul.[5]

Early life and education

[edit]

Nat Ćmiel was born in Singapore where they attended school.[3][6][7] They first started playing music at the age of 6 on their parents' Yamaha piano and learned classically although eventually dropped taking lessons, and wanted to explore something more challenging which led them to guitar and drums.[8] Ćmiel initially started playing waltz pieces, though they soon moved on to songs from the soundtracks of Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts.[9] They later went on to sing in a jazz band under the name Riot Diet, covering songs from Ella Fitzgerald and the Pixies.[3]

Growing up, feelings of loneliness and depression were present due in part to Ćmiel's nomadic upbringing.[6] They found solace on the internet, which would influence their later works.[10]

After graduating from high school, they applied to Central Saint Martins to study fashion communication and womenswear.[3] Ćmiel graduated from Central Saint Martins in London with a degree in Fine Arts in 2020.[11]

Musical timeline

[edit]

Ćmiel's first release under the Yeule title was their self-titled EP on March 3, 2014.[5] On December 11, 2016, Ćmiel released their second EP, Pathos, which was dedicated to David Singh.[12] Ćmiel followed up with the OST to interactive simulator game Lost Memories Dot Net, which was released on July 17, 2017.[13]

On September 27, 2017, Ćmiel released their third EP, Coma.[14] With regard to the writing, they said that "I wrote this album to commemorate the people I'd lost."[14] The EP received a positive reception with Duncan Cooper of The Fader describing it as "dream-pop perfection".[15] Ćmiel signed to Bayonet Records on July 17, 2019.[6]

On October 25, 2019, Ćmiel released their debut studio album Serotonin II. On the process of creating the album they said that "Writing the record, I was dreadful. I didn't ask for much, I don't need to be happy. I just wanted to be content."[10] The album received a positive critical reception with Jude Noel of Tiny Mix Tapes giving the album 4/5 and saying that "Melancholia aside, it's Serotonin II's impeccable sound design that has kept me coming back".[16]

Ćmiel teased the release of their second album Glitch Princess via Bayonet Records with a track titled "My Name is Nat Ćmiel"—released at the end of 2020.[17] The full album was released on February 4, 2022. It was qualified as "pioneering" by Colin Lodewick from Pitchfork and featured in their 'Best New Music' section with a critical score of 8.3.[18]

In between "My Name Is Nat Ćmiel" and Glitch Princess, Ćmiel released the remix EP Serotonin X Remixes and the covers album Nuclear War Post X, the latter issued directly through their website as a limited-edition paperback art book with a download for the entire album.

Over the first weekend of May 2023, Yeule teased some images on their social media channels mentioning the date of May 10. On that date, Yeule premiered the video and released the single for their new song "Sulky Baby" and announced that they had signed to the Ninja Tune label. They told Rolling Stone, "The creative trajectory is shapeshifting, and Ninja Tune was the most versatile with their views on artistic direction as most of my creative pitches often tend to be fringe in conceptual aspects. I admire the team's work ethic and tastes, and they've also worked with other creatives I know and love to this day, it feels nice to be with them!"[19] "Sulky Baby" was included on their third album, Softscars, which was released on September 22, 2023 to critical acclaim.

During October 2024, Yeule teased a new single, "Eko", being released on the 23rd the same month. On February 25, 2025, they released promotional material for a new single and an upcoming album, alongside a release date of March 3. The next day, a new single, "Skullcrusher", was officially announced, being produced alongside with Clams Casino and FITNESSS.[20] On March 3rd, Yeule announced their fourth studio album, Evangelic Girl Is a Gun, and it was released on May 30, 2025.[21]

Music style and influences

[edit]

Ćmiel's music has been described as a variety of categories including: "electronic post-pop,"[22] avant-pop[23] and experimental pop.[24] Serotonin II was labeled as an ambient album and received comparisons to Enya's music and Grimes' album Visions (2012).[23] Glitch Princess is a glitch pop[25] album with influences of emo pop, spoken word and ambient music.[26] Releases following Glitch Princess explored guitar-based alternative music. Softscars is a shoegaze[27][28] album that has also been considered as a dream pop and pop rock record.[29] Evangelic Girl Is A Gun combines eclectic influences from several genres including pop, metal, EDM, trip hop, shoegaze and sludge metal.[24][30] Ćmiel's musical influences draws inspiration from 90's and 00's alternative acts such as My Chemical Romance, Avril Lavigne, Hole, Radiohead, the Pixies and the Smashing Pumpkins. Some of their favorite albums are My Chemical Romance's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004), Avril Lavigne's Let Go (2002) and Under My Skin (2004); and the Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) and Siamese Dream (1993).[31][32][33][34]

Discography

[edit]
Yeule discography
Studio albums4
EPs6
Soundtrack albums2
Singles21

Studio albums

[edit]
Title Album details Peak chart positions
SCO
[35] 		UK Indie
[35] 		UK Album Down.
[35] 		UK Albums Sales
[35]
Serotonin II[36] — — — —
Glitch Princess[37]
  • Released: February 4, 2022
  • Label: Bayonet
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming, cassette
 96 22 — —
Softscars[38]
  • Released: September 22, 2023
  • Label: Ninja Tune
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming, cassette
 — 41 57 —
Evangelic Girl Is a Gun[39]
  • Released: May 30, 2025
  • Label: Ninja Tune
  • Format: LP, CD, digital download, streaming, cassette
 29 18 56 40
"—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released

Soundtrack extended plays

[edit]
Title Album details
Lost Memories Dot Net[40]
  • Released: July 17, 2017
  • Label: Self released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
The Overture of Prototype[41]
  • Released: January 8, 2024
  • Label: Self released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Extended plays

[edit]
Title EP details
Yeule[42]
  • Released: March 3, 2014
  • Label: Zoom Lens[43]
  • Format: Digital download, steaming
Pathos[44]
  • Released: December 11, 2016
  • Label: Self released
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Coma[45]
  • Released: September 27, 2017
  • Label: Zoom Lens[43]
Serotonin X Remixes[46]
  • Released: July 30, 2021
  • Label: Bayonet
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

[edit]
Title Year Album
"Eva (Demo)" 2018 Non-album single
"Pocky Boy" 2019 Serotonin II
"Pretty Bones"
"Pixel Affection"
"Poison Arrow"
"My Name Is Nat Ćmiel" 2020 Glitch Princess
"The Things They Did for Me Out of Love" 2021
"Don't Be So Hard on Your Own Beauty"
"Friendly Machine"
"Too Dead Inside" 2022
"Sulky Baby" 2023 Softscars
"Dazies"
"Fish in the Pool"
"Ghosts"
"Inferno"
"Softscars"
"Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl" 2024 I Saw the TV Glow (Original Soundtrack)
"Eko" Evangelic Girl Is a Gun
"Skullcrusher" 2025
"Evangelic Girl Is a Gun"
"Dudu"

Collaborations

[edit]
Title Artist Year Album
"Reciprocation" (featuring Yeule) Oh My Muu 2015 Self Help
"Dance & Kill" (with Yeule) LLLL 2017 Chains Phase 1: Resent
"Memories" (with Yeule) Chains Phase 2: Remain
"Seal" (with Yeule)
"Indefinite Grounds" (with Yeule) 2018 Chains Phase 4: Resemblance
"Breathless" (with Yeule) 2020 Impure
"Akuma des Akum" (yeule Remix) Urbangarde 2021 Tokyopop2
"Deadlines" (yeule Remix) Car Seat Headrest Madlo: Remixes
"Shell" (with Yeule) Tohji 2022 T-Mix
"Bluff" (yeule and Kin Leonn Remix) Yunè Pinku Non-album single
"Easy Prey" (yeule and Kin Leonn Remix) Moderat 2023 Even More D4ta
"Something Other Than Years" (with Yeule) Lucinda Chua Yian
"Slugs" (yeule and Kin Leonn Remix) Slow Pulp 2024 Non-album single
"We Are Making Out" (featuring Yeule) Mura Masa Curve 1
"Like a Bird" (featuring Yeule) Baasch Lipstick on the Glass (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ This is also a self-chosen artist name and not a birth name. Ćmiel means 'moth' in Polish.
  2. ^ Yeule is non-binary and accepts she/her and they/them pronouns.[4] For consistency, this article uses the latter.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Yeule on Ninja Tune". Ninja Tune. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "Yeule". Bandcamp. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e "yeule is the singapore producer crafting a dark post-pop dream world". i-d.vice. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  4. ^ Ćmiel, Nat. "Scarry Stories * A Glimpse into yeule's Universe" (Interview). Interviewed by Hannah Rose Prendergast. Le Mile.
  5. ^ a b "Introducing: The dreamy, yearning sounds of Yeule". bandwagon.asia. January 21, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Yeule Announces Signing to Bayonet Records". totalntertainment. July 15, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  7. ^ "Yeule | Metal Magazine". metalmagazine.eu. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  8. ^ "YEULE TAKES ON REALITY, SONGWRITING, AND AI RELATIONSHIPS". the-radical. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  9. ^ "Ghosts, Glitches and Mesmerising Soundtracks: An Interview with Yeule". November 21, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Cyber-pop artist yeule is bridging the void between digital and IRL". dazeddigital. October 28, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  11. ^ "Ones to Watch: Yeule". Milk.
  12. ^ "pathos". Bandcamp. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  13. ^ "Lost Memories Dot Not". ninasays. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "coma". Bandcamp. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  15. ^ "Yeule's Coma EP is dream-pop perfection". thefader. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  16. ^ "yeule". tinymixtapes. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  17. ^ "Yeule teases second album with new song 'My Name Is Nat Ćmiel'". NME. January 4, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  18. ^ "Glitch Princess". pitchfork. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  19. ^ "Yeule shares new single 'Sulky Baby' and announces new deal with Ninja Tune". Rolling Stone (UK). May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  20. ^ "✩ pre-save skullcrusher out on 3.3.25". Instagram. yeule. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  21. ^ "my 4th studio album, "Evangelic Girl is a Gun" out 𖥔 May 30 2025 𖥔". Instagram. yeule. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  22. ^ Russell, Erica (October 28, 2019). "Cyber-pop artist yeule is bridging the void between digital and IRL". Dazed. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  23. ^ a b Lodewick, Colin (February 15, 2022). "yeule: Glitch Princess". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  24. ^ a b Sollazzo, Cassidy (May 29, 2025). "yeule is a Post-Human Pop Star on Evangelic Girl is a Gun". Paste Magazine. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  25. ^ "Review: Yeule - Glitch Princess | Sputnikmusic". Sputnik Music. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  26. ^ Evans, Nathan (February 2, 2022). "Yeule — Glitch Princess". The Quietus. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  27. ^ Simpson, Paul (September 22, 2023). "Softscars - yeule". AllMusic. Retrieved June 9, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ "Review: Yeule - softscars". Sputnik Music. September 22, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ^ Robinson, Otis (September 20, 2023). "yeule - Softscars". DIY. Retrieved June 9, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ Perdoni, Amy (May 28, 2025). "yeule: Evangelic Girl Is A Gun review - murky cool". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  31. ^ Zhang, Cat (September 11, 2023). "Logging Off and Rocking Out With yeule, Pop's Internet Explorer". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 10, 2023. Logging Off and Rocking Out With yeule, Pop's Internet Explorer
  32. ^ Jamieson, Sarah (September 25, 2023). "UNDER THE SKIN: YEULE". DIY. Retrieved November 10, 2023. We have so many references from the '90s and '00s, like Radiohead, My Chemical Romance… Honestly, Gerard Way changed my fucking life," they enthuse giddily. "I was nine years old when I found 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge' and did not understand what that was all about until later on, but the emotional lyricism and the musical aspect of it punched me when I was a kid. "Then we were listening to a lot of Avril Lavigne, the stuff that we grew up on with our iPods. Like, 'Oh we should totally do some Pixies shit, or Smashing Pumpkins!' We were listening to all this music that's very sentimental to us, because we're '90s kids.
  33. ^ Raza-Sheik, Zoya (October 6, 2023). "Entering yeule's rockstar cyber dimension". Gay Times. Retrieved November 10, 2023. To capture this, the singer trawled through their old listening habits: Avril Lavigne, Smashing Pumpkins, and Hole. "I was listening to so much of what I enjoyed when I was a teenager because it made me feel that age again – that's why I fucking vibed with you! I'm a big fan of Gerard Way. He is so pivotal to my life," they say animatedly. "I don't think I don't think anyone realises how much I love My Chemical Romance or Avril Lavigne. C'mon, 'Sulky Baby' literally sounds like 'Complicated'.
  34. ^ Farrel, Margaret (September 19, 2023). "Album Of The Week: yeule softscars". Stereogum. Retrieved November 10, 2023. On softscars, they're combining their human experience with their cyber identity, drawing from childhood influences like Avril Lavigne, My Chemical Romance, and the Smashing Pumpkins.
  35. ^ a b c d "Yeule songs and albums | full Official Chart history". Official Charts. June 8, 2025. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  36. ^ "Serotonin II". Spotify. October 25, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  37. ^ "Glitch Princess". Spotify. February 4, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  38. ^ "Softscars". Spotify. September 22, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  39. ^ "Evangelic Girl Is a Gun". Spotify. May 30, 2025. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  40. ^ "Lost Memories Dot Net | yeule". Bandcamp. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  41. ^ "The Overture of Prototype (Game OST) | yeule". Bandcamp. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  42. ^ "Yeule - EP". Apple Music. March 3, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  43. ^ a b Cooper, Duncan (September 27, 2017). "Yeule's Coma EP is dream-pop perfection". The FADER. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  44. ^ "Pathos - EP". Apple Music. December 11, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  45. ^ "Coma - EP by yeule". Spotify. September 27, 2017.
  46. ^ "Serotonin X Remixes - EP by yeule". Spotify. July 30, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
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