yeule releases the new single “sulky baby”, an introspective shoegaze number that speaks to the inner child we all ought to be more tender with.
Following the celebrated release of album Glitch Princess last year, Singapore-born and UK-based multidimensional artist Nat Ćmiel, a.k.a. yeule, is back with a hazy, mellow alt-rock number titled “sulky baby” that grew out of their journal entries of childhood reflections — a poignant musical embrace of the coming-of-age pains that they did not let heal back when they were younger.
Referred to as ‘scars’, yeule began to sing the scribbled words of these reflections aloud. It came out in a flood with one of the pages, torn memories highlighting the mortality of the crumpled and stained page, which then transformed into an early iteration of the new single.
Before release, “sulky baby” was performed on the Glitch Princess Tour on November 16, 2022, in Amsterdam. It was then gradually teased through videos with binary code — the release date and a line of lyrics were decoded on April 28 and 30, respectively.
On the meaning of the song, yeule shares, “The song “sulky baby” was like a 2000s alt-rock shoegaze hybrid tinted in sad satire. I felt like I was talking to a younger version of me, stopping her from crying, looking back at the ways I betrayed and neglected that innocence from myself. I failed to protect her, and I felt like I needed to go back in time and fulfil what she was starved of. So that she could return to my side. So that I can smile like a little kid again.”
“The song gives quite vivid descriptions of a depression I felt with almost a burning passion, yet I tried to give it a light-hearted tone. I think romanticising is not always that bad. It helps to do it sometimes when you’re dealing with a repressed memory. I think it is called an advantaged delusion? Sometimes, that’s the only way I can remember parts of me I don’t want to remember, so that I can lay her to rest and heal. My mother used to tell me as a child, not to sulk all the time. I guess that’s why sulking is so special to me,” they said.
The first track to be released since signing on with Ninja Tune (who manages the likes of Peggy Gou, Thundercat and Black Country) sees yeule take on a softer approach to their experimental sound, the accompanying music video by Jaxon Whittington a rose-tinted, nostalgia-seeped series of interactions that include the gifting of stuffed animals, dips into the pool, and imaginary boat rides through the middle of a field that reconcile yeule with their younger self.
Produced by them and homegrown ambient artist, composer and producer Kin Leonn, “sulky baby” marks the beginning of a new chapter for the ethereal persona of Ćmiel, who is now embracing a very human struggle of recovery despite their signature apocalyptic look. The beautiful chaos effervescent in their previous release has since been dissipated for a more vulnerable, lyric-driven invitation into yeule’s heart and mind. Stay tuned for more.
yeule’s new single “sulky baby” is out on all streaming platforms. Once you are done with this story, catch up with the rest of our May 2023 issue here.
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