Enter the world of YOI (良い), a label that embodies more than just music—it’s a canvas of audible and visual art, a sanctuary for the soulful, and a beacon for those who seek depth in their sonic journeys.
Founded in 2018 by Watsche, YOI is not merely a label; it’s an odyssey of expression, a testament to the power of vinyl, and a haven for emerging talents. With a legacy of intricate, animated artwork and a commitment to the vinyl-only ethos, YOI stands as a monument to the tactile, the tangible, and the timeless.
Let’s delve into the minds behind this auditory and visual spectacle. Join us as we explore the ethos of YOI with its founder, Alex Watsche, and celebrate the latest release on YOIONWAX, featuring the immersive sounds of Donnie Cosmo. As we navigate the creative currents that shape their music, uncover the inspirations that drive their art, and peek into the future of this innovative label, prepare to be transported to a world where every groove tells a story and every track is a journey.
Torture the Artist: Hey guys, tell us something about your day.
Watsche: Hello, Holger! Thank you for having us for this interview! Lately, I’ve made it a habit of saying, “It’s getting better and better,” and it’s actually true. Of course, it’s not just happening on its own; it’s a lot of work. But I love what I do, and as a result, we’ve created something that our fans, friends, and everyone who knows us loves.
Torture the Artist: Congratulations on reaching #10 on your label YOIONWAX. Alex, what made you decide to found YOI back in 2018, and what have you learned about running an independent label since then?
Watsche: Thanks! This is a really special record for me and for the project. Looking back at all our records, you can see the path of the project and mine personally as the boss of the label, A&R, and artist. Well, it wasn’t entirely spontaneous, but in some ways, it was. Since childhood, I’ve been passionate about music. I even played at being a seller of various cassettes and bobbins that I had at home, pretending I had a record store and sold music to fictional visitors, hehe. I’ve been a DJ for almost 20 years, started writing music a long time ago, and at some point, I realized that I wanted to release music on vinyl. I wanted to create my own label and imagined myself doing it. At that time, I knew absolutely nothing about this side of the business. But over the years, I’ve learned how the business works, how distribution functions, and all the legal aspects. I’ve also trained as a designer and gained many contacts with people in the industry worldwide—like-minded individuals and partners. By the way, I discuss running a label and other industry opportunities behind the scenes and teach these topics at our school.
It became physically impossible to release everything only on records.
Watsche
Torture the Artist: Why did you decide to add a vinyl-only label to the YOI cosmos?
Watsche: YOI was originally a vinyl-only label, and we started publishing music on records because vinyl has always been more than just music. I also spent a couple of years understanding and creating my first, now branded, animated artwork on the label’s records. It was definitely a breakthrough, as no one had ever done anything like this in electronic dance music before. And of course, I’m sure all collectors and selectors of vinyl will support me on this—it’s a magical, spiritual experience when you take a record, put it on the turntable, set the needle down, and the magic begins. When I started collecting records, I felt it and knew 100 percent that I wanted to release music on vinyl. As the project developed, I received many requests from musicians to release their music, and it became physically impossible to release everything only on records. So, I decided to open a digital branch, where the label began releasing music on all digital platforms and streaming services. Recently, we also started a line of releases exclusively on Bandcamp.
Torture the Artist: The label’s name is written as “YOI (良い).” What made you decide to use the Japanese language too? Is there a specific meaning behind it, or do you have a special relationship with the country?
Watsche: When I started developing the concept, the most important thing was the name. I wanted it to be short, succinct, and as broadly descriptive as possible of what I was conveying with this project. Since I wasn’t advanced in design and didn’t have the money to hire a designer for the logo, I had to create a logo that was as simple as possible. Hieroglyphs are something unique to the western part of our planet, and I’ve always liked them. So, I decided to explore how different words in Japanese would sound and look. After considering several options, I settled on 良い (YOI). Goodness—what could describe my project better? Goodness is something I’ve always tried to convey through music, and I’ve always wanted as many people as possible to experience that feeling. Additionally, I was and still am a fan of Miyazaki films, the vibe of movies like Enter the Void, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, and other Japanese-style films and cartoons, which played a significant role in the creation of the label. By the way, the colors of the covers for the YOI vinyl-only podcast and YOICAST were inspired by Miyazaki cartoons. Nowadays, I often play first-person walks around Japan on YouTube while holding tea ceremonies at home with my wife. It’s always a source of inspiration.
Torture the Artist: While it’s not necessarily a pattern, you release both various artist EPs and full artist EPs. What’s the idea behind this approach, and will it continue, or will you eventually focus on one of these formats?
Watsche: Yes, I initially decided to make each odd-numbered release a VA with four different artists, and each even-numbered release a full-fledged EP by one artist. This idea came about when I was planning the first two YOIONWAX releases. Later, I saw this as an opportunity to expand the reach of a new audience by releasing a VA with artists from different countries and continents. It also gave me, as the creator of the artwork, more freedom in illustrations, allowing me to develop two areas of artwork—graphic and text animations. Currently, as you know, I’m releasing not just black vinyl with artwork on the label, but fully printed discs with artwork on both sides of the record. After the release of these records, I plan to slightly change the concept—there will be no more YOIONWAX releases like the previous 10. There will be something else, even cooler, I’m sure. That’s why I mentioned in the description of the tenth-anniversary record that it’s a limited collector’s edition. By the way, let me share a secret and lift the curtain a little—I’m launching a sub-label soon, which will also be part of the updated project concept. Stay tuned.
Torture the Artist: So far, you haven’t released a full EP on your own label, but single tracks from you can be found on the first and ninth releases. Why do you leave the “spotlight” to other artists rather than yourself? Are you planning to release a full EP on the label?
Watsche: To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it before, but now that you mention it, I’ve started to wonder about it too. I think this can be explained by the fact that many people don’t know, and perhaps no one knows, that the entire YOI project—everything you see and everything that happens behind the scenes—is entirely my work. I’ve never had a team, assistants, or employees involved; everything that’s been done has been done solely by me. This includes all negotiations with artists, distribution, media, cover design, SMM, etc. Plus, until last summer, I had a day job with only 1-3 days off per week and a 12-hour workday. At work, I could sometimes combine the work processes of the label and even make covers, and on weekends from my main job, I continued to work on the project. I just didn’t have the energy or time to write music, so almost everything I wrote stayed on the shelf. My primary interest was in building a cool project, discovering new musicians and listeners, making friends, and publishing talented musicians. I always left room for young and emerging talents, whom I regularly and carefully seek out. Now, I no longer have to juggle a day job and the project. I’m solely focused on the project and have time to write music, so yes, I’m preparing a lot of releases, including on my own label, YOI. I also plan to resume my vinyl-only podcast series for YOI soon.
You can also “sew” smells into records, make them liquid inside.
Watsche
Torture the Artist: Besides YOIONWAX being a vinyl-only label, you also started releasing picturesque records, where the art is the vinyl itself. How did you come up with this idea, and what made you decide to step away from ordinary releases, which usually come with nearly blank vinyl while the artwork is printed on the record sleeve?
Watsche: YOIONWAX is a series of releases on YOI, released exclusively on vinyl. The idea to make art rather than ordinary records was there from the start. As I mentioned earlier, I spent a lot of time learning how to create my first artwork for YOIONWAX001. The tracks for this release, as well as for the second, were ready much earlier, but everything hinged on the artwork. I didn’t want to do anything else, so I worked hard to get it right. The idea came from my experience and knowledge of vinyl production. For example, you can also “sew” smells into records, make them liquid inside, and more, as the Beatles and many world-class classical musicians did. There are still a couple of people in the world who make such animated artwork for vinyl, but the music on these records is usually either pop or rock. I’m the only one who does such things in dance electronic music, and YOI is the only label in our field that publishes such records. Initially, the artwork was printed only on the label, and I always wanted to create larger ones since such small animations require more effort to appreciate. First, I made a pack of three slip-mats as part of a collaboration with Deep Grooves. We haven’t launched them yet, but I promise they will arrive soon. After several years of working with the distributor, I was able to arrange for fully printed records, and he agreed since he loves our records, artwork, and everything happening with the project. Additionally, we always occupy leading positions in the charts, and we sell out in a very short time—sometimes within two days. We implemented this on the ninth release and then did it again on the tenth. You’re right; it’s not just a record release, which is cool in itself for many artists—it’s something more. It’s already art, and I’ve always positioned it that way.
Torture the Artist: What’s the idea behind the artwork for Daniel’s EP? Does the artist have artistic freedom, or did you and Daniel, Cosmo Donnie’s real name, have any ideas for it?
Watsche: As you and everyone who reads this interview have already understood, I create all the artwork for YOIONWAX, as well as all the other visuals for the project. So yes, you could say the artist has artistic freedom <laughs>. In this regard, there are no boundaries—absolute creativity. Artists see the artworks when they’re ready, and I try to make them as layered and interesting as possible, and of course, suitable for the vibe of the music on the record. In addition to the artwork, each release has a description in which I always describe the release as a separate story, like a chapter in a book or something similar. The tracks are arranged in a specific order for a reason—there’s a meaning behind their arrangement. Together—music, written description, and artwork—form a complete YOIONWAX release.
Torture the Artist: Daniel, you’ve had a few but quite noticeable releases on renowned labels like Limousine Dream, Baldo’s Physical Education, and Circa Groove. How did working with Alex come about?
Donnie Cosmo: About a year ago, Alex contacted me after listening to my releases on Limousine Dream, Physical Education, and my own label, Shuffle Valley. I’d never heard of his label before, but after checking out some of its catalog, I decided to send him some unreleased music I had, and he instantly picked four of them that fit the label’s musical concept.
Torture the Artist: The EP “YOIONWAX010” is the second EP with a picture artwork and also the fifth full artist EP on the label. Was it planned from the beginning to release a full artist EP on YOIONWAX, or did the idea develop after sending a single track over?
Watsche: At the earliest stage of communication, it’s not always clear which release an artist will be on, but after I hear the tracks, it becomes clear what can be released and how it will be presented. It was the same with Donnie. He sent his demos after my request, I listened, and I realized that it would be cool to release it on vinyl in the YOIONWAX series, as a solo EP. So we just started working on it. Yes, this is the fifth EP in this series; the other five releases are VA. Animated artwork is present on all records, but until the ninth release, it was only placed on the label. We released the last two records fully printed. On side A, there is always a classic design with the inscription YOIONWAX and the release number, and on side B, the artwork was always divided: for VA (except for the first one), there was always animation with pictures, and for the EP, I did text animation with the name of the artist whose release it was. Donnie’s record is the first one where I moved away from this rule and made the artwork more layered, because now there is more space, allowing for an even more interesting print.
I let the creative juices flow naturally rather than starting with a specific idea in mind.
Donnie Cosmo
Torture the Artist: The EP opens with the track “Jungle Juice,” a minimalistic, deep groover with bird and jungle-esque sounds. Are those actual field recordings, and does the track, as well as its title, reference the Colombian jungle? What’s the story behind it?
Donnie Cosmo: My creative process is quite organic and spontaneous. I let the creative juices flow naturally rather than starting with a specific idea in mind. I was just searching for random samples on the internet and in my own collection when I found those fantastic jungle field recordings. They ended up being the starting point for the track, and I built the tune around them, resulting in this exotic, housey vibe that evokes the tropical South American forest.
Torture the Artist: Hand on your heart—we all have favorite tracks. Which one stands out for you from the EP, and why?
Donnie Cosmo: I quite like all the tracks on the EP, but if I had to pick one, it would be “Jungle Juice.” This tune has deep and extremely musical vibes, which take me back to when I started making music as DCM. I’m making music mostly as Donnie Cosmo now, with a very distinct sound, but I love when I manage to reconnect with my origins and create this unique blend of styles. For me, it’s an evolution in sound while staying true to my roots, and I find that incredibly satisfying when I listen to the results.
Watsche: For me, an EP on a record is always a single, unbroken story. I even play records mostly in full— from the first track to the last—when I play vinyl in sets. And of course, I perceive our records the same way. But let’s try to consider them separately. “The Man From Planet X” suits my style and vibe the most when I play as a DJ, so I’d highlight that particular track.
Torture the Artist: When did you produce those four tracks, and what do you personally associate with the time spent working on them?
Donnie Cosmo: I produced the four tracks around a year and a half ago. Around that time, I was focused on making music, continuously exploring sounds, and shaping my style into what it is today.
Torture the Artist: Just to put a bit of pressure on both of you—when will you work together again, and will it be an album next time?
Watsche: It’s hard to say right now, since YOIONWAX010 is still gaining attention, and we’re only just starting to get feedback on this release. But I think it’s quite possible that one day we’ll release something new. Who knows—maybe it’ll be a YOI ALL STARS collection or a full album on two records. We’ll see.
Words by Holger Breuer
Torture the Artist 