Following the launch of the latest high-octane single Hey! Noah, we were given the chance to interview London artist and songwriter YayRaven, to find out more about the meaning behind the music, the creative process, the extensive repertoire, and plenty more. Here’s the conversation in full.
* * *
YayRaven, great to chat with you! Huge congrats for the release of Hey! Noah. Tell me about the journey to this point—how long have you been making music, and what first inspired you to start?
I wrote my first song as a child at quite a young age (8 years old) and did it out of the blue. By this, I’m stating that no one told me to do it, and I don’t know what compelled me to, either. My mom wasn’t home at the time. I recall being alone the moment I wrote it. My brother wasn’t around, nor were any of my cousins.
Funny, I still remember the melody and lyrics of the chorus but not of the verses. It was a Christian song, and I sang it in church as a duet with one of my cousins. My mom never said anything to me about the song. She never said if she liked it or not. She was just completely silent about it.
As I got into my late teens, I started writing again and joined a songwriter’s club. I got inspired after going to a concert by Shaggy. Shaggy is very talented, and his live band was also perfect. Anyhow, my mom really didn’t like me doing the songwriting, as when I got really serious about it, she scolded me a few times because I had to spend money on it, of course.
I have always loved writing songs, despite her not ever encouraging me. But she loved me writing books. She was proud of that. I had written and illustrated a children’s book, a true story about me and a blue bird’s egg, called The Imposturous Egg. She told me how much she loved my book.
Nevertheless, it was at my mom’s funeral that I found out for the first time my mom used to play the piano and even teach it to a few family members. So I just wonder why she kept that a secret from me. I will never understand that one. I feel my talent for songwriting could have come through my mom, whether she liked it or not, but I also had an uncle, one of my father’s brothers, who also wrote songs.
Is Hey! Noah is typical of your approach, or do you meander between styles—if the latter, what are your favourite genres to work with?
I definitely release in various genres, but I feel I’m consistent in them. I love house music/electronic music as it makes me feel good. I don’t stick to one category of house either. Plus, a few of my house music releases are remixes.
I also release ChillHop, Alternative Pop, and Alternative R&B/ Soul songs. I sing the vocals in only a few of my releases. I feel my voice is unique, but there are so many stronger voices that I feel surpass mine, so I ask vocalists if they’d like to sing a song I’ve written. Plus, some of my lyrics are written only for males. Some of the vocalists that sing my songs desire to be anonymous, and others are happy to be featured.
However, I may sneak my voice into many of my releases, and most likely no one would ever know. I actually did this in Hey! Noah. You’ll hear me sounding like an echo in the harmony section singing “over, over, over” as an ad-lib. I also sometimes create an instrument to be added in the mix, such as bells. These I mix in with the production given by the producer, or I ask them to include it in their production.
Sometimes I would rearrange some parts of the production or add vocals or add effects to them, or add an extension using the wav stems, or change the endings too. I like listening to my songs knowing I did this or that, and that’s my voice in the background here and there, which no one will ever realise unless I tell them.
For the first time with Hey! Noah, I named 2 of the versions as YayRaven’s Edit. I did some rearranging of the remixer’s first delivery and decided to release it because I enjoyed doing it. The remixer and I get along very well, and he was cool about it.
Your repertoire is extensive —how many songs have you written to date, and how has your approach or mindset changed since the likes of Are You Ready back in 2018?
To be honest, many of my songs were written at a time when I had to take a year off from university because of illness. I have written well over 150 songs while in the UK, some not released. I have released about 100, some being remixes. I haven’t really counted the exact amount of songs released. My first album had 20 songs, but some were different versions of the same song.
“The only mindset I had was to make myself feel happy by doing what I love to do, and that hasn’t changed. Songwriting truly does that for me. It quickly cures any feelings of being down or stressed.”
In fact, I wrote so many I forget about many of them. Luckily, I copyright my songs, and I feel like I’m finding treasure when I find one in my computer files that I forgot about. At that time when my songwriting was prolific, I wasn’t self-releasing my songs but wasting my time, money (I didn’t have), and efforts on submitting my songs on a website that supposedly pitched to VIPs in the music industry who were looking for songs. I had a few that were held, but nothing happened. Somehow I ended up feeling that website was more like a scam after a while (maybe too long of a while).
I then eventually realised I could just self-release my songs. I love doing that. Self-releasing songs is the best ever, though not very lucrative. My mindset hasn’t changed. I consistently do the same genres as from the beginning.
I had one man that took advantage of one of my songs by claiming two people, I think, worked together as a producer duo and also as songwriters of one of my songs. This particular song was selected as a finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest 10 years ago. I had received some bad advice at that time from a particular person at a guild of which I was a member. Anyhow, at least on Spotify, I managed to get my song taken down where these people were falsely claiming songwriting credits.
What was the inspiration for the single Hey! Noah?
I had a goal for 4 names in that I must include them each in a song. Of course these names, all boys, are special to me. Thomas (ChillHop), Theo (House), Teddy (Alternative Pop), and Noah (House). I wrote the first three songs at various times, but with Noah’s name, I just couldn’t decide the subject matter or what main word I would use to rhyme with his name. Then it just dawned on me at a moment’s thought, “Noah” and “Over,” and then I wrote it very quickly.
I tend to write all my songs quickly. It’s always been that way for me. Even though I wrote the one with Theo’s name previously, I recorded and released Noah’s first, well, really third. Hopefully, Theo’s song will release in 2024; however, as time is running out quickly, next year may be more feasible as really the unforgettable year 2024 is nearly over.
“Why is 2024 so unforgettable? Well, from the beginning of the year, there have been scandalous and shocking revelations in the music industry brought to light. Social media is not slowing down with these music industry headlines.”
Is live performance part of your plans, and is it easy to find opportunities to showcase your music in London?
I never had the intention of performing live because I haven’t sung many of my released songs. However, at one point I was entertaining the idea of being a DJ, as I love house music. But I don’t think being a DJ would be my type of lifestyle.
Also, I often get the impression that because of my ethnicity, it is abnormal or surprising to people that I love house/electronic music. Some people don’t expect when looking at me that I am into house music. Anyhow, I feel I am open to all music—actually, whatever music I consider to be good music. I will listen to any type of music if I enjoy it.
The sweetest music is a church choir blending their voices in harmony with the help of no instruments. The voices and harmonies of singing in unison truly hit me straight in the heart. It’s as if I am literally listening to angels. I am in awe that we can sing so heavenly like that.
I had an experience once while walking alone on the sidewalk in the city of Hamilton, Bermuda. All of a sudden the most beautiful sound of angels singing praises drifted as if on the wind and stopped me in my tracks. It didn’t last long. I couldn’t figure out where it came from. There were no nearby churches. It didn’t seem to be from a passing car or from a nearby building, but it was unforgettable. That was the most amazing fleeting angelic “music” I ever heard.
What’s your biggest ambition right now, and what are your plans creatively for the rest of this year?
I plan to release a few more songs before the end of the year, and a few are already in the works. That will be 3 house songs (one not started as yet but written) and one completed soul/ R&B song called The Money (a singles release with two versions; one version is only in a cappella and the other had a simple piano backing to the vocals). The Money releases 11 October 2024.
I have no plans for next year. If for some reason I cannot release one of the house songs this year, I will release it in the early part of 2025. Releasing songs requires funds, and I simply am a struggling artist at the moment.
Is there anything else we should know?
It’s difficult to make any income from simply releasing your songs, despite having two house releases (iShake and Burning Hot) reaching the charts (Upfront Club).
I sacrificed funds then with the charting songs by marketing them with a UK promoter. It was short but sweet. Unfortunately, I have no funds now for marketing songs and can only continue to share my songs on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. But I enjoy creating my shorts and various videos.
I mostly create my own visualisers and lyrics videos in addition to my album covers. I have been using my AI art I create from simple prompts at Nightcafe Studio. What I like about creating AI art on this website is that each result is unique, and I own the copyrights for each 100%, just like I fully own the songs I write.
Oh yeah, I must add, my goal is to do my own productions in full in the near future. I already purchased the FL DAW, and it’s been a while now, but the desire won’t wane.
* * *
Look out for the brand new single So Sweet, releasing October 18th. Find YayRaven on TikTok & Instagram.
