YAME

About

" Cosmic sounds, embedded with Ukrainian folk themes, glitchy effects, and retro-styled digital beats "

What happens when you combine two dancefloor-loving Ukrainians, a few synths, and some vocal processors? Well, something sounding like production and DJ duo YAME, who have been lighting up dancefloors across the world with their infectious electro-pop, synthy-dance, and indie disco records. Having released on cult labels MUTE, Club Sweat, Disco Halal, amongst others, and with DJ support from Solomun, Phonique, YAME’s unique take on cosmic-indie-dance has taken the world by storm, from Ibiza to Berlin, and beyond.

It wasn’t too long after producer Alexandr Seletsky and vocalist Victor Kiriyakidi came together that the duo found success. It was 2022’s single ‘As I Ran’ that put the duo on the map. With progressive electro rhythms and processed vocals, the infectious track has currently notched up over 1 million streams on Spotify alone, helping catapult the act further into the mainstream. The 2023 EP ‘Little Stars’ was then released on Club Sweat, receiving international support from Sebastian Leger, Yolanda Be Cool, The Organism, amongst a litany of other top-tier DJs, with the record becoming a firm favourite across Ibiza.

Seletsky and Kiriyakidi started making music together back in the summer of 2019 in the city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Kiriyakidi, with a background in live, rock, and jazz, teamed up with DJ and producer Seletsky, sharing their love for Yello and Kraftwerk. The duo began to manifest their passion for cosmic sounds, embedded with Ukrainian folk themes, glitchy effects, synthesizers, and retro-styled digital beats. The music was written to form the basis of their live hybrid sets, rich in life-affirming vibes and danceability, as they weren’t able to find anything similar to the style that they wanted. To further exemplify this, the duo dressed up in special space-age costumes, taking their music to an interstellar level. In 2020, their first release, ‘To The Sea’, found its way onto cult-indie label Disco Halal.

It wasn’t long, however, until the war seeped its way into the band’s workflow, forcing Seletsky to relocate to Europe with his family, whilst Kiriyakidi would move to central Ukraine. This also meant that Seletsky was not allowed to leave the country, forcing Kiriyakidi to perform alone. Over the past few years, Kiriyakidi has taken the YAME project across the globe, DJing at the likes of Ritter Butzke (Berlin), Castel (Istanbul), and Collabo (Tel Aviv). The newfound success led to a host of top-tier collaborations, including a remix of Phonique’s track ‘Casulaties’ (featuring Erlend Øye), and one for Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters), released on MUTE. Since the war, the two have not been able to meet in person or perform together, but it hasn’t curtailed their journey to success or broken their spirit. With more shows and releases on the horizon – including a remix planned for Metronomy, the future for YAME is yet unwritten, and filled with infinite possibilities.