BEHIND THE SCENES: In Conversation with YAGKI
- Lorna Mitchell
- Mar 29
- 7 min read
YAGKI is trading Villawood for Hollywood, since the release of her single, 'Adults'.
CONTENT WARNING: This story discusses grooming & sexual abuse.
It's a Saturday night at the ‘Lady Hampshire’ in Camperdown. Heading past the lively dance floor through a corridor out to the green room, sits Yagki and her crew.
Sarah, known simply by her stage name ‘YAGKI', has just returned from her national tour and is ready to kick off internationally.
Surrounded by a few slabs of 'Heaps Normal' - the nights sponsors - and abandoned instrument cases and suitcases, Yagki and her openers were getting ready for the ‘Adults - College Party’ gig. These were Sydney based alt-pop band Pretty Talks, acoustic pop singer Eiris, singer/songwriter Jessica Fortuin, and electro-pop artist Emilia Grace. I got to enjoy their energetic performances prior to Yagki, armed with a couple of Heaps Normal beers and a vodka redbull - which felt fitting, as it is Yagki’s favourite drink and the name of her beloved cat, Redbull.
YAGKI didn't grow up with music, which she explains has played a massive part in her pursuit of her career. She grew up in Western Sydney with her brother and father in housing commission. Describing herself as “pretty tone deaf", she began working at her local McDonalds aged fourteen, with the goal of paying for singing lessons. She grew up in a space where “[she] felt [she] couldn't say much", and was searching for an outlet where she could write and communicate. This, for her, has been music.
As a queer, female, Lebanese artist, she has faced many challenges, particularly coming from a low socio-economic background.
“I think that sometimes I feel like I've kind of lived two very different lives. Like, I've got my life now with all my friends and being able to play, which is beautiful. But, I've also got my family that still live in those situations [...] Which is kind of very challenging, having to constantly step in and out of it, and also just kind of see what they have to go through".
She then takes off her top to reveal a cropped bedazzled ‘Adults' shirt. “I just wanted my tits to sparkle".
‘Adults', the topic of the night, is Yagki's fresh new record, which she released in mid January.
In this indie-pop single, Yagki details her feelings and experiences surrounding an inappropriate relationship with her former university lecturer. The subject is grooming and power imbalances in relationships. Her lyrics explore the nuances of these relationships as an adult, where these feelings are easily dismissed due to societies ideas of consent and what constitutes grooming.
Being in such a public position and discussing such topics has put YAGKI in a unique yet vulerable position, however she is undeterred - as it is her mission to help others find their voice.
"What got me to talk about it [was] the feeling that I had in... not knowing what I felt. [I went] online to see if I could find anything about it or find someone that had a similar story. And I didn't have anyone who had a similar story. And then I was like [...] maybe someone else is feeling the same way."
She states she has received a mix of positive and negative reactions online, which is both a good and bad thing. She has now received “a lot" of messages where people have reached out to the singer and confide in her they've experienced the same thing. She is concerned about the messages, but glad she could provide this space for others and connect with them.
“That's why I put it online, and I think that for me, if I can have anything else online I'll always be as up front and honest as I can be. And, however that's received, it doesn't really matter. ‘Cause the people that receive it well are the people I want to be there in the first place."
She discusses that something she has struggled with is the idea of being groomed at her age. Yagki has faced criticism as the perception is “with grooming, [you] have to be a child" - which she is trying to challenge. As she goes against this stigma, she says her priorities were trying to find the best voice to talk about her story in, while remaining safe online. She didn't want to enganger anyone else or herself in the process, which is obviously a balancing act.
I asked about how this has effected her, as the criticism online can be overwhelming. She seemed relatively unphased.
“I've had a lot of people in the last few days be like, ‘why isn't it getting to you?' [...] I think for me, I know what my life was without music. And, no one can ever take that away from me again. So, no matter what happens, I've already had a situation where I've had nothing, so anything is better than nothing".
Writing about taboo topics in her music is not a new thing for YAGKI, such as her song ‘Just Like Me', which similarly talks about the darker side of mental health. She has continually been an advocate for open discussions around mental health and wellbeing, and “heavy stuff", as she calls it.
Yagki has previously donated profits from her gigs to charities such as Beyond Blue, and is continuing to support charities helping those in positions close to home for her. She has also raised a lot of awareness, and hopes to continue to do so through her art.
“I want to be an artist that talks about the grey space. [...] I'm not gonna be like, ‘yeah, I'm healed and I'm fixed and everythings great'. But I'm also not gonna be like ‘everything's horrible'. But there is this weird space in between that I don't think a lot of people talk about [where] you're just in a grey space. I want to be an artist that speaks about that grey space."
The singer says she has struggled with her own mental health due to her various circumstances. “I'm just in the journey of [healing], and I don't know an end date, I don't know the start date, but I'm just gonna be in this [grey] space." She says she has been going to therapy and working on herself, and recognises the importance of this for everyone, but wants to put art out there from being in that in between.
In terms of her process, she says before 2023 she was still figuring out everything and it hasn't necessarily been as streamlined. However, she got together with one of her good friends Yianni Adams, who is a Sydney based producer and multi instrumentalist. Yagki states she wanted to work with him since he has previously done such contrasting work to what she creates. They spent a year in the studio working together just writing songs, and she speaks many praises of her time with him as he is “one of the most beautiful and humble producers [...] but so extraordinarily talented".
YAGKI says she is now working with a variety of people to add some “colour" to her
music, to bring her more into the soundscape which she wants. One of her musical inspirations is Billie Eilish, who she was fortunately able to see and play outside of the venue pre-show for Billie's Hit Me Hard and Soft tour.
In terms of people she hopes to work with, she mentions Blake Rose, who is an artist from Perth. She is “manifesting" that they get to collaborate some day, as he is also an inspiration for her.
It has been a journey for YAGKI getting to this point in her music career, as she is self represented. She has done all her own marketing and PR, and says one of the challenges she's faced has been others saying she can't do it.
However, she says if you put your mind to it and go in with your all, it isn't a problem. She also mentions it is helpful in keeping her connected with what's happening in the industry.
On top of self managing, she is working multiple other jobs in order to sustain everything, such as music tutoring and retail. While she is content with “the five job grind" for now, she does hope to see some change. Yagki says the music industry requires you to trust yourself, and you need to believe in yourself, since a music career is an attainable goal if you put in the work.
She says “in the music industry, you get a lot of different opinions and different voices, and it's hard to kind of come back to what you believe. Whether that's in general, or musically, or socially [...] As much time as you spend talking to other people, you also need to tyr and spend time talking to yourself, thinking about what you feel is right. Because what you believe in your own self is going to be the thing that makes you the best unique version of yourself. [...] Just trust your intuition and give yourself time."
In terms of what Yagki has coming up, “rent was due"!
All her upcoming songs are done, so there is a lot in store over the next couple of months. For example, her new single Run. She played this song as her closing song for the tour, as a sneak peak at what is to come. She says her red and black hair is also a hint as to what is in store.
She says she is most excited for her upcoming U.S. tour, where she will be performing in L.A. - a dream of hers.
YAGKI will be performing alongside her friend Father Gomez, another queer independent artist, who has worked with her in order to “make the impossible possible". Since L.A. is so competitive, Yagki says one of the biggest challenges has been simply booking the gigs there, since everyone is trying their hand. However, the pair have locked in some gigs in June, starting at the Madame Siam Bar in the heart of Hollywood.
Yagki overall is hopeful about all her upcoming works and the Australian industry, and is very excited about all the music she is going to be sharing very soon.
You can follow her on instagram @iamyagki, YouTube & Facebook @YAGKI, and stream her new music on Spotify. Be sure to follow along for all her new releases!
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