Q&A: With Dark Humor and An Authentic Atmosphere, Yen Releases “Go Away”
PUNK AND PROMISING — Yen Strange is an artist you don’t want to miss. The multi-talented singer-songwriter and producer combines profound lyricism with edgy sonic rhythms that intertwine intricately within her music. The vulnerable messages conveyed in Strange’s discography creates an authentic atmosphere, allowing listeners to feel that they can relate their own experiences with those universally understood in the artist’s work. While Strange desires to stay in the pop-punk realm, her music has a diverse reach in its messages that each song conveys, making her an intriguing and multi-faceted artist.
In Strange’s newest release, "Go Away," she explores the struggles with one’s emotions, the animated video adding visuals to these lyrics that intensify the emotional depth that the song conveys.
Make sure to check out Yen Strange’s newest release, “Go Away,” and read our interview down below to learn about her upbringing, influences, and goals for the future!
LUNA: Congrats on your newest single, “Go Away”! The lyrics are very relatable. What inspired the message of the song?
STRANGE: The grumpy kind of character in “Go Away” comes from my own experiences struggling to deal with conflict and my emotions, and when I was writing this song I was feeling very annoyed that there was so much pressure to talk about things and be an open book with how upset I was, because I just didn’t want to. I’m not sure what the song means to you, but, yeah, to me it’s to just have a look and dwell for a bit in order to get through things.
LUNA: What general themes do you write about in your music? Are there specific messages you want your music to convey?
STRANGE: Every song is a bit different, but I try to bring in some dark humor a fair bit. I think making a joke of things is easier for me sometimes, so most of my songs have at least one weird, funny moment. I don’t know if I have a specific message that I think about when I make music. I do really want young girls to have access to more honest music though, [something] that they can listen to and feel more accepted.
LUNA: How does your environment or past environments influence your music?
STRANGE: I think I’m pretty observant — I like to take in my surroundings. I grew up in Moruya, a tiny town in rural Australia, and that influenced my humble way of looking at things and unusual lyrics, I guess. But, yeah, I take little memories and vibes from lots of different places. I like noticing the small things, and they can haunt me. Like the lyric, “So this is it through the fly screen door”: that moment where the door closed replays in my mind over and over. I think I’ve had to find beauty in those small things because the scale of experiences I’ve had is pretty small.
LUNA: Who are some of your musical inspirations?
STRANGE: This ones always hard. One of the first artists I got into as a kid was Pink, and my grandpa took me and my sister to a concert. She’s amazing — she was so cheeky and talented, [and] I love that mix of styles. As a teen, I really liked a smattering of things like The Temper Trap, Hinds, Lorde, Tired Lion, Mallrat, Panic at the Disco, and Post Malone. But in more recent times, I’ve really gotten into Deb Never, Nothing But Thieves, Allday, Rina Sawayama, Bring me the Horizon, Joji, Yours Truly and Lil Peep.
LUNA: What genre or genres do you want your music to delve into? Do you want to stick with mainly one genre or would you like to expand?
STRANGE: At the moment, I really want to exist in a pop-punk world; I want to be friends with that crowd and I want to impress that crowd with my music. But I know that whatever I feel like making will come across differently to everyone, and I’m not trying to steer myself in any direction. I just love the people and musicians that surround the dorky pop-punk society — I’m desperate to join in.
LUNA: What do you intend for your music videos to visually be in the future? “Go Away” had a music video that was animated — do you plan on making more animated music videos?
STRANGE: I don’t know if I’ll do animation again for a while because that was just such a huge success. I think it should stand out on it’s own. I’ve got tons of ideas for videos involving dry, empty landscapes and scripted type stories. I was watching an early Bring Me The Horizon video that was a full murder mystery inside a music video — it was intense but that’s what I wanna do: make actual short movies.
LUNA: What has been inspiring you lately?
STRANGE: The term “inspiring/inspired” kind of irks me. Nothing doesn’t affect me — everything and everyone has a lasting impression. I kind of prefer the word “confusing.” When I’m confused about something or it’s getting to me, I like to sit down and make up reasons for it or songs that help me talk myself through it. The feeling of feeling nothing confuses me the most, so that is what I’ve been thinking about lately. Thinking about thinking about nothing — that’s wonderful, isn’t it?
LUNA: A fun one: If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would you pick?
STRANGE: My nanna. She passed away earlier this year. She didn’t know many Asian recipes or non-Western recipes in general, so I cooked her dumplings and sushi. She said she wanted to have dinners like that again, but we didn't get the chance.
LUNA: What would you say are your next main steps in regards to music? What do you hope to do in the rest of 2021 and in 2022?
STRANGE: It’s not something I like to admit a lot, but my whole life kind of revolves around music and the idea of maybe being able to make money off it, so every year is the same. Try and try and try and get little steps closer, end up not quite where I’d hoped, but still better than last year. So I’ll just keep doing that and probably set fewer goals so I can be pleasantly surprised if I achieve something I hadn't planned to. And not be disappointed if I don’t. I would like to play one live show before the end of the year — that would be lovely.
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