New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Malaysian alt-R&B singer Yuna shares a groove-filled new three-track project titled Y4. Y4 is the fourth EP to her pentalogy of EP's which will culminate with the full-length album, Y5, out November 11. Y4 features the songs "Make Believe," "Relax Your Mind," and the new single "Fool 4 U." Each of these songs encapsulate intense emotions and a grapple with love while sonically maintaining a cohesive transition from summer to fall. The music video for "Fool 4 U," also available today, catches Yuna in a vibrantly cool color scheme, directed by her husband Adam Sinclair.
The vulnerable and resonant track "Make Believe," intertwines the meanings of devotion, in regards to religion and relationships. Yuna weaves back and forth highlighting the emotional distress of a toxic relationship. "I used religion as a metaphor for a person's devotion to another person in a relationship," shares Yuna, "where you really believe nothing can go wrong as long as you're committed to the idea that you are made to love this person because it's in your anatomy, your science, your program."
Boasting a funky bassline, "Fool 4 U" keeps a jazzy groove to a song from the point of view of the storyteller "trying to write about heartbreak." There's a push and pull of emotions throughout the tune while working to maintain one's sanity. It is a "dilemma of wanting to be poetic about a personal struggle for the whole world to see/hear, but also at the same time still dealing with the heartbreak in real-time and having all these thoughts and insecurities while trying to be a functional artist."
The final song of the EP is "Relax Your Mind." Talking about the rekindling of feelings with someone of significance, "it's a song about wanting this person to know that you care about them and even though things are not the way they used to be, we can still hang out and go to the beach and relax, taking a break from the world."
With quite the impressive catalogue of releases to date, Yuna has collaborated with the likes of Tyler, the Creator, G-Eazy,
Usher and Pharerrell Williams. By utilizing her resources and skills, Yuna made the most of the uncertain times of the pandemic by learning how to self-produce her music.
Having released albums through both major and indie labels, Yuna is now self-releasing Y5 and finds it incredibly freeing. "Making this album takes me back to that time when I was an independent artist making music in my bedroom in Malaysia," Yuna reflects. "I want to focus on making things that make me happy, instead of the things that make me stressed out. I want to find that balance. With this new album, I feel reborn as an artist."
By staying true to her identity as a Muslim South East Asian woman, Yuna has developed a sense of authenticity in her music and become a voice for a vast global fanbase. Her career is a result of hard work and confidence, and she's survived the ups and down of the music industry and come out the other side as a skilled independent artist who wants to do things her own way. She recently launched #Yunationals, an official fan club for her audience that allows her to connect with listeners and share stories. Her impressive, inspiring journey from aspiring musician to established artist and producer who owns her own music is evident on Y5, an album that opens a new chapter in Yuna's career.
Yuna has also been featured in NPR, Vogue, ELLE, The Cut, MTV, Forbes and The Guardian, to name a few, and has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Seth Meyers and The Daily Show, etc. For more information on Yuna, visit yunamusic.com.
