Following her debut on Armada Music in August, Berlin-based DJ and producer Yulia Niko today announced her first studio album ‘TWINSOUL’, coming March 8, 2024. The exploratory and profoundly intimate 10-track project reveals a raw and experimental sonic approach across vast deep house landscapes and represents each part of her soul coming together in the wake of her father’s death.
Throughout the project, Yulia, who has garnered support from heavyweights including Damian Lazarus, Gorgon City, RÜFÜS DU SOL and John Digweed, skillfully links each song together in terms of sound and production while simultaneously infusing each track with a distinct narrative drawn from the chapters of her own life. Stepping outside the bounds of her sound to experiment and create freely, she approaches the album like a blank canvas and uses the boundless space to produce a sincere and heartfelt ode to her father's memory.
In the early stages of production, Yulia found photos of her father at a young age and realized their similarities, lending itself to the album’s name, ‘TWINSOUL’. The album artwork reflects this vision, depicting two souls inherently linked.
“My father questioned my career choice in music, and wanted me to pursue a different, more traditional route,” says Yulia Niko. “Just as I began to achieve success, he passed away. This album is dedicated to my father, because I want to show him that I’m a real, dedicated artist.”
The announcement coincides with the release of the album’s sixth single, ‘Exito’, a captivating, percussion-forward track lined with vocals from longtime friend Sil Romero.
‘TWINSOUL’ will be available to buy and stream via Armada Music on March 8, 2024.
Tracklist:
1. Soul of the World (feat. Illinois)
2. Exito (feat. Sil Romero)
3. You Knew
4. Love the Rain Days (feat. Ost & Kjex)
5. Fire In My Soul (feat. Carn Crua)
6. Higher (with Yotam Avni)
7. Who Made You
8. Come Too Far (feat. Paul Brenning)
9. Sand (with Moullinex)
10. Satisfaction
2024 Tour Dates:
February 7 – Mila – Miami, FL
February 9 – Atomo Bar – Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, MX
February 10 – Zona Maco (ART WEEK) - Mexico City, MX
February 15 – Espacio Riesco – Santiago, Chile
February 24 – Pulse – Munich, DE
March 9 – Art of the Wild @ XS – Las Vegas, NV
March 16 – Sala Bikini – Barcelona, ES
March 19 – Tomorrowland Winter – Alpe D’Huez, FR
About Yulia Niko
A dynamic, determined and driven force in the world of electronic music, Yulia Niko embodies a style and grace that lie at the core of her success. Currently based in Berlin, she rose to prominence on the global circuit via her connection with highly influential labels, Crosstown Records and Watergate. Her ability to channel emotion and rhythm into the dance floor with her melodic production that oscillates between house and techno. Since the age of 15, Yulia has dedicated her life to music, moving to New York in her early twenties to study production after spending her adolescence DJing and collecting music. With her formal grounding, and a flair for DJing and production, she established herself on the underground, playing across the US and Europe.
Four years of study provided the foundation for her production endeavors, and she began to release her own music. Initially focused on the minimal style of electronic music, her connection with Crosstown Rebels bossman Damian Lazarus inspired her to incorporate melodic influences in her sound. Witnessing the beauty and harmony at events like Day Zero informed her sonic identity, and she began to create music to soundtrack the wonder of those powerful gatherings. With releases on Crosstown Records, Rebellion and later, Watergate, Yulia established a sterling reputation for well-crafted, melodic dance floor magic. Her bond with Watergate led to a residency with the iconic Berlin club, along with the Manifesto EP. Appearing at the club on a regular basis gave her the opportunity to galvanize her style as a DJ, while also allowing her to showcase her superlative selecting skills.
Today, Yulia travels the globe, performing at a long list of the world’s most prominent and influential clubs and festivals. With each performance, she channels her desire to harness the transformative power music into her sets, leaving dance floors worldwide full of positive energy. Yulia’s optimistic outlook also informs her music exploits, with an acute understanding of the notion “everything happens for a reason.”
Over two decades of commitment to electronic music and its transformative capabilities, Yulia Niko has demonstrated her innate talent for DJing and production. In combination with her positive energy, she continues to ascend, touching the lives of countless dancers across the world. As she shifts into the next chapter of her musical story, Yulia Niko maintains the good humor, grace and humility that got her to the top of her game in the first place.
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About Armada Music
Armada Music is the biggest independent dance music label in the world. Founded by Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron (CEO) and David Lewis, the label manages an ever-growing catalog of over 40,000 tracks, built up across twenty-plus years of specialized dance music exploitation.
Representing artists such as Armin van Buuren, ARTY, D.O.D, Eelke Kleijn, Jan Blomqvist, Loud Luxury, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Tensnake, THEMBA and Yulia Niko, Armada Music amasses more than one billion streams per month, airplay on leading radio outlets such as BBC Radio 1 and Sirius XM, and top positions in the world’s most notable charts. The label also takes great pride in major achievements such as Armin van Buuren’s GRAMMY nomination for ‘This Is What It Feels Like’, Loud Luxury and Brando’s ‘Body’ surpassing one billion streams on Spotify and breaking artists such as Lost Frequencies into global stardom.
Across offices in Amsterdam (HQ), New York, London and Laren (NL), Armada Music offers a truly global appeal to its growing roster. The label has its own club, radio studio and multiple production studios, and hosts various live formats. Producer platform Armada University, which offers educational products and opportunities, shows the label’s sustained effort to nurture the next wave of talent.
In 2023, Armada Music launched BEAT Music Fund, the world’s first dance music investment company, that acquires catalogs with the mission of honoring, representing and reinvigorating them. BEAT’s portfolio will continue to grow; in the first six months following its launch, BEAT acquired the catalogs of, among others, electronic music star ARTY, house and techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson’s KMS Records, legendary NYC-based house label King Street Sounds and chart-topping producers Chocolate Puma.
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