If there’s one word to describe Yulia Niko, it’s diligent. The Berlin-based producer and DJ is steadfast in her approach to her craft, today releasing her debut album ‘TWINSOUL’ on Armada Music. As Yulia stands poised at the threshold of the next stage in her artistic journey, she reveals profound mastery within her intimately crafted collection of ten tracks, each imbued with a deeply personal resonance.
Yulia’s musical origins begin when she was fifteen, after a car accident left her in serious condition, hospitalized for two months. To pass time, she dove into old Ibiza discs, trance and progressive tracks, Ministry of Sound CDs and classic house records, building up an arsenal of music that she later credits as being key to her recovery. A year later, she was playing her first gig. “To me, it's more than just music, it's my life and passion,” says Yulia Niko. “I was always the different one at school and university. When I first discovered my passion to play music, I found my way to stand out.”
Yulia reflects on her early 20s as the turning point in her career, when she moved to New York to study music production and improve her technique amongst local artists and renowned DJs. At this time, she was primarily listening to house, cultivating a deep connection with the genre: “House to me, is intelligent music,” Yulia explains. From a small studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Yulia zeroed in on her sound by drawing inspiration from classic Detroit and Chicago producers to meld a fusion of deep house, techno and progressive genres, defining her distinctive minimal style.
Now, at a pivotal moment in her career, Yulia is driven by her unwavering optimism to leverage the transformative power of music. The same philosophy permeates her debut album, ‘TWINSOUL’, a highly personal body of work that she produced in honor of her father after his death. Yulia considers the project a work of art rather than merely a reflection of her sound, experimenting with real instruments and live, original vocals to create an emotive and confessional opus tinged with an authentic human touch.
Entrancing listeners with its hypnotic groove and lush atmosphere, ‘Satisfaction’ spearheads the album, accompanied by the track’s official music video, available via Armada Music's YouTube channel.
‘TWINSOUL’ is just the beginning for the burgeoning producer. “I am taking it super slow and easy, inching closer and closer to my goals,” Yulia says. “I’m on no one else’s timeline but my own.”
‘TWINSOUL’ is available now via Armada Music.
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:
March 16 - Barcelona, ES - Sala Bikini
March 19 - Alpe D’Huez, FR - Tomorrowland Winter
March 21 - Alpe D’Huez, FR - Tomorrowland Winter
March 28 - Guadalajara, MX - Bar Americas
March 30 - Puerto Vallarta, MX - Majahuitas
March 30 - Tulum, MX - Bonbonniere
April 13 - Berlin, DE - Ritter Butzke
April 19 - Minneapolis, MN - The Hideout
April 20 - Boston, MA - Shojo
April 21 - New York, NY - Superior Ingredients
April 26 - Toronto, ON - Coda
April 27 - Montreal, QC - Newspeak
April 28 - Orlando, FL - Elixir
May 4 - Mannheim, DE - Hafen 49
May 4 - Geneva, CH - Audio Club
May 7 - Strasbourg, FR - ECHO
May 10 - Marseille, FR - Baby Club
May 11 - Montpellier FR - Dimension
May 18 - Houthalen, Be - Extrema Festival
May 23 - Los Angeles, CA - Spotlight
May 25 - Bakersfield, CA - Lightning in a Bottle
June 22 - Barcelona, ES - X by Adriatique x OFFSonar
June 22 - Lauterbrunnen, CH - Vibrancy Open Air
June 29 - Dielsdorf, CH - Terrazza Horse Park
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.
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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