Southern Plug Magazine: Tink vs Dreezy Volume 3 Issue 1 | Seite 24

FORGEIGN TALENT
Yuna is the stage name of Yuna
Zarai, a Malaysian pop vocalist and
guitarist. Born Yunalis Mat Zarai in
the town of Kedah, she began
writing songs at age 14. She soon
taught herself to play guitar, and by
2006, in need of a creative outlet
while attending law school,
performed for an audience for the
first time. Yuna offered her music on
on her MySpace page, which went
on to net over one million plays.
This online success tipped off the
Indie-Pop label/management
company to her music, and in early
2011 she signed with the Fader
label. Joined by guitarist Pa'an,
bassist Efry Arwis, and drummer
Adib Azfar (and later, Adil Ali),
Yuna made her recorded debut in
Malaysia in 2008 with a self-titled
EP, which went on to snag five
Anugerah Industri Muzik
nominations (the Malaysian
equivalent of the Grammy). She
took home four trophies, including
Best New Artist and Best Song (for
the breakout hit
"Deeper Conversation"). The
Decorate EP followed two years
later (and was released stateside in
spring 2011). Decorate included the
viral hit "Rocket," which won raves
from Billboard magazine, indie rock
radio station KEXP, and hip-hop
mogul Russell Simmons, as well as
ink in SPIN's Eight Bands You Need
to Hear Now. On the performance
end, Yuna was nominated as one of
MTV Iggy's Best New Bands in the
World in 2011, and she marked the
occasion by playing at the historic
MTV Studios. Yuna rang in 2012
with a new single, "Live Your Life,"
produced by Pharrell Williams as a
preamble to her self-titled full-
length debut, which arrived that
April. Summer 2012 found Yuna
sharing the Lollapalooza stage with
the likes of Florence + the Machine,
Jack White, and Childish Gambino.
In 2013, Yuna returned with the
album Nocturnal, featuring the
single "Falling." In February 2016,
Yuna previewed her third album
with the release of "Places to Go," a
single produced by hip-hop legend
DJ Premier. The full album,
Chapters, was released three months
later.