Nat Ćmiel (born Natasha Yelin Chang), known by their stage name yeule, is a songwriter and producer from Singapore, currently based in London, England. They first started playing music at age 6, being classically trained on the piano, but they eventually moved on to learning the guitar and drums. They attended Central Saint Martins at University of the Arts London after high school. As a child they suffered from depression and feelings of loneliness due to their nomadic upbringing, and found solace and refuge in the internet, which influenced the themes in their music.
Their first self-titled EP was released in 2014, followed by the EP Pathos in 2016, which was dedicated to their deceased friend, David Singh. A year later they released the Coma EP.
They released their debut album, Serotonin II, in 2019, which garnered them a modest following. After this they released a remix EP of songs from Serotonin II and the In 2022, they released their followup, Glitch Princess, co-produced with PC Music's Danny L. Harle. The album caught the attention of Pitchfork, who rated it an 8.3 and gave it the "Best New Music" title, marking yeule's official breakthrough. In 2023, they released Softscars, which took more influence from Emo and 90s singer-songwriters.
Their music covers a wide-range of genres, from Ambient, Dream Pop, Synth-Pop, Glitch, Indie Pop, Alternative Rock, Industrial, and Shoegazing.
Discography
- EPs
- Yeule (2014)
- Pathos (2016)
- Coma (2017)
- Serotonin X Remixes (2021)
- Albums
- Serotonin II (2019)
- Glitch Princess (2022)
- Softscars (2023)
- Cover Albums
- Nuclear War Post X (2022)
The Tropes They Did For Me Out Of Love:
- Accents Aren't Hereditary: Is from Singapore and speaks Cantonese, but speaks English with a British accent due to having attended school in the UK.
- Album Intro Track: "Your Shadow" and "My Name Is Nat Ćmiel."
- all lowercase letters: Their Stage Name and all the songs on Softscars are stylized this way.
- Alter-Ego Acting: Has a few alter-egos (which they say pre-date their music career) such as Matilda and Penelope.
- Cover Album: Nuclear War Post X, a compilation of covers of artists like Frank Ocean, The Velvet Underground, and Grimes, among others. It was only physically released through their website and isn't on streaming (besides YouTube).
- Darker and Edgier: Glitch Princess compared to Serotonin II, lyrically and sonically.
- Downer Ending: The penultimate song on Glitch Princess before the hours long ambient closer is "Mandy," a glitchy, unsettling track structured as a violent argument, with yeule playing both parts. "Mandy" is a common street slang for MDMA (ecstasy, molly, etc.) so it's likely an Addiction Song.
- Epic Rocking: Usually not, with the exception of "The Things They Did For Me Out Of Love," which is an Ambient track that lasts FOUR HOURS.
- Face on the Cover: Nearly all of their releases, with exception of the self-titled (they're turned around) and Pathos (where the faces are deliberately obscured).
- Fanservice: The single cover for "The Things They Did For Me Out Of Love" shows them lifting up their dress and showing their panties. They also have an OnlyFans, if that interests you.
- Instrumentals: Many of their early ambient songs. "Fish in the Pool" from Softscars is a short instrumental piano piece.
- Lyrical Dissonance: On Serotonin II, which has a dreamier, lighter sounding music with sad lyrics.
- New Sound Album: Glitch Princess is a departure from Serotonin II, including more elements of Industrial music and Shoegazing. Softscars is total pivot to Alternative Rock and pop punk, featuring more electric guitar.
- Non-Human Non-Binary: Played with. Yeule is human and non-binary, but often refers to themselves as a cyborg or as a non-human entity.
- Numbered Sequels: Played with for Serotonin II. Since there isn't a Serotonin I, it obviously implies a sequel to actual serotonin, the chemical. The Remix Album is titled Serotonin X note so it doesn't seem like the numbers matter all that much anyway.
- Remix Album: The Serotonin X EP, featuring remixes from HANA and George Clanton.
- Repetitive Audio Glitch: Done on purpose on songs such as "Reverie."
- Sailor Fuku: On the Serotonin II cover and in a few music videos.
- Self-Harm: Where the title Softscars comes from.
- Shout-Out:
- Their Stage Name itself is a reference to Final Fantasy.
- The short interlude "See You Space Cowboy" references the phrase from Cowboy Bebop.
- "Perfect Blue" is titled after the the anime film of the same name, which Nat is a fan of.
- "Aphex Twin Flame" references, obviously, Aphex Twin.
- Spoken Word in Music: "My Name Is Nat Ćmiel," the Album Intro Track for Glitch Princess is a glitchy monologue of yeule telling us various things about themselves. It's not much of a song, but it is useful for anyone who might not know how to pronounce their real name (Nat Cheh-meel).
- Weight Woe: Has mentioned having an eating disorder and getting caught up in pro-anorexia culture in the past, and is currently in recovery. There's lyrics alluding to it on "Perfect Blue."I'm sorry I don't feel so good
I'm sorry I'm not so keen on food
But don't tell me about my fate
Don't tell me about my weight - You Are Better Than You Think You Are: "Don't Be So Hard On Your Own Beauty." It's a nice Breather Episode on an otherwise very dark and sad album.
