Interview with Yalisaxx, February 9th 2023
We sat down with Yali, also known as world-class saxophonist, performer and recording artist Yalisaxx, to talk about what he’s all about, and what he’s up to. Mastering alto and tenor saxophone, he loves to combine soulful sax sounds with electronic beats. When it comes to his music productions and collaborations with other artists, he doesn’t shy away from any genre, with released tracks blending R&B, funky soul, classical, pop, rock, Arabic, 80’s, 90’s, chill-hop, and electro.
Tell us about all the exciting things you are working on?
Recently I collaborated with Shorik Beats, and together we are going to release a Chill-Hop track called “Chill Out Tim” in early 2023.
With Jahav Moore I am working on a beautiful track titled “Genesis”. We are planning to release this special track as a part of an EP with two of our other recently produced tracks called “Saxomania” and “Sax Wars”.
Kiriku is another great producer I’m working with. We are going to release something very big! It’s Christmas soon, so I can tell you that the first word of the title is “Santa”…
Furthermore for the coming year, I have quite a few releases in the pipeline that I’ve made with amazing producers like Beats the Problem, Oatmilk, Rejkan and Guyguy.
Which other musicians and artists are your true source of inspiration?
David Bowie is definitely one of my favourites. He’s my main inspiration because his philosophy really helped me to decide to move to London. I would also have to mention the Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pantera, Primus, and Led Zeppelin. Those are bands that I just really love.
Rick Rubin is my mentor, so I listen to his Podcasts, TV series and albums all the time. I also get some inspiration from actors like Jim Carrey and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Tell us about how you started playing the saxophone.
I started with the trumpet first! This was when I was only 8 years old. My neighbor did not really like it, and he said I was far too young or something. At the time I really took this personally and even stopped playing the trumpet.
Then at 9 years old, I saw someone playing the saxophone at my school (anthroposophical school) and I totally fell in love with it. My mother really supported me to start playing it too, and motivated me to practice very hard. And now here I am!
Maybe you have a funny anecdote about traveling or playing a gig somewhere?
My French girlfriend and I broke up 3 years ago after a very intense relationship. A few months ago when I was in London to perform, she came to visit.
I was super excited and a bit stressed to be honest, as it had been a long while since seeing her. Her bus arrived late in the night around the time I had to play at the event, so I told her to just join.
The thing is… the event I was playing at was actually a fetish party! So, we met again after 3 years in the middle of all the naked bodies around us. Yeah, we fell deeply in love again in the middle of a fetish party. It was certainly a very surreal experience.
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