You might have already caught her – at dozens of shows around Europe, opening for Bilderbuch or Parcels, this past year. Or perhaps you’ve heard her single “Tango” played regularly on the radio in Austria, as well as some European taste-making stations. However, if you haven’t yet crossed the path of this up-and-coming artist, it is only a matter of time. This Berlin-based 20-year old shooting star from Upper Austria is making a major impression on the music world, near and far, with her extraordinary talent and musicality paired with her infectious live performance and stage presence.
UCHE YARA is a musician’s musician. She is the real deal, and not many of her come along, very often. For someone who has only been on this earth for a mere two decades, the strength and confidence UCHE YARA embodies – both in her recordings and on stage – gives the feeling of being in the presence of an old soul. Like she is carrying some kind of ancestral wisdom or enchanted powers. When the singer with a deep range hits those low notes with a bellowing force, one feels the gravity of her person and her artistry. At the same time, the freedom and charisma that UCHE embodies is equally as powerful. She plays her heart out like a true rock-n-roll star, connecting with her bandmates and the audience, alike, with a genuine feeling of joy and rejection of convention. An all-around talent she is. And she is literally just getting started.
What do we know so far?
We know the aforementioned single, “Tango”, which, as the name suggests, is indeed a contemporary take on a tango tune – gone wild, that is.
We also know a number of other songs that she has offered up on Soundcloud which you can find on her homepage. There you can find as dynamic a tracklist as UCHE YARA is herself. She seems to be experimenting with all kinds of styles and approaches. And, understandably, hasn’t landed on a single one yet because, well, she does all of them so damn well. (And perhaps she never will. Perhaps her music will remain as free and uninhibited as she appears to be.)
What’s coming?
Speaking with her management agency, redroad (also managing Bilderbuch, Mavi Phoenix), there is a lot to come. She’s already been picked up by the Austrian booking agency: Spoon, Switzerland’s Emerged, and GoodLive in Germany. Over 15 festivals are booked for next year already, along with other shows. Recently announced is her performance debut at the Eurosonic Noorderslaag (ESNS) showcase festival in the Netherlands at the beginning of 2023. Next year will also mark the first releases for this much-anticipated artist, however, as redroad asserts, the most important thing is playing live, and not to be cornered into narrow pathways that in any way limit this extraordinary artist that the agency, fans and critics, alike, have a remarkable amount of belief in. Christoph Kregl, head of redroad, admits he has never seen anything like UCHE YARA, in the best sense of the phrase.
I know what he means. I can say, the first time I saw UCHE perform – in front of a packed 60,000 person stadium in Vienna (Ernst Happel Stadium) playing guitar for Bilderbuch at the Ukrainian Benefit Concert in March 2022, at that – I already thought: damn. And the next time I saw her performing with her own music and band, at a sold-out open-air Arena show in Vienna, I was simply blown away. And one can’t help but mention as well, she also had the honor of playing with Bilderbuch as they opened for The Rolling Stones in Vienna in summer 2022. UCHE YARA has reached more milestones in the span of a year than some of us might anticipate in a lifetime. And, guess what, she deserves it. Not just the sky’s the limit here, but rather the galaxy.
So, to go back to the start: If you haven’t seen or heard UCHE YARA yet, now is the time (before you see her everywhere, and you’re a little behind). To help you on your way, here are a few links to get you started, or keep you going.
You’re welcome.
Arianna Alfreds