Yoniro is a nymph child of the Internet and philosophy. She came to us with a message of awareness and liberation, sung over clubbing and avant-pop sounds. Her dreamcore imagery fuses spirituality and distortion, feminism and drums, dissolved on a plasma screen from which to reach heaven.

How does one reach heaven? How do we tap into the fullness of self and our inner strength? How to face the darkness to grasp the light? These themes and much more are addressed by Yoniro in her new EP H e a v e n s, released last November 17, 2023.

Combining spirituality and clubbing, the performer returns to the international scene with a three-dimensional work that sinks into the deepest corners of the self. On the occasion of this release, we asked the artist a few questions to find out more.

Hi Yoniro! How are you? Last November you released your first EP "H e a v e n s ": what is it about and how did it come about?

Hi! I’m doing well, currently in a deeply introspective phase typical of winter. "H e a v e n s " was born out of just such a phase that I went through last year. It’s an inner journey that talks about the raising of consciousness on multiple planes, the collection of fundamental awarenesses, leading to one's inner paradise. Then it becomes a cyclical journey, because, of course, in our lives the awarenesses increase, the vision changes, the paradise takes on different traits.

I don't think the choice of the plural for the title of your work is accidental: what are the "paradises" you are talking about?

Each track is associated with a specific, new reflection, new awareness, new richness of soul, and this, of course, drags along an ambient and sonic mood that makes the tracks multidimensional.

Heavens opens the door to paradises - and there is more to discover. Secret Codes delves into the concept that love, in its essential form, is the only thing that matters. The Island represents the total lightness of mind achieved. Oh Boy, on the other hand, is the positive exaltation of Ego. Finally, Paradise is the acceptance of reality and absence of desires if not desire for oneself, the essential.

On your Instagram profile I read "Being hot is overrated I wanna be angelic": what does it mean and how do you try to achieve being "angelic"?

It is a very controversial phrase and easily misunderstood. I really like this one; I love to keep the viewer/listener in doubt.

For me, it means several things: on the one hand, a critique of the system and the market, which are much more interested in the aesthetics of projects according to the needs of the moment, rather than the content; on the other hand, since my own aesthetic is often controversial, my desire is to match, in those who discover me, this aspect of me with very deep content from my repertoire, without expecting that I should impersonate some particular stereotype.

This is my angelic being: to continue to write based on my own content and messages, steeped in the background we've been talking about, without getting sidetracked by expectations.

Music and spirituality: how do these two dimensions coexist within you and in your project?

Currently they coexist very well, also thanks to H e a v e n s. I grew up as a believer, slowly my vision expanded, I went through different phases, subjected to different stimuli. Perhaps it was this kind of knowledge (religions, mysticism, philosophy) that also pushed me to make music.

With H e a v e n s I totally reunited with this deeply rooted part of me. I wanted the EP to tell something real, so it came natural to start from here.

How important is the "visual" aspect to you in your project and to music in general?

Very important. I express myself a lot through visual art, even in side-projects, and it is something I have always done.

The visual part of my projects comes together with the music, it's a synesthesia: I write a song, I enter a world. When I have seen that universe, I have the need to make the listener enter it as well. Sometimes I also use the visual part to close the circle, give an additional message. However, in general I think that for music the most important thing is the music. That comes first, then the rest.

I've never been passionate about an artist just because of his or her aesthetic, in fact it's something really cringe-worthy - so I try to be careful about that aspect as well.

What are your main sources of inspiration?

My inspiration comes basically from the books I read: physics, psychology, esotericism, astronomy, philosophy. Nothing inspires me more than the reflections to which my books lead me.

I try to combine that with what I see around me, I spend hours looking at productions by other artists: architects, photographers, performers, singers, set designers. I chew on these things all day long, I inquire, I think, I stir, I metabolize. I don't expect anything to be born, then it all comes by itself.

You lived abroad for a long time, where you continued your artistic journey. From your experience, what is your opinion of the foreign record market and the Italian market?

I can't say that I have gotten a real idea of the record market abroad, because I have never worked with labels other than Italian ones. I can say what I have seen on a general level and that applies well to the Italian industry as I have known it. Corruption, sexism, these are things to fight abroad, here it is the modus operandi. Overseas art is then held in high regard and skills and merits are recognized, artists support each other, there is no warfare. Certainly there is also more focus on the musical product itself than on the marketability of the project. I hope to be able to draw new insights soon, I would like to work with foreign countries.

In your opinion, what is missing for Italian alternative music to gain more authority in Italy and abroad?

Definitely there is a social problem, which should be analyzed. In the end, the cultural moment impacts these things a lot. I will just say that more collaboration between artists would definitely help.

As for comparison with abroad, I think Italy will always come late, but here I should always come back to a cultural/economic/political problem that would occupy a space not its own.