Artist Feature: Yu Su
Click here to listen to the Carhartt WIP Radio Show featuring Yu Su.
Fourth world. Experimental. Textural – a few words that London-based composer, sound artist, and DJ Yu Su uses to characterize her music. Yet given the vastness of Su’s sound, such descriptors merely scratch the surface of her work. The guiding thread, however, is that “it has to always come from the soul.”
Born in Kaifeng, China, Yu Su moved to Vancouver in 2013, where she was first introduced to the world of electronic music. She began her foray into music production the following year, teaching herself Ableton and honing her skills as a DJ.
This culminated in the release of her debut EP Preparation for Departure in 2018, which established Yu Su as one of the most versatile producers in electronic music. Released on Brooklyn label Arcane, the project blended meditative, downtempo sounds, rich jazz-inspired textures, and echoes of reverb-heavy guitar.
In 2021, Yu Su co-founded the label bié Records, launching it with her debut album Yellow River Blue, which she recorded during a winter tour of mainland China, from Qingdao on the west coast of the Yellow Sea to Xining on the Tibetan Plateau. A complex yet smooth, emotionally-charged soundscape, the album is filled with glimmering synths, dubbed-out bass, and moments of 90s trip-hop.
The mix that Yu Su created for this month’s edition of Carhartt WIP Radio radiates with the same vivid energy as her previous projects, telling “a story of the vast musical world” she inhabits. Accompanying the mix is an interview with Yu Su, where she shares her musical role models, current listening favorites, and insights into how the “perfect tune” often comes together spontaneously.
How did you originally get into DJing and music production?
Yu Su: I grew up in a city called Kaifeng, in the central Henan province along northern China. Long story short, I was first exposed to electronic music through the Mood Hut crew, after moving to Vancouver almost ten years ago to study anthropology. I taught myself some Ableton, which naturally led me to learn about dance music and DJing. It all happened at the right place and time.
How would you define your music?
Yu Su: It’s very difficult because I’ve been making music of all genres. If I had to identify some traits, then the keywords would be: fourth world, experimental, dub, textural, and polyrhythmic.
What was the largest crowd you DJed to?
Yu Su: Perhaps it was the first time I ever played a big festival stage, which was the Boiler Room’s Sugar Mountain event in Melbourne, 2019.
And the longest set you've performed?
Yu Su: It was the last party I played at Paradise in Vancouver, before I officially relocated to London, UK. I did an all-night set for about six and a half hours.
Who are your role models when it comes to making music?
Yu Su: Jon Hassell, Laurie Anderson, and Soulwax.
To what extent do you think the mind and soul are involved in crafting the perfect tune?
Yu Su: It has to always come from the soul. I have zero percent logical thinking when it comes to writing music, or even DJing. Again, it’s the right time and place, being in the right frequency, channeling what you are supposed to write at that moment. Then the "perfect" tune will just happen right on the spot.
You’ve released music on a wide range of labels, including your own bié Records from Beijing, Peoples Potential Unlimited from Washington DC, Amsterdam’s Music from Memory, Arcane from Brooklyn, Ninja Tune’s Technicolour imprint, as well as Pinchy & Friends in London. How do you decide where to release a certain album or EP?
Yu Su: My production changes all the time, so it's usually a very intuitive decision. Music from Memory is home to me. Again, these all happen when the right paths have crossed.
How did you choose the tracks for your Carhartt WIP Radio mix?
Yu Su: It is all the music that I have previously released, or new things that I’ve written this year. I think putting them together tells a story of the vast musical world I’m in.
What projects have you been a part of recently?
Yu Su: I did a festival in Shanghai for the first time called OUHE, where I also hosted a brunch event. I also just finished a tour across the US, and finally got back to my new home in London. I cannot wait to spend some time hibernating in the next two months and writing more music.
Who is a contemporary artist that you would like to collaborate with?
Yu Su: I’d like to write some music with Harry Midland.
What music are you listening to these days?
Yu Su: I have been listening to Mk.gee, Jonah Yano, and Nala Sinephro non-stop for the past two years.
Who are three upcoming producers that you think need more attention?
Yu Su: Knopha from Xiamen, China. Wallace, who has just released an amazing record on Phantasy, and KMRU. I have been listening to their record Forge recently.
Yu Su discography
