REVIEW: Mary Yuzovskaya - BIN008 [BINÄR]
Along with the warmer months, a perceptible force of a positive, energetic yet gentle nature arrives, much like what Mary Yuzovskaya embodies and brings to her music and sets. First and foremost, identifying as a DJ, her talent clearly extends to production as well. Beautifully crafted, Mary’s latest EP is a testament to a steady dedication to the craft of bringing psychedelic techno to vinyl lovers and the dancefloor.
Mary Yuzovskaya and Andre Parecker, aka PAREKA, meet after one of her sets at Berghain, where he does the lights. They instantly hit it off, with a mutual admiration for each other’s work. Whenever they work at the same time and place, “it’s always very special”, says Mary. When Andre proposed making a record together on his BINÄR label, it was a definite yes for Mary. The aim was to create a record in which each track could be played at a different time within a set, following the arc in which A1 is the opener and B2 is the closer. They both value storytelling with particular consideration for vinyl as the medium. Through running her own vinyl-only label, Monday OFF, Mary understands what that entails: “I know it’s a pretty challenging task, [so] vinyl-only labels always have my extra support”.
As with the construction of her sets, Mary is very intentional about her productions as well. She creates them with the person behind the label in mind. “I’m not a full-time producer, so usually if I take the projects, they are personal, and they are special. And I like the people that invited me, so it’s nice to think of them when working on the tracks.” When it comes to producing, Mary has a catalog of samples that she has built from hardware, but otherwise works with Ableton and plugins without constraints. It allows for freedom of movement and for changing arrangements and automation until the piece is done. This stands in some contrast to the element of DJing where Mary is constrained by the physical limits of the vinyl itself, yet equally attuned to quality output, which makes it all the more exciting. And so I must mention that she is a master of her craft.
photo by Max Avdeev
Mary has always felt confident in her taste and stylistic choices since she started going to clubs and later began buying records herself. This is at least in part, I gather, because she is so aware of her surroundings, from which she draws inspiration, and of the sounds which she finds pleasing. Like designs that are preferably cleaner over distorted ones. Or something high-energy but not aggressive - “It makes me nervous.”, she says, “I noticed that at a very early age, [if] the DJ plays something very dissonant…I start thinking that I forgot to turn off the stove”. For Mary, though, it was never about genre, but rather about the moods the music creates and the energy it provides. “I think any genre kind of comes and goes, and it morphs, and it becomes smaller and bigger, and it changes…but I think the attractive thing about deep techno is it’s soothing, and I think a lot of people are in need of that. I most certainly am, as a dancer.” Mary says. I couldn’t agree more. Very fittingly, the tracks of BIN008 are dancefloor-oriented, maintaining a warm atmospheric undertone.
As we reflect further on what makes an artist notable, we agree that when artists follow their intuition and do what resonates with them, they generally create something genuine and unique. It’s when they stay true to themselves and can follow their desires that their work becomes captivating. “Then we get this very honest “I am who I am” kind of product [rooted] in sincere choicemaking. And it just makes sense.” Mary reflects. This all comes through in the energy with which the music is shared by the artist as well - when “their passion…grabs you and takes you with them”, as she says. Because Mary likes what she does so much, she believes it's this excitement that people respond most to.
And yet, not all of one’s own tastes necessarily work well in one’s hands as a DJ. “There are plenty of really cool tracks, which I don’t know how to present to people. There’s a bunch of stuff that’s still my taste, but…I just don’t have the secret key to them,” she admits freely, “I don’t know how to make them shine in the set, it’s somebody else”. And that’s why it’s good that there’s space for different talents. In the end, there’s beauty in our individuality and our honest creative appreciation that can be perceived by others and become a form of common ground. This also means that music as an art form can diversify and thereby enrich itself. “The more approaches we witness, the more fun we’re having,” Mary finds. In turn, we also find ourselves curious to experiment and be open to differences. And surely, one can’t please everyone, “but if you’re doing something you like, then somebody might just enjoy being around you and feel like they resonate with it, relate, and see themselves in you or your work. And that’s kind of the point,” she says.
Sometimes, to get to the creative flow, one needs to filter out the noise and trust oneself. “I think knowing what you like is a lot about relying on your intuition,” says Mary, and as an artist, “you need to try and test your intuition as much as possible...even if it doesn’t turn out how [you] think.” We talked a bit more about the technical workflow of producing and mixing, which you can also read about in Theresa’s interview. The tracks of BIN008 are impeccably worked. Everything is in its place and has its purpose at a specific time within the tracks themselves. This is the attention to detail that Mary brings to her work and can be felt. When I listen, I find nuance between them but also coherence throughout the whole EP, almost like a set. “Working on all these tracks like it’s one project, that’s what helps them sound connected.” Mary states, and what gives them their individual character, like with the A2 track, for example, it’s “because the technology is different”. It was something new to her that she didn’t have experience with, but the struggle clearly paid off, producing a stellar track. And the more we listen to all the tracks, the more we notice finely-placed subtleties. They are pieces that really shine on big-room speakers: refined while being deep and complex.
“Everyone should just choose their own adventure”, says Mary, which I think goes beyond technological workflow to artistic expression in general. If creatives pursue what they like, then they will be at their best, we agree. But it might be difficult to decipher through one's own internal noise sometimes (like when anxiety presents itself) or through the noise of societal pressures or stigmas that can impose judgments (like on our so-called guilty pleasures). “If all these rules apply, you can’t hear your own intuition. Why should it be a guilty pleasure? If it’s pleasure, it’s pleasure!”, remarks Mary.
PAREKA’s label BINÄR is not genre-limiting. It plays on the duality of the meaning of the word itself - at once a nod to the universe of 0’s and 1’s that electronic music is built on, and tracks that are constructed by elements placed one after the other - while acknowledging the shift towards a more open and non-binary culture as well. It seems thus a great artistic match for Mary’s production.
And so, with Rationalisation, Side A sets the stage for the EP in a quiet intensity. The kind that feels emblematic of Mary. It’s one of depth and calm, like that of a caring and knowing presence you would feel comfortable being guided by. Shifting undulations, almost as if those of underwater creatures, and hazy rays drift in and out against the background beat of a steady bass. Building on this are some shorter and faster groups of drums and bells, finely placed. We feel the complementarity within the minutely structured rolling layers. There is a consistency in the production, which lets us dream of long hours in company with the music as the beat finally carries us out of our reverie onto the next track. With Denial, we enter the club’s halls. The sound is instantly heavier. There is a driving force washing over us in short waves. The more we listen, the more we are immersed. The drawn-out sound of a horn repeats, louder and longer in the middle of the track, then quiets again near the end.
On the flip side, the first seconds of Overgeneralisation would lead us to assume that a similar experience awaits. That is, of course, not the case. Drops of neighboring notes soften the sound, accompanied by bursts of lasers and a cover as if of sand in the background. The undulating pattern comes back. We are somewhere between the warehouse and under the sea. Mary then strips away the layers so delicately, guiding us with intention so she can leave us, for a moment, floating on our own before bringing us gently back.
Justification has a playful bounce to it. Multiple rhythms are again to be heard, and textures felt. There is a message hidden in some drippy notes atop slightly darker atmospheric drops. In full trust, Mary lifts us high with long sounds of hope floating in that same dimension. The storytelling for the EP is complete. In just four tracks, Mary has taken us through a set.
Even the names of the tracks are replete with meaning - Rationalisation, Denial, Overgeneralisation, Justification - but we do not yet find out exactly what that is. The BINÄR albums are notably numbered with no written titles. The title Mary had in mind for the EP was not published, but it remains dear to her heart. “This is what makes this whole vinyl story alive. It has its imperfections. So the title is lost. But it might resurface eventually.”, she teases.
Until then, the EP has been added to collections worldwide, and our ears will perk up as we dance with joy when we hear the tracks in future sets somewhere. Thank you, Mary!