Yeule

Yeule (stylised as yeule) is the musical project of Nat Ćmiel, a Singaporean songwriter and producer. Formed in 2012, they incorporate elements of ambient, glitch and Asian post-pop. The name is derived from a Final Fantasy character, the Paddra Nsu-Yeul.

Early life and education
Nat Ćmiel was born in Singapore where they attended school. They first started playing music at the age of 6 on their parents' Yamaha piano and learned classically although eventually dropped taking lessons, and wanted to explore something more challenging which led them to guitar and drums. Ćmiel initially started playing waltz pieces, though they soon moved on to songs from the soundtracks of Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts. They later went on to sing in a jazz band under the name Riot Diet, covering songs from Ella Fitzgerald and the Pixies.

Growing up, feelings of loneliness and depression were present due in part to Ćmiel's nomadic upbringing. They found solace on the internet, which would influence their later works.

After graduating from high school, they applied to Central Saint Martins to study fashion communication and womenswear. Ćmiel graduated from Central Saint Martins in London with a degree in Fine Arts in 2020.

Musical timeline
Ćmiel's first release under the Yeule title was their self-titled EP on March 3, 2014. On December 11, 2016, Ćmiel released their second EP, Pathos, which was dedicated to David Singh. Ćmiel followed up with the OST to interactive simulator game Lost Memories Dot Net, which was released on July 17, 2017.

On September 27, 2017, Ćmiel released their third EP, Coma. With regard to the writing, they said that "I wrote this album to commemorate the people I'd lost." The EP received a positive reception with Duncan Cooper of The Fader describing it as "dream-pop perfection". Ćmiel signed to Bayonet Records on July 17, 2019.

On October 25, 2019, Ćmiel released their debut studio album Serotonin II. On the process of creating the album they said that "Writing the record, I was dreadful. I didn't ask for much, I don't need to be happy. I just wanted to be content." The album received a positive critical reception with Jude Noel of Tiny Mix Tapes giving the album 4/5 and saying that "Melancholia aside, it's Serotonin II's impeccable sound design that has kept me coming back".

Ćmiel teased the release of their second album Glitch Princess via Bayonet Records with a track titled "My Name is Nat Ćmiel"—released at the end of 2020. The full album was released on February 4, 2022. It was qualified as "pioneering" by Colin Lodewick from Pitchfork and featured in their 'Best New Music' section with a critical score of 8.3.

In between "My Name Is Nat Ćmiel" and Glitch Princess, Ćmiel released the remix EP Serotonin X Remixes and the covers album Nuclear War Post X, the latter issued directly through their website as a limited-edition paperback art book with a download for the entire album.

Over the first weekend of May 2023, Yeule teased some images on their social media channels mentioning the date of May 10. On that date, Yeule premiered the video and released the single for their new song "Sulky Baby" and announced that they had signed to the Ninja Tune label. They told Rolling Stone, "The creative trajectory is shapeshifting, and Ninja Tune was the most versatile with their views on artistic direction as most of my creative pitches often tend to be fringe in conceptual aspects. I admire the team's work ethic and tastes, and they've also worked with other creatives I know and love to this day, it feels nice to be with them!" "Sulky Baby" was included on their third album, softscars, which was released on September 22, 2023 to critical acclaim.

Music style and influences
Ćmiel's musical influences draws inspiration from 90's and 00's alternative acts by the likes of My Chemical Romance, Avril Lavigne, Hole, Radiohead, The Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins. Their work combines the rebellious tones of emo nostalgia with avant-pop cyber experimentation. Some of their favorite albums are My Chemical Romance's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, Avril Lavigne's Let Go and Under My Skin; and Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and Siamese Dream.

Studio albums

 * Serotonin II (2019)
 * Nuclear War Post X (2021)
 * Glitch Princess (2022)
 * Softscars (2023)

Soundtrack

 * Lost Memories Dot Net (2017)
 * Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl (From "I Saw The TV Glow") (2024)

Extended play

 * Yeule (2014)
 * Pathos (2016)
 * Coma (2017)
 * Serotonin X Remixes (2021)

Collaborations

 * Urbangarde – "Akuma des Akum" (yeule Remix) (2021)
 * Car Seat Headrest – "Deadlines" (yeule Remix) (2021)
 * Tohji ft. yeule – "shell" (2022)
 * Lucinda Chua ft. yeule – "Something Other Than Years" (2023)
 * Mura Masa ft. yeule – "We Are Making Out" (2024)