Letters To Self: yingtuitive Pens An Ambient & Experimental Inward Journey On Her Debut LP

yingtuitive does our scene proud with her global rise (Credit: Dan Visuals)

Not all soliloquies are crafted with words. For Singapore-born, London-based producer, yingtuitive, she’s penning her introspective messages with the ink of emotion and sound. Despite being the newborn alias of Hannah Chia, she herself has deep-set roots in the scene she calls home even from afar. A former wax peddler at vinyl haven The Analog Vault, seasonal performer (and not to mention a past editorial contributor for Life In Arpeggio), Hannah flaunts a different sort of musical eloquence with her yingtuitive project, and it’s already begun to sprout success in its relatively nascent form.

The songs her debut LP often feel like a transient dream you’re trying to chase (Credit: Dan Visuals)

Global recognition has already blessed the upward path of yingtuitive with guest slots on Noods Radio and NTS, and even a coveted spotlight feature on Mixmag global. And now with the release of her debut LP – out on Will Hofbauer's Third Place label – the world is pricking up its ears even more. Letters To Self is the title of this ambient and experimental venture, and it combines the Singaporean’s classical piano training with electronic embellishments, Southeast Asian traditions, and field recordings from Singapore and the UK. The instrumental collection is an inward conversation, putting forth the themes of “identity, homesickness, belonging, and the overwhelming noise of the world outside”. Like a private diary, yingtuitive communicates in her own idiosyncratic language, but don’t mistake these musings for vulnerability; it’s a big, brave frontier that’s universally palatable.

Letters To Self is a catalogue of racing thoughts and patient exploration. yingtuitive builds each fragile yet complex composition with the intention and precision of a toymaker, assembling each memory of her experiences with the character of her hybrid sound. On “do u forget a feeling?”, yingtuitive creates ethereality and comfort; muffled, echo-cloaked pianos and gaunt beats mingle with pitter-patter synths that tickle like an ASMR overload. “blue” has another piano-guided loop that lifts through the mist layer after layer like floating draperies, welcoming fleeting faint recordings that paint an atmospheric texture. “braided cords” bears a more minimal physique with spluttering percussions that pan in and out and synths that take turns coalescing and peeling off. These last two tracks even feature a remix treatment from South Korean ambient duo Salamanda and US artist Tristan Arp, giving yingtuitive’s inaugural output more global prominence.

These are truly musical letters that you’d want to be engrossed in again and again; composed, mollifying and intimate, with moments of vivacity weaved within. They’re an intangible yet authentic reflection of yingtuitive’s formative story arcs, now written for the world, but ultimately for herself.