Name: Mary Yuzovskaya
Nationality: American
Occupation: DJ, producer, label owner at Monday Off.
Current Release: Mary Yuzovskaya 's The More You Know was released in April of last year. Now, she follows up the EP with a collection of remixes by ORBE, JUDAΣ, Mike Parker, and CONCEPTUAL. Both releases are available via her own imprint Monday Off.
Recommendation for New York City, USA: The Ford Foundation Building - a hidden tropical forest growing inside of a Midtown office building.

If you enjoyed this Mary Yuzovskaya  interview and would like to know more about her music and upcoming live dates, visit her on Instagram, and Soundcloud.  

For a deeper dive, read our earlier Mary Yuzovskaya interview.

Are there examples of minimalism in music – and outside of music - that impressed you early on?

My clubbing, record collecting and later on DJing started during the very first minimal wave in the early 2000. Minimalistic sound designs were very new, innovative and felt like a breath of fresh air.

Here are some of the very first records that I bought that I think shaped me as a DJ:

Carsten Jost: Pinksilver
Gebr. Teichmann: "Stadtluft"



Magnet: Rising Sun
Electronic Data Processing: Studio 3:00 AM



Do you tend to find that, as many claim, “less is more?” Are the notes you don't play really as important as the ones you do play?

It depends on the project I guess.

I think it’s all about the balance and all the instruments “singing” together, as well as having enough space to breathe.

Do you feel as that making music is a process of adding elements until it is done – or one where you chisel away pieces from something that is already there?

In my workflow it’s usually the first - I add elements until the loop seems complete, and then I will most likely add more details when I’m working on the arrangement.

Sometimes I’ll remove or change some elements, as making music is, indeed, a process and I think it’s totally ok to change your mind on the go.

What’s important is to know when to stop the never-ending updates and set the track free. Luckily I don’t get lost in the editing rabbit hole too often.

Many artists are becoming more minimalist in their music as the years go on, focusing on the “essence.” How is that for yourself and how would you describe your development in this regard?

I don’t think my approach to producing changed much since I first started. I developed some skills, got a bit better overall, some things come to me easier now and maybe take less time.

But in general I think the workflow is roughly the same. Maybe less agonising comparing to my first days, but not significantly different otherwise.

What were some of the starting points for your most recent release?

For any record I have ever released the standing point is always the same, and it’s the deadline! I realise it doesn’t sound artsy, deep or particularly inspiring, but everything I work on has to have at least an approximate timeframe to be finished. Getting things done on time is my biggest motivation.

I’m lucky enough not to be too dependent on how inspired I feel on a particular day. As long as I’m physically not tired or stressed about something unrelated, I can work on music/DJ sets or my label consistently.

Each day is different, sometimes ideas come to me instantly and I get a lot done, other times I don’t have that much to say creatively, so I use those days to explore the software, unfamiliar effects or plug-ins, or just focus on some technical sides of the projects. Either way II’ll make my studio time productive.

Daily inspirations come from architecture, nature, and music. But I don’t think I ever tie up any concepts to my work - things I see and feel throughout the day get oddly filtered by my brain and make their way to Ableton or to the dance floor. It’s rather intuitive and I myself don’t fully understand how exactly it works.

Do you like to set yourself limitations? If so, which were some of those limitations for the new pieces?

Throughout my career I used to have some strange rules I made up, but today I wouldn’t limit myself. I don’t really see the point. I believe it’s best to let yourself try things out, be curious and let yourself follow your imagination. If I don’t like the end result I can always change it. But if I don’t try, I will never know what the finished project might sound like.

At the end of the day art in any form is incredibly subjective, there’s no official right or wrong, so it makes sense to just let yourself explore and see what feels right. It’s all about your taste and what resonates with you personally, the rest (including limitations) is secondary.

Thanks to sampling and digital synthesis, there are endless possibilities for sculpting the sounds and overall sound design of a piece or album. What are your considerations in this regard?

I think it’s great - the more possibilities, the more fun!

Would you say that you approach your creative tools with a minimalist mindset? Or do you need a wide choice of instruments and tools to make music?

My set up is very modest - I have Ableton, very nice monitors (game changer!), and a controller. That’s pretty much where it ends.

However, I do record the synths of my studio partner Xhato and turn those recordings into samples. Every year or so I create a massive sample pack (for my use only!); today I have a big collection of sounds, and I enjoy working with it a lot.

I understand that having access to many instruments can be very inspiring, especially if you are the kind of musician that likes to improvise. However, my process is rather about writing down a specific idea that already exists in my head, and for that I prefer to use the software as my knowledge of the hardware is too limited for now.

What were some of the most important pieces of gear or instruments for this release?

For any release the most important pieces of gear are proper monitors and a clearly sounding room.

With so much incredible music instantly available, are you finding that you want to take it all in – or that you need to be more selective? How do you pick the music you really want to invest in?

I have to be selective - that’s one of the main responsibilities of a DJ. I listen to a lot of music, I go through new releases each week and I try to make sure I pay enough attention to the artists/labels that I haven’t heard of yet.

I also spend a lot of time on discogs, so my research isn’t limited by the new arrivals. The records that I end up ordering are the ones that I currently want to play.

Sometimes I shop for a specific show, other times it’s more of a general approach, but it’s always the dance floor that leads the way. And my subjective taste ;)

Would you say that minimalism extends into other parts of your life as well?

I’m not so sure - after all, I’m a record collector! When it comes to vinyl, it feels like the more the better, and there’s nothing minimalistic about my record shelves. I also like to collect books and grow a library at home.

I have been doing less of it lately as moving from country to country in the past 16 years taught me that sometimes you just need to minimise the amount of boxes you are shipping. So I’m not going too crazy with the physical printed books anymore.

If I explore a deeper meaning of this question, I would say that I don’t need that much to be happy (but I do need proper monitoring, hah). So maybe in this context minimalism extends to the other parts of my life, too. I also like when apartments have more space than furniture, and my home definitely reflects that.