Yeule

The Evasive Spectacle of Yeule at Thalia Hall |Pitchfork Aftershow

7.15.22 // Photos by Morgan Winston

Review by Mar Christiano

Yeule, self-described cyborg, also referred to as Nat Ćmiel took center stage at Thalia Hall during the Pitchfork Music Festival 2022 festivities. A stage was placed in the middle of the concert hall like a theatre in the round. The perfect sonic landscape for their immersive performance. The concertgoers dressed in texturized outfits, platform shoes, and fingerless mesh gloves eagerly waited for Yeule’s arrival. Everything around me felt synthesized yet organic— the lighting, the dance moves, and the sounds. 

Casper Mcfadden, the breakcore baddie and DJ enthusiast, warmed up the crowd with his vivid beats and rapidly shifting tempos. The young crowd gyrated with every twist & turn while Mcfadden’s eyes remained glued to his deck, receiving the crowd's energy through each movement. The perfect opener to create the breach into Yeule’s neo-technical, hypnotic reality. 
After the opening performance, the crowd parted to make a pathway for the Glitch Princess, one of Yeule’s many identities, as they glided through the mass of people. In a singular breath, Pixel Affection filled every level of the venue with their sanitized, falsetto harmonies mixed with the static instrumentals and interpretative dance moves between every word. Sitting inside the balcony, it felt like I opted into a metaverse performance that I watched from aerial view.Sliding their right foot back and the other forward, they dropped low then raised themselves again like a prima ballerina that swapped out ballet slippers for chunky combat boots. 

Being a former Tumblr 2012 girl, my psyche felt transfixed by their lyrical writing, eclectic distortions, and agile motions throughout the performance. When I took my eyes off them, I noticed the emotions around the stage— glossy eyes mixed with appreciation and reverence. A group of four young listeners stood parallel to one side of the stage, singing along in their post-gothic attire and holding hands as if they were forming a bind. It seemed that Yeule was performing just for them as they echoed the words to I <3 U and Eva (acoustic version) together.

Following the moment with a speech of gratitude, “I know some of you have traveled far to see me. Thank you for being here.” The next day, I found the same quartet, in their pre-Raphaelite outfits, at the front of Yeule’s intimate set during the Pitchfork Music Festival. That’s the precious thing about Yeule’s curated reality; they sing about loneliness and not fitting into societal labels creating a lasting community of young listeners who relate deeply to those same pressures. A safe space for the misfits, something I wish I had during my teenage era. 

Yeule proved that they are not only a musician/performer but an escape artist blurring lines between virtual life and real life. From their white-out contact lenses to their step-by-step choreography, everything was intentionally systemized to fit into the synthetic universe of Serotonin II and Glitch Princess. I felt engrossed; I felt a part of something bigger than the small consciousness I have inhabited. I came to deeply understand the words off their opening track, My Name is Nat Ćmiel, “I like pretty textures in sounds, I like the way some music makes me feel, I like making up my own worlds.” After experiencing their worlds, I left the venue reluctantly and secretly hoped they would come back on stage and invite me to stay forever.