After a decade serving as one half of Canberra electronic duo Peking Duk, Reuben Styles has announced his latest project, sharing the first single Y.O.G.A. today.
An acronym of “You’re Only Great Always”, the project is one that Styles has spent most of the year working on, and is set to serve as a platform in which mental health can be discussed alongside the sharing of art. As he explains, “It’s about working through the bad and celebrating the good.”
“In the last couple of years, two people I know from school days have lost their battles with depression and even a family member of mine tried to take their own life,” Styles explains of the origins of his Y.O.G.A. project. “Since then, I’ve got a slight grasp on how these things happened, but I still can’t quite figure out why. I probably never will.
“That’s why I’ll be making online spaces that are different to the ones we normally see. Because although life on Instagram can look perfect, these so called perfect lives rarely tell the whole story. I want You’re Only Great Always to be a form of antidote to the smoke and mirrors that people are using to pretend everything is wonderful – something real, where we can be honest and put it all on the table.”
Sharing first single “Your Devotion” today, the track showcases Styles’ eclectic influences as it switches between a lonesome plucked guitar against an atmospheric chorus, before it switches to the dance music sound fans have come to know and expect. Behind it all though is a much more meaningful goal that just making slick tunes.
“The project is also a bit of a mental health escape for me,” Styles adds. “For a long time I’ve been making anthemic dance music bangers, which is great, but with this side project I’ll get to explore entirely new sounds and try some new things.
“Really though this is about more than just music. It’s about opening up and sharing both the good and bad bits in life through art and discussion. Things are never better left unsaid, so let’s talk about it all.”
Y.O.G.A. is set to release its debut EP, fittingly titled YOU’RE ONLY GREAT ALWAYS, on October 23rd, with the four-track collection set to tide fans over until the release of new music from Peking Duk later in the year.
Y.O.G.A.’s “Your Devotion” is out now, while the YOU’RE ONLY GREAT ALWAYS EP will arrive on October 23rd.
