Yulia Makeyeva has found many connections to Jersey since moving here four years ago…

On the wall at Yulia’s art studio hangs a piece of white scrim threaded through with pine needles. Stunning in its simplicity. “It’s about fragility, a humble material, a skill gained through meticulous repetition,” Yulia says. The pine needle is both needle and thread in this elegant and delicate work of art. All of Yulia’s work is tied together with this idea of line and thread reminding us that all things are connected, tied together. The past and the present are interwoven in her work. Two years ago, Yulia was inspired by the story “The Gift” on the Jersey War Tunnels website. The story tells of a farmer’s wife who, during the Occupation, gives food to one of the slave workers escaped from the labour camp. In return, he came back to thank her – to give her a needle—his only possession. “That story moved me to tears,” Yulia says. “A needle is something you can make with. It’s a tool. And it’s a treasure in this situation. I admire this transformation of a mundane object into something new and b

eautiful. It is one of many incredible stories that I’ve learned researching about Jersey history. Personal stories are always a starting point for my work. I gain energy from memories,” she says, making me immediately think of the thin lightning bolt slivers deposited into Dumbledore’s Pensieve.

Yulia’s recent sculpture ‘Continuum’ was a part of the Skipton Big Ideas exhibition at the Town Church, produced by Jersey Art House. The piece comprised hundreds of  wires each threaded with a bead or fragment of jewellery. “I started collecting jewellery for this project two years ago. It came from people I know, generous strangers as well as  from the local charity shops and recycling centres. Jewellery has an innate memory and significance. It is usually in immediate contact with our skin. It was probably received as a gift, bought on a trip abroad or was handmade. It is mainly a fashion accessory and when outdated or broken it is tossed away. My sculpture gave it new life,” Yulia says. “There is an anthropological and social aspect, collecting all these unwanted artefacts from people. It is an exploration of a found material and its value. What lost importance for others became valuable material for my work. It was precious to witness how visitors followed th

e dynamic wire lines and discovered a new bead in each section. Small or big, regardless of material it was made of, they gained a new status and power.”

Her two ongoing projects are both rooted in Jersey history. Yulia is researching on the history of knitting, nautical knotting and rope making on the island. Her other project centres around the fate of Russian speaking slave workers in Jersey during the Occupation.

She sees art as a form of care. ‘Art should be candid and true. My hopes, concerns and excitements, my life experience all converted into a line in my sketchbook,” she says, and her art makes lines from one person to another, one time to another, one place to another.

https://connectwith.art/

She’s witty and funny and a dab hand at creating masterful songs that people want to hear. And hear her we have! Phoebe recently played the Main Stage at Electric Park, sharing the bill with Manic Street Preachers and Razorlight. She’s been on a stage or two since as well (all of them to be precise), from intimate gigs, parties and events to a rather beautiful wedding destination off-island.

Her music is sincere, fun, lively, lovely (as in, her voice is so damn sweet, it’s golden and gorgeous – like honey), her lyrics are clever and sassy and a little bit bad assy and now I’ve listened to Rehab about four hundred times, I really am looking forward to her next release! Phoebe Over can create a soundtrack to fill any space, just give her a guitar.

Give us words that describe your music?

A splurge from the heart

How does Phoebe Over write a song? Do you have a process? Do you keep a note book with you at all times? Is there a particular circumstance that gets you writing? What comes first, the melody or the lyrics?

I wouldn’t say I particularly have a process. Its usually a case of sitting down for 15 minutes, usually going with the first chord pattern I create, recording on my phone and typing the lyrics on my laptop as I go. I find recording a voice memo the easiest way of not missing some good melodies but most of the time I never re-listen to them anyway – haha! I find it a lot easier to write a sad song than a happy song – I always think I’m being too cringey happy and therefore scrap most of the songs! The melody definitely comes first for me, I’ve always struggled to just write lyrics because I would end up writing loads and loads of words in one sentence and struggle to fit them in. However, everyone is different and there is no wrong or right way. I’ve enjoyed writing songs with other artists too as you pick up different styles and push the boat out more with ideas.

What would be your dream location in jersey to perform?

Jersey has some very nice places to visit. I think it would be cool to play in one of the old fort towers if it was decorated and lit up perfectly. It’s out the way, no noise complaints and people would’ve made the effort to come out that way and listen to music. Although, I’ve been in situations where there’s been a load of musicians passing a guitar round in the beach at sunset, and it is very, very beautiful.

I would also love to play the opera house!

What’s been your biggest moment so far?

I have 2 big moments, it’s hard to choose. One is playing the main stage at Electric Park. I was backstage with the artists, played on the biggest stage ever with loads of smiley faces looking up at me and genuinely felt like a rockstar! The other biggest moment was releasing my single, Rehab! To finally have a track that people can listen to at home or wherever they are is so fun and cool. I had people sending me videos of them listening to it in the car or at their Uni dorms in the UK. It’s shareable beyond the live gigs and that night of release with my friends was amazing.

What’s been your biggest bogan moment so far? As in… cringe/hated it/never again/OMG why am I doing this… kinda vibe..

Ooh this is a tough question! I can’t think of a particular moment off the top of my head, but I am known to just get really nervous on stage and talk some absolute rubbish. I either speak too much or go mute and don’t say anything at all. I am also very clumsy and tend to trip over myself, stand on the cables, whack the guitar when I’m moving etc. Most times when I’m speaking on stage, my inner voice is like ‘stop talking Phoebe. You’re talking too much, nobody needs to know this much detail’ – haha.

We’re catching up in 15 years. where are you and what are you doing?

Hopefully touring the world as a rock star! In 15 years time I will be 34 and it’s hard to imagine what can happen in 1 year, let alone 15! I would’ve hopefully travelled the world, done some awesome gigs in other countries, made new friends and released a lot more music!

Pick a song lyric of yours that lights you up most when you sing it… what is it, and why does it do that?

The lyrics that light me up in a good and powerful way are lyrics from my new unreleased song

“Kinda love the girl I’m becoming, never felt this kind of self loving”

When I have played this live, I feel like it’s very different to my usual stuff and I get this attitude/sass that I’ve never had before!

Another set of lyrics which are very emotional and deep but I feel when singing are:

“I know the relapse comes worse at night. So bring me sunshine so I don’t ever lose the light.”

It’s about not wanting to go back to how things were and knowing you have to stay strong and not reminisce on old times. I think a lot of people feel most lonely at night and that’s when mistakes are more likely to happen, so it’s praying that the night time never comes to stop that feeling of loneliness. It’s very deep but it hits hard and it’s one of my favourite lyrics.

Where can we see you next….?

I’ll be out and about gigging at various events, pubs, weddings etc. Look out for where I am on my Instagram @phoebeover and listen to me on Spotify!

Here’s a face a few of you might recognise! Give it up for Kieran Brown, aka Kingsy. This gorgeous human has been performing since he was knee-high and has featured in lots of theatre productions and some of the pantos over here in Jersey. Most recently though, Kingsy has been honing his craft and basically slaying his way into the electro-pop genre, gracing the stage in Brighton to support none other than London Grammar. Uh-huh, take a bow, Kingsy… You’re shining bright right now…

We chatted to Kingsy to find out a bit more about his musical adventures – he’s a unique singer/songwriter with aspirations and dreams and the mindset to get it all.

Is there a genre/focal point of your music? Where did it all begin?

My style is a mix of Trap/pop/EDM my first instrument was Tenor Sax but I joined a youth choir at 8 years old and I fell in love with singing. I bought myself a guitar and picked up piano and before I knew it, I was writing my own music and kind of just grew from that point.

Where does inspiration come from?

Blackbear and Fabian Mazur are a massive influence in the darker tonality of my music, I also really vibe with Lizzo because I love the way she writes and her honesty with life experiences. I tend to write from my own life experiences but I also draw inspiration from other peoples’ experiences and stories they tell me about their lives.

If you had to describe your music with five words (not a sentence) what would they be?

Savage, truthful, fun, boppin, wholesome.

Do you write music and lyrics? If so, which comes first?

It’s different every time, most of the time I’ll start by scoring out the instrumental and then top line a vocal over that but sometimes I start with a lyric or a vocal melody and take it from there.

You just smashed it with London Grammar – what did you say to yourself as you went on stage??

You’re wearing 8 inch platform heels, Don’t trip.

What’s next??

I’m releasing some new music in January; it’s a new promotion team and I will also be releasing an EP accompanied by some insane visuals with my good friend Shea around March… And I’ve got a few secrets up my sleeve – watch this space.

What are your thoughts on the Jersey scene?

It’s definitely growing and expanding in terms of music. I think for a long time there really wasn’t much going on but in the last few years things like songwriters society and social media have allowed budding musicians to start building on their skills and sharing their talents as well as connecting with each other.

If you could perform anywhere in Jersey, to anyone in the world – where and who? (A bit like who would you have round a dinner table – you can pick two people) xx

I would choose Gouray Lodge to perform, because it’s an insane location and one hundred percent Lizzo at my gig because she is pure life and MNEK, because his tunes just rock my world and I feel like he would give me some very valid constructive criticism.