germany
YOVA AN INVITATION TO FEEL
YOVA has a sincerity that settles the atmosphere the moment she enters a room. Her voice is calm but certain, her thoughts deliberate yet deeply felt. In a city like Berlin, where volume often wins over vulnerability, YOVA stands for something different: emotion without apology. Her sound draws from trance, hard dance, and melodic textures, but what defines her most is her honesty, a refusal to hide behind intensity.
Raised on her father’s old Trance compilations, she grew up surrounded by melodies that stretched time. What began as childhood nostalgia has become the foundation for her artis- tic identity. Now a resident at GOAT BALL and Elysion, YOVA has built her name not through spectacle but through authenticity. Her music, like her energy, is tender but unshakable, a safe space for emotion in a scene that often resists it.
FROM THE PASSENGER SEAT TO THE DJ BOOTH For YOVA, the story began in the car with her father, not in a club.
“It wasn’t one specific track,” she says. “It was those moments when we were driving somewhe- re, of course without my mom because she hated ‘that awful bass,’ and my dad would show me artists like Kai Tracid, Legend B, Talla 2XLC. He didn’t even care about their names as long as it was trance, melodic, emotional, and uplifting.”
Those long drives shaped her without her realizing it.
“At that time, I didn’t think about being part of this world at all. I was still completely in the role of the listener. But those long breaks and build-ups, the kind you don’t even dare to play in clubs anymore, they sparked something inside me.”
It wasn’t long before she began to create her own space.
“I started releasing my mixes on SoundCloud in 2023. That’s how Elysion first noticed me,” she recalls. “They were the first to book me in February 2024, and from day one they fully supported my sound. A few weeks later, I pla- yed for GOAT BALL, and it just clicked with them straight away.”
From there, her trajectory unfolded natura- lly.
“Both collectives had my back, and I was able to grow alongside them. My core sound hasn’t changed dramatically since then. Sure, I experiment from time to time, but at heart, it’s always been about the emotional side of electronic dance music.”
STANDING HER GROUND
The Berlin scene offers endless opportuni- ty but also endless pressure, especially for FLINTA* artists. YOVA doesn’t sugarcoat that reality.
“The opportunities here are huge. Still, the prevailing structures make it really diffi- cult for FLINTA artists to be taken serious- ly, musically, technically, and personally. We have to fight for our slots, often just to avoid always being booked for the opening or clo- sing. We have to justify our fees while also dealing with a lack of appreciation, disres- pect, or even boundary-crossing behavior.”*
She points out that collectives like Silikon Berlin are crucial in changing that culture.
“They’re doing amazing work to create visi- bility and safer spaces for FLINTA artists,”* she says.
That visibility, however, comes with its own challenges.
“Even now, when things are slowly moving toward more equality, you still need to worry about being used because of your role as a FLINTA person. Sometimes it feels like you’re being booked to tick a box rather than because they genuinely like your sound. For me, the key is being clear with myself about why I want to be heard, not to fill a quota but to use the platform to show others: you can do this too, you deserve to be heard.”*
028
AUTHOR: SERGIO NIÑO PHOTOGRAPHY: LENA SEIBERT
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46
