We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ajun Yao a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ajun, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

It should be my first time to participate in an underground freestyle rap competition. At that time, in 2017, “underground 8 miles” was a very authoritative competition. I prepared for the competition and participated in it with the mentality of trying my best. The contestants who defeated me at that time are now successful musicians in the industry, and I won the fourth place in that competition. After that, I thought that I, an inexperienced person, could get the fourth place in such a professional competition for the first time. I must have some talent. Since then, I suspended my studies and decided to officially step into the industry to try whether I can become a professional musician.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an artist who specializes in creating integrated works that encompass music, fashion, visual arts, and digital arts. This interdisciplinary focus stems from my diverse educational background, having studied at film school, fashion school, and music school. These educational experiences and project work have shaped me into a versatile artist, enabling me to effectively coordinate the relationships between the fashion, music, and visual arts industries. This is a distinctive strength of mine as an interdisciplinary artist. I am able to achieve a high level of auditory and visual consistency in both my music and visual creations. Additionally, in terms of music performance and stage production, I can provide and deliver a fully integrated creative experience.

For clients, I offer a range of services across the music, film, and fashion industries, including music production, songwriting, visual design, MV and fashion film production, as well as the creation of 3D and virtual reality concert experiences.

Therefore, whether it’s for my own artistic creations or for client projects, I am capable of seamlessly integrating visual, musical, fashion, cinematic, and digital elements to deliver a high-quality creative experience.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My educational journey, particularly in music, has been a significant part of my growth as an artist. In 2017, I applied to Berklee College of Music when I was just beginning my music career. However, due to my lack of experience and foundational knowledge at that time, my application was rejected. This setback motivated me to dive deeper into music creation and study. I gained substantial performance experience and absorbed knowledge directly from the industry. Three years later, I enrolled at the University of the Arts London to enhance my aesthetic in fashion and visual arts. For my graduation project, I integrated fashion, music, and digital art to create a virtual reality concert. This project became part of my portfolio, which helped me secure admission to BerkleeNYC, allowing me to further refine my music production skills and aesthetics in New York City. This achievement was a realization of my dream to study at my “Dream School,” a journey that spanned seven years and marked significant progress along the way

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most valuable aspect of being a creative individual is sincerity. Sincerity is the core principle that enables a work to connect with people. If an artist or creative’s work cannot move them personally, it will struggle to truly resonate with the audience on a deeper emotional leve

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yaoajun.squarespace.com/
• Instagram: yaoajun10000
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajun-yao-13883215a/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yaoajunmusic
• Other: Spotify：https://open.spotify.com/artist/4P21zyvHPz6wGMdQuetSPE?si=6RLvrGj9RByonHeQOBBf9w

Image Credits

by AJUN YAO