Ascribing to the adage that sharing is caring is possibly what led 21 year old Yasmin Shahmir, working under the mononym Yasmin, to drop out of University and become a fulltime DJ, then leading into a career as a singer-songwriter.
Yasmin’s adoration of music has always been undeniable “I’m just a big fan of music, like I’ve always just been into it more so than any of my friends were at the time – I just collected it a lot,” and her vast music collection is what led to the acquisition of a inadvertent knowledge of what audiences would like to hear.
At age 17, Yasmin was able to put this knowledge to test, “a friend of mine was a DJ and I used to go along and hang out and I’d nag him all the time to play certain tracks…and say ‘I bet they’ll love this, I bet they’ll love that’. Eventually one day he said he was going to the toilet [during his set] and told me to play a few tracks until he got back.” The rest, as they say, is history. Yasmin watched her friend over the following weeks after that gig and eventually got the hang of the technical stuff, “I caught the buzz and it sort of snowballed from there.”
While occupational gender stereotyping is less prevalent in modern society, it would be ludicrous to believe that it no longer exists, particularly in certain professions. Despite the fact that a few well-known female DJ’s have been entertaining crowds for decades, Yasmin’s career choice still came as a shock to those around her, “people didn’t really think that I was actually gunna’ be a DJ, like people just thought I was taking the piss.” Believing her actions to be a fad or a phase “they just said ‘oh yeah whatever’…but yeah it kind of didn’t really bother me. If anything it just made me want to be a DJ even more to spite them.”
Given that DJ-ing is a male dominated vocation, it was never going to be an easy road for a young, pretty but intelligent girl to travel down, “the thing about being a female and a DJ is that it’s swings and roundabouts because I could sit here and say ‘oh it’s so hard and I had to chase my money for ages, no one took me seriously’ but on the other hand I would get gigs over so many other people just because I was a girl.” Yasmin’s determination and lack of self-pity, coupled with an understanding beyond her years of the competitive industry she had chosen to work in is what eventually earned her the respect of her peers.
Getting gigs based on her sex was never a problem for Yasmin, “as when I get on and DJ, no one can say I didn’t deserve to be there because I knew I was just as good as some of the guys.” Confident in her skills, proving that she was more than just a pretty face and being given gigs was the hard part over, “and then as long as when you play at that gig you smack it so it’s not a problem.” The respect and opportunities didn’t happen overnight, and Yasmin found that for a long time, she wasn’t taken seriously, “people do think that they can pull a fast one and not pay you because they think you’re just a little girl.” But, on the other hand, her resilience meant that she got to secure bigger and better gigs sometimes.
Support from family is always beneficial to anyone stepping out of the norm and following their passion. Yasmin is no different. Born in Manchester to an English mother and Iranian-Persian father, she and her sister were raised in Glasgow, hence her delightful yet subtle Glaswegian accent. Even though her parents are supportive of her career choice, they were a little worried initially, “I left University at 19, I just dropped out to sort of DJ full time and obviously as you can imagine my parents weren’t pleased as they wanted the best for me and wanted me to have a secure future and that’s not really promised with being a DJ.” Understandably, it was a little difficult for Yasmin’s parents. “in the beginning it was kind of hard for some people to get their heads around but now they’re thrilled and really really supportive. It’s wicked.”
The courage to leave her University came as a result of Yasmin no longer being inspired by her course, “I think it’s more rewarding that way – when you have to sacrifice it makes it all worth it,” and sacrifice she did, but leaving everything behind and moving to London. Yasmin initially started out as a DJ but was able to segue into singing and song writing, “I always enjoyed [singing], that’s the most important thing…it’s something that I did for fun in the house me and my sister.” Yasmin’s sister sings a lot as a result of being involved in musical theatre “so me and her just love to sing. And then at 16 I started writing…not anything serious like full on songs but I kind of just messed around a bit.”
Because of her northern location, Yasmin never really thought anything of her singing because the music scene seemed so far removed and thus like less of an option until she moved to London at 19 to DJ full time, “I met a lot of artists, producers and record label people and I confided in a few people that I enjoyed to sing and I was writing and some people just took a listen and gave me that confidence that I had a sound and I had a little vibe that I should develop and run with and here we are.”
Yasmin’s singing breakthrough came when she started working for a manager for the first time. As a DJ, she’d managed herself and done all of her own bookings but in 2009 she worked with a manager, “he felt I had something to develop on and I was just recording.” Irrespective of having someone to help her, the unwavering resolve that is clear to see in Yasmin meant that she never completely let go of the reigns, “I called a lot of people myself because I’d met so many people myself through my DJ-ing like Labrinth, I called him and said I want to make music, like I want to do sessions and I love what he does and…we made a track.”
Yasmin spent a lot of time in the studio, “I’d had a lot of sessions before [speaking to Labrinth] and people would hear the tracks and say they were really good and I knew they were good but I felt like something was missing and then I made a track with [him] called ‘Finish Line’ and when we finished it I was like ‘there something special about this track’. I kinda’ knew it was an important song for my career and I had it on my iPod and would play it to people and [then] I had a few labels knocking on the door.”
Choosing to sign with Levels Entertainment, an imprint of Ministry of Sound is a decision that Yasmin does not regret. Although known Levels Entertainment/Ministry of Sound as regarded as an independent label and while she could have signed with a more renowned label, Yasmin made the best choice for her, “I liked what they were about and liked that I was going to be the first artist signed to them – I’ve always been up for making history. I wanted somewhere where I could grow and develop and make some history with those people.”
In addition, Yasmin said she appreciates the fact that she has complete creative control, “Nobody comes in my sessions with me and says you should make a tune like this…they let me work with who and want to work with but will come and offer me ideas…but they kind of just let me just run the show which is nice as I’m a bit of a control freak.” The relationship between Yasmin and her label allows her to feel as though she is the source of her own creativity which is obviously very important to her. She is aware that for a lot of artists, that isn’t the reality of their situation so she is really grateful.
Often music is categorised and when asked what genre Yasmin believes her sound falls into, “Trip-Pop-Soul” is the answer, which is a term she coined herself. The name is a derivative of hip-hop-soul from the early 90’s mixed with trip-hop, pop and soul as music comes from the soul. Inventing a genre for herself is testament to Yasmin’s aversion to being pigeonholed and when asked if she’d rather be known as a DJ or singer, without hesitation she coolly replied “both”.
Yasmin’s drive is clearly evident in the amount she has managed to achieve over the past three years through sheer hard graft and not allowing anyone to get in her way, “I don’t want to be a fad or just some little singer, I want to stand for something and represent culture and women as well. I know that sounds kind of cheesy but I want to inspire other people, especially other women.” This desire to inspire and stand for something is what makes Yasmin love and respect 2Pac so much. If she continues her career with the same diligence and drive as she has to date, then there is no reason why her enthusiasm and achievements won’t rub off on others.
You can find out more about Yasmin at www.yasminsworld.co.uk and follow her on Twitter @itsYasmin
