For Yarge, writing songs has also been a way to understand what is happening to him. At 21 years old, the Venezuelan singer and songwriter has learned to convert her emotions, insecurities and experiences into lyrics that other people end up identifying with. What began with covers on social networks took another direction when he was encouraged to show his own compositions and discovered that he also had something to say.
That more personal side appears again in “Cara Lavada”, a song about that moment when, after a relationship, things begin to be seen differently and appearances stop working. The song is part of the debut album that Yarge is preparing and from a stage in which, according to her, she feels more confident in who she is as an artist, although without leaving aside her vulnerability. In this conversation, Yarge tells what is behind the song, how it has changed since his first steps and what he wants to share with his first album. Read the full interview.
“Cara Lavada” comes after “Desinterés”. What changed in Yarge between one song and the next? What new perspective appears now on that relationship that ended?
Well, “Cara Lavada” and “Desinterés” are on the same branch of heartbreak. Although they both talk about things that I think are quite Generation Z—I’m 21 years old—“Cara Lavada” is one of the singles from an album that will be released soon and I feel that it is very much within the theme of what people of this generation experience: disinterest, falsehood or pretending to be someone else, even through a screen.
I wanted to write a little about that and that’s how “Cara Lavada” came out. I think it has more pop elements and shows my singer-songwriter side. I wrote it from scratch with a guitar. “Desinterés”, on the other hand, is a little more urban and has more trap rhythms.
What does the title “Cara Lavada” mean to you? What did you want to convey with that image?
“Cara Lavada” represents a person who has many bad things and who, when he goes out into the light or is in front of a screen, metaphorically washes his face. It’s like a metaphor for someone who hides their things to make others think they are someone else.
There is a phrase or an idea in the song that very well sums up the moment of discovering who the other person really was. What part of “Cara Lavada” do you feel best represents the Yarge of today?
I think it’s already in the first verse, when I’m aware that that person is lying to me. The verse says: “I know that nothing you say is true.” It’s like telling myself that I already know that person is a liar, someone false, a “washed up face.”
I can also connect it to my previous project, Levels, which I did when I was 18 years old. He was more vulnerable and talked about deeper topics. In this new project I am giving a more empowered and different message, but without leaving aside that touch of vulnerability that represents me so much and that people like.
You are only 21 years old, but many of your songs are based on emotional experiences that people of different ages identify with. What have you learned about yourself by turning your experiences into songs?
I have learned how important it is to show yourself vulnerable. I think I grew up with that fear that many people have of showing their sentimental or emotional side.
As a composer, I feel that this is one of the superpowers that God gave me: being able to channel the emotions I feel through my music. Maybe another person doesn’t know how to explain themselves and you, as a composer, put it into words.
At first I was embarrassed to show my songs, but it has taught me many lessons. I have learned not to be afraid to be vulnerable and emotional, because I am. I am a very sentimental and sensitive person, and I feel that many people need to listen to someone who understands them. That is my purpose.
You started by sharing covers on social networks. At what moment did you feel that you stopped being a girl who sang other people’s songs and began to build your own artistic identity?
I think when I’ve Been Through A Lot came out it was a 360 degree turn for me. The song had the same format as the covers, a girl singing a sad song, but I felt that what I had to do was upload my own compositions.
There I understood that I could be good at writing songs, because I was very insecure about that. I always felt that I was better at singing than composing, but that project made me see that people identified with what I wrote.
I still enjoy singing covers because I love singing, but I’m no longer so insecure about showing my compositions. I think that song changed the perspective I had about myself.
Your brother Argenis Ruiz is not only your brother, but also the producer of your songs. What is it like working together when it comes to turning something as personal as a sentimental experience into music?
My brother was an indispensable figure at the beginning of my career. He was the first person to take me to a recording studio and teach me how to record. He started music before me and ended up teaching me practically everything I know.
We are from Punto Fijo, a fairly small city, where there are not so many artists or recording studios. That led us to learn and buy our own equipment. With the opportunities that arose, we got our first equipment and our first computer to be able to record.
It was a very special process that I lived with him. Now I work with a lot of producers, I’m freer and I’m experimenting, but he’s always going to be the person I started with. I don’t know if, without your support, I would be dedicating myself to this as I do today.
Is the album going to maintain this line of songs about relationships and emotions or are we going to get to know other facets of Yarge?
The album is like a total release. I am not only going to talk about heartbreak or love, but about many experiences that people live. Although I say that they are themes of my generation, I feel that in many songs older people can also be identified, like my mother, my father, my grandfather or my little brother.
I like to compose on quite timeless themes. I also talk about anxiety, pressure and insecurities. I tried to be as genuine as possible and true to myself, because I feel like the audience notices when you’re not real.
At the end of the day I am a 21 year old girl who is also entering adulthood and going through a lot. It’s a little complicated, but I tried to put all that into the lyrics.
What does Yarge dream of conquering with this debut album that he hasn’t yet conquered?
I want to connect with people. I feel that there are not so many artists who connect from a place of vulnerability and I understood that that was my purpose: to compose songs that can accompany other people and become a refuge.
When I have bad days, I also like to take refuge in my favorite artist and think that, although he looks perfect in his videos, he also goes through things that are not so different from mine.
I want the public to feel that closeness and know that I can sing pop, reggaeton and be a pop star, but I also have a genuine musical side. Being able to connect with people through a keyboard and my voice, telling experiences in which they can see themselves reflected, is the most important thing for me with this album.
I hope that more people know me through the networks and the concerts that I want to do in Latin America and Europe. That is my purpose with this project that I have been preparing for a long time and I already want it to come out.
