Belgian producer and DJ Polar Youth is an underrated veteran with nearly a decade in the game. Her music first graced the pages of FUXWITHIT back in 2015 and she’s remained on our periphery ever since. Over the last 8 years, her sound and style has evolved several times over, adapting to the shifting state of dance music without ever losing what makes her who she is. 2023 is shaping up to be an incredible year for the artist. She kicked things off with one of her most impressive works to date with the standout single from Quality Goods Records’ QGRC-006 compilation. ‘You Say’ sees Polar Youth exploring an emotional and intoxicating UKG vibe that’s beyond infectious. Building upon that sonic direction, she recently unveiled a vibe-laden official remix of Flux Pavilion’s ‘Ironheart’ featuring BullySongs.
It’s only up for Polar Youth so what better time than now to connect with her for a guest mix + interview? The mix effortlessly moves between feel-good garage and darker, heavier bass-leaning sounds with impressive tact. Primed for dance floors or afternoon chillouts, this one is ready for whatever you need the soundtrack to. As for our interview, we discuss living in Belgium, her artistic evolution, her love for cats and motorcycles, signing with Quality Goods Management, and why you need to live life to the fullest. Check out the mix and interview below.
Tell us about the mix. Where are you taking listeners when they press play?
I’m taking them to music that I’ve been listening to a lot lately, from UK garage to breakbeat to house. Besides these genres, I am a huge hip-hop head ;-)
How’s Belgium treating you? Do you see yourself living there forever?
Belgium’s great, I really can’t complain. Our healthcare is great which I find very important. While the weather isn’t great, there are no natural disasters haha…I don’t think I will live here forever, though. I have a very ‘YOLO’ mindset so I think I would hold myself back if I stayed here. I’ve always been drawn to South Korea and New Zealand so maybe one day I’ll live there too, who knows?
You really just have to be open-minded and evolve with the music scene if you want to stay up-to-date and relevant.
You’ve been in the electronic music scene for nearly a decade, how much has it evolved over this time? How have you evolved with it?
It changes so much and so often. New music styles emerge almost every day. Even I struggle to keep up with all these subgenres. It’s nice though, it really shows that people keep trying to push their creative limits and come up with new things and I can only admire and respect that. You really just have to be open-minded and evolve with the music scene if you want to stay up-to-date and relevant.
What drew you to the UKG sound as of late? Should we expect more releases in this direction?
I’m not sure how I got into UKG. I think it has to do with my music taste changing over time, which influences my productions too. Yes! I do have more UKG-inspired releases coming, sooner than you think.
What’s the wildest place music has taken you?
It may sound boring to some but Oxford, England. That’s where I stayed a whole week at DJ Fresh’s place making music. I met him in Belgium after a show and he was very impressed by my production skills so he invited me to his house in Oxford to hang out and make music together. It was a crazy and productive week and I loved every second of it.
I would love to have a farm one day with hundreds of animals. If I was rich I’d have 6 motorcycles by now but I have to make do with one for the time being.
What brings you happiness outside of music?
Animals and motorcycles. I have 3 cats and 2 aquariums filled with shrimp, snails, and a couple of fish. I would love to have a farm one day with hundreds of animals. If I was rich I’d have 6 motorcycles by now but I have to make do with one for the time being.
Congratulations on your recent signing with Quality Goods Management. What made you want to work with them? How has it been so far?
Thank you! I’m so happy to be working with Mouna from QG Management. Reading interviews about her and what she has achieved and experienced convinced me to reach out to her. I met her for the first time in real life at the beginning of February and the vibe between me and her is just perfect. This collaboration is still fresh but we have done so much already! I’m very grateful.
You took a pretty substantial break from Twitter over the past few years. What prompted the time away? What brought you back?
I have a bit of a hard time keeping up with all these social media platforms. So I decided to focus on Facebook and Instagram. What brought me back to Twitter is the fact that I can connect with fans and other producers, people I look up to so easily. People just share their thoughts and use it as a sounding board. There’s something special about Twitter that other platforms don’t offer. I find it more personal & authentic weirdly.
Stop getting stressed about small things, enjoy the company of your loved ones, don’t get mad about silly things. That mindset helps me go through tough times and it really made me realize that life is a beautiful thing.
What’s the best life lesson you’ve learned in the past year or two?
When my grandmother passed away in 2020, I realized that you really have to live life to the fullest. Stop getting stressed about small things, enjoy the company of your loved ones, don’t get mad about silly things. That mindset helps me go through tough times and it really made me realize that life is a beautiful thing. I also have a tattoo on my arm that says ‘t kan altijd erger ’ which is the Dutch meaning of “it could always be worse.”
What’s on the horizon for you in 2023?
Definitely loads of music – all is ready to be rolled just locking in the last details & finding for some the right homes ;-)
Tracklist
Selah Sue – Pills (Polar Youth remix)
Cassie – Me & U (Legato Edit)
Informa Dub – Casnova
Y U QT – Homeless dub
Flux Pavilion – Iron heart ft. BullySongs (Polar Youth remix)
Fred Again x Swedish House Mafia – Turn on the lights (Mikey B & Motion remix)
Etta Bond – On a beach (Champion remix)
Jarreau Vandal – Bad shit (JEFTUZ UKG remix)
Notion – Dancehall Dub (B side)
Champion – Woah
Hyfinn & Yüthe – One Kiss
Lovellious & Judge Jude – Noise in the place
Overmono – So u Know (9Trane bootleg)
Dj Seinfeld – Someday (Salute remix)
Duskus – Holding U
Mz Bratt – Selecta (Disaffected Bootleg)
DubPlates #6 – Down on me
Notion – Talking the hardest edit
Sir Spyro – Topper Top ft. Teddy Bruckshot, Lady Chann and Killa P (Disaffected Bootleg)
Redlight – Get out of my head
