DJ Vylt brings dark, headbanging horror beats to life

She is a horror aficionado turned disc jockey.

Violet Yang, 24, is a psychology student at NUS who has loved horror for as long as she can remember.

Her DJing journey started in late 2022 at the Blacklight Tribe, a goth collective rave.

Wearing the costume of a Lolita witch, she caught the attention of the organiser, who asked her to be a DJ for the next rave of the Blacklight Tribe, although she had never touched a DJ deck before.

Violet said the organiser, who knew she was a music producer, likes to offer opportunities and push people out of their comfort zones. 

She was taught some basic techniques by experienced local DJs who were alumni of NUS’ Electronic Music Lab, of which she is a part.

A week later, at the next Blacklight Tribe rave, she was up on stage spinning her first-ever set to a large crowd.

“What I find interesting about DJing is that you can tailor the difficulty to yourself,” she said.

“The DJ’s main job is to seamlessly transition from one song to another, without breaking or losing the energy of the party.”

Violet has been producing horror music for close to a decade, but it was only after 2021 that she started creating songs using a virtual synthesiser and posting them online. 

She released her first track, Vytality, in March 2022. It was created using the virtual synth Vital, hence the title, she said, adding that she started messing around with the instrument and ended up crafting a whole track.

The 24-year-old performs about two gigs every month; she DJs at dark alternative, electronic raves like Blacklight, as well as at rock and metal raves such as Odyssey and Rip N Tear, both of which take place at Phil Studio, an event venue at GR.iD in Selegie Road.

She also performed at the Singapore Art Museum for the Olafur Eliasson: Your Curious Journey exhibition in September 2024, with her music portraying sensations of the paranormal.

Violet spins to 1980s retro horror synth music, all dressed in black and with a mask covering half her face.

Apart from spinning the deck, she also performs with the electric guitar and synthesiser – sometimes all three in one day over separate sessions, she said. 

Her song Vybrancy – which starts off with a fast-paced rhythm and electric sounds, almost like the soundtrack of an anime fighting scene with a hint of eeriness – is her most-listened-to track on digital music service Spotify, with people playing it more than 290,000 times. 

Priding herself on her brand, Vylt (pronounced as Violet) commissions artists to illustrate cover images for her tracks and adds “Vy” for wordplay to her titles.

To engage with her fans, she posts on Instagram, YouTube and her Discord server, where she promotes her music and has established a community of like-minded listeners, she said. In December 2024, she hit 10,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. 

“In the earlier days, producing music was a way for me to express myself,” she said. “I had many online friends who were big fans of this genre, so I decided to make music to reach those people, knowing that they’ll love it.”

As a member of the Electronic Music Lab co-curricular activity in NUS since 2022, she has co-organised and performed at multiple events, such as a Valentine’s Day themed event in February 2024.

The young artist plans to debut her first album within the next few years, describing its theme as “brutal”.

She has also recently started challenging herself to take up rock and metal music gigs.

While most of her current tracks are purely instrumental, she plans on working on her vocals with a professional coach, in hopes of adding songwriting to her music.

“Eventually, as an artist, I want to be able to write lyrics and connect with people at a deeper level, beyond just the music alone,” she said.