Daniella White is a woman of many talents and passions. Among the biggest of these passions is music, which White grew up loving. In her 20s she joined a band that later disbanded. This helped her focus on sound healing, becoming a Reiki Master along the way. During this time, she got more into electronic music. Even though she always had love for groups like Portishead and Massive Attack and artists like Bjork, White slowly but surely started infusing elements from her assorted musical interests into her own music. Also a visual artist, White is the headpiece designer of The Plumed Serpent atelier. Her designs have been featured in Nicki Minaj and Daphne Guinness music videos, as well as with Lizzo in Rolling Stone magazine.
White loved both her spiritual work and her music. Though the sound bath and other spiritual techniques she works were calming and transpersonal, she had another side to her that was equally as thoughtful yet full of attitude. With this mentality in mind, White’s YellaCatt project began to come to fruition.
YellaCatt is Born
YellaCatt is White’s most personal project to date—and possibly her most experimental. White has teamed up with producer Jonny Joon (a.k.a Jonathan Hakakian) to create music that’s truly unique and an extension of herself. “We make magic together,” White explains. “He’s Persian and classically trained so he has this great musical vocabulary to choose from. He works with different types of instrumentation I wouldn’t have been exposed to—he’s amazing.”
When speaking on YellaCatt’s music, White says it’s all personal and all attitude while trying to be really thoughtful through its lyrics. “I want to craft a good song that also has something really unique to it and a message that isn’t that hard to read.” She goes on to say, “What I usually end up focusing on is empowerment: sexual empowerment, personal empowerment and growth.”
The Show
Speaking of personal growth and empowerment, YellaCatt’s latest single, “The Show,” is chock full of it. The song reflects on some of her trials and tribulations and not having to hold on to mental and physical strain. “That’s probably the goal of every spiritual practice. It’s to be able to let go of things and not let it dictate how you feel and future choices,” White says. When speaking on the song itself, she says, “The lyrics and the melody came to me pretty quickly. I think it’s my best song yet.”
The music video for “The Show” demonstrates how collaboration plays a part in YellaCatt’s success. Teaming up with photographer Sequoia Emmanuelle, YellaCatt created a true visual spectacle. “She’s my best friend and we’ve been doing these photoshoots creating worlds around my headpieces. When I started making music Sequoia and I were like, ‘Let’s do music videos!’” Sequoia utilized her business connections and helped put together an amazing team, including cinematographer Malcolm Guess and stylist Melvin Sanders. “It feels like a family. They’re invested and they love the music, they’re my biggest fans. It feels supportive and special.”
When speaking on what working with such a team means to her, she says, “Collaborating and bringing something out of each other you didn’t know you had is one of the best things.” She goes on to say, “It’s really the alchemy, the working together with people who are maybe a little different than you, and you alchemize and create this new art baby.”
What’s Next?
YellaCatt is currently working on a number of songs to release in the new year. She is also planning on a Spring/Summer West Coast tour. Even though things haven’t gone exactly back to the way they were before the pandemic as far as live shows are concerned, YellaCatt is definitely up to the challenge. “I’ve played a bunch of shows in Seattle. My mentality has been ‘I don’t care if no one comes out, I’ll play’ and people came out.” She continues by saying, “I love performing. It’s like the ultimate challenge to hold that energy, hit all of your dance moves, notes and bring your soul out and connect with an audience—I love it.”
Now, tours and new music are usually indicators of a new album, but when asked, YellaCatt said, “I could have done it that way but everyone I know has been telling me it’s not what people are doing right now. My songs will get more attention if I release them one by one or EP style.” She concludes by stating, “Eventually yeah, I want to do that—just not right now. I have to be strategic.” yellacatt.com
