Yorke: Global Collaboration Meets Australian Pop

Photography by Sara Regan

Byron Bay pop artist Yorke is embracing collaboration and inviting global artists into her world with the release of the ‘finished business’ EP.  

Grace Hughes, better known by her artist name Yorke, has created a musical universe of rich imagery, connecting with fans here in Australia and internationally. Having represented our ever-growing pop scene to crowds across the country, her ability to capture human experiences through addictive pop melodies will have you running back to her music again and again. 

Her 2025 release ‘unfinished business' is set to be complete on April 10, with the ‘finished business’ EP seeing the reimagining of the six tracks, from artists across the globe. These collaborations see her tracks be reinvented with differing perspectives, languages and genres, alongside the original existing releases. 

The opportunity to have collaborators on the ‘finished business' EP was something that was always on the cards for Yorke; it was only a matter of everything falling into place.“I love collaborating with different artists, and the first time I really did it was on the Joan remix of ‘window shopping’," Yorke said. “Watching how people reacted, how fun it was to bounce off another artist and see how one of my songs would fit into their world just really inspired me. I'm so curious to see how other artists work.

“There were no rules, no boundaries; they were allowed to do whatever they wanted, and I love that. With every song, I've learned about myself, different genres, and various cultures, as well as how their music works and how they perceive things differently from us. It really has been so insightful and exciting to see it all play out.”

Yorke said she wanted the EP to celebrate collaboration on a global scale. “I really wanted this EP to portray how collaboration is everything, and how supporting incredible artists from all around the world is so exciting. It's been so fun, and especially to watch my fans fall in love with artists that they never would have heard of.” 

Whether Yorke was reaching out to collaborators or being contacted herself, the internet proved to be a powerful tool in connecting her with artists around the world. Japanese band indigo la End invited Yorke to open for them at their sold-out show in Tokyo, after discovering her music online.

While in Japan, Yorke debuted the ‘sorry in advance’ re-work live with indigo la End, who were the first collaborators pinned for the reimagined project. “It's forever a mystery how they actually found me, but the internet has just enabled me to communicate and collaborate in such a way that prior to that, I never would have been able to get in touch with these artists, or let alone have them respond and be so keen and excited.” 

“The ‘window shopping’ featuring Joan version went viral in Japan, and people just started making fan edits of that song on YouTube, and then it got on a convenience store playlist over there. 

“I'm guessing that's how indigo la End found me, but they found one of my really deep cuts, god bless the internet.” 

‘airplane mode’ is reimagined into the world of drum and bass by Sydney's electronic duo Hellcat Speedracer, taking the reins on the track to create a sound truly out of this world. “Those guys are just so crazy talented, and I'm the biggest fan of them. I was really honoured that they were willing to do the remix,” said Yorke. “It was crazy how my voice is so different in that song, and they've just manipulated it to make it sound so cool. I definitely felt that with ‘airplane mode' being a drum and bass version, I had never heard myself like that before.”

South Korean singer-songwriter Alice U reached out to Yorke's team to collaborate, featuring on the track ‘i wanna hate you’, a catchy pop track where U’s vocals intertwined seamlessly with Yorke’s. 

The reimagined track offers another female perspective to the song, centred on friendship breakups. “It was nice to be able to portray the other side in the song,” said Yorke. 

‘love on the run’ features acclaimed Japanese singer-songwriter YUKA, a collaboration that began after Yorke discovered one of her songs on a playlist. “I messaged her on Instagram and told her that I really liked her song, and then I was in Tokyo, and we caught up for coffee. We just got along really well, so after that happened, I was like, hey do you want to feature one of my songs and that's how ‘love on the run’ happened.” 

‘the villain’, features New Zealand songwriter-producer Wells* adding another layer in terms of perspective to the track, while ‘unfinished business’ features rising Vietnamese star MINH. This was the last collaboration track to come to life after Yorke performed on the Music Matters line-up in Singapore alongside MINH.

Describing the EP’s energy, Yorke likened it to adding more people into a room and watching the vibe grow stronger as the night goes on. “I love the ‘unfinished business’ EP, but I feel like there's something about having it as an A-side and a B-side for me that really just brings it all together into this little package.” 

“That's kind of how I see it, it's fun, and the vibes are high, but then you see someone you don't know, you want to introduce them. That’s how i see each of the songs.” 

Slowly but surely, the attitudes around pop music in Australia are starting to turn a tide. Yorke noted that when visiting countries such as Japan, it was so refreshing that pop music is so accepted.  “I have found overseas, everyone is so excited to collaborate because there's no ego,” Yorke said. “It's just the easiest process, and they really want to help you. There's definitely not the tall poppy thing over there.”

“For me, I can finally feel free and excited, and it definitely reinvigorates me to love pop music again. But then I kind of find it a bit sad, I'll come back to Australia and be like "oh, we're not at that same point yet.”

“In the last 6 months, it's been so exciting. I was watching videos of Salty at the Peach PRC show, and I know how much work she has put in, and it brings me so much joy and literal goosebumps. People in Australia deserve to be on the global stage, and there are so many like Darcie Haven and Aleksiah.”

“I feel like it's gonna be a great year because Australian pop music is definitely becoming less stigmatised.” 

One standout moment for Yorke was during a Rolling Stone Japan interview with Enon, the singer of indigo la End. “We were able to talk about artists that we think the other person would like, from each other's culture. So I got the opportunity to really shine a light on some incredible artists from Australia that he might like. He went home and looked them up, and he ended up messaging me the next day, being like, these artists are insane.”

With her unfinished business now complete, Yorke is stepping into an exciting new chapter for the year ahead. Receiving her first vinyl pressing of the EP marked a significant milestone.

“I unboxed my vinyl and just knowing all the hours of work, all the Instagram DMs, all the collaborations, and all the people from across the world made it onto this little disc. I definitely will say that the new era is not far away. People will probably think that it's further away, but just watch out.”

“We've got lots planned for this year, and I'm so excited. It's the best music that I've ever made. It's been a very formative year, and I feel really excited to take this knowledge into the next era. I feel a lot more confident, I know a lot more of who I am, and it's gonna be a fun one.”

You can stream/pre-save/pre-add/pre-order the ’finished business’ EP here (vinyl here) out April 10.