Hi everyone, it’s your host Faithfulness, and today I have with me You Liang from Tokyo, Japan. You Liang is here to share more insight about his musical journey while diving into his latest original single, “Feel Addicted,” released on 16th January 2026. “Feel Addicted” is a sun drenched Pop House anthem inspired by a beachside walk during IMS Ibiza. Blending happy Latin instrumentation, a smooth saxophone lead, and Afro accented English vocals, this track captures the carefree euphoria of a European summer. Produced by Tokyo based You Liang, a resident at WOMB and ZEROTOKYO, this release moves away from darker club sounds and embraces pure warmth, groove, and uplifting energy. In You Liang’s words, “I wrote this track to bottle that feeling of walking down the beach in Ibiza during IMS. It’s not about the dark club room this time; it’s about the sunshine and the walk home.” What does it mean for You Liang to transform a personal moment from Ibiza into a global dance anthem? How does this release represent a new side of his artistry? Let’s find out.
Welcome, You Liang. Before we begin our interview, here is what you need to know about this talented artist. You Liang is a Tokyo based DJ and producer with roots in Singapore, bringing over 11 years of experience within the music industry. His musical journey began through acapella arrangements before evolving into house remixes and eventually his own original productions. With a passion for blending cultures and sounds, You Liang has developed a unique approach to electronic music that combines melodic energy, polished production, and global influences. His previous single, “Maybe Tonight,” released on 5th September 2025, showcased his solo production abilities, carefully crafted from his Tokyo studio. Beyond producing music, You Liang has become an established name within Japan’s electronic scene, holding resident roles at some of Tokyo’s leading clubs while creating experiences that connect audiences through rhythm and atmosphere.
“Feel Addicted” represents a refreshing chapter in You Liang’s artistic journey, inspired by the intersection of Latin House, Sax House, and the vibrant energy of Ibiza sunsets. The track was created to capture the feeling of walking along the beach after IMS, surrounded by warmth, freedom, and the beauty of the moment. Produced in Tokyo, the release carries the contrast of bringing tropical energy into a dense metropolitan environment, allowing music to become an escape from everyday surroundings. Through its Afro accented vocals, Latin percussion, and expressive saxophone melodies, “Feel Addicted” focuses on groove rather than intensity, creating a sophisticated and immersive listening experience. As You Liang continues connecting his Tokyo roots with the global dance music community through performances, production, and innovative sound, this release stands as a celebration of travel, memories, and the emotions that inspire music.
Having this brief Introduction, I’m sure new and current fans must be excited about our Interview today.
INTERVIEW
Faithfulness: What was the spark that inspired “Feel Addicted”, and how did your trip to IMS Ibiza influence the track’s vibe?
You Liang: The immediate spark came during IMS Ibiza. I was walking along the beach back to my lodgings, and the combination of the ocean, the warmth and the Balearic atmosphere made everything feel unusually open and carefree. I wanted to preserve that exact walk. That said, the melodic seed was much older. About seven years earlier, during a solo trip through southern Africa, I recorded a rough voice memo inspired by the journey. I carried it for years without finding the right setting for it. Ibiza gave that idea its context. “Feel Addicted” became a bridge between those two memories: something raw and personal from Africa, translated into a clean, modern Pop House record in Tokyo.
Faithfulness: Can you describe your decision to shift from darker Tokyo club sounds to a warmer, sun-drenched Pop House style?
You Liang: The shift happened because my life and career were moving into a more optimistic phase, and the music needed to reflect that honestly. Around the middle of 2025, I started leaning more strongly into Piano House, brighter chords and melodic structures. International bookings were increasing, I was travelling more, and I felt a sense of momentum that I had not felt for a long time. Tokyo has a strong industrial and dark-club identity, but I did not want to compete by becoming another version of that. I wanted to create something lighter, more emotional and more open. “Feel Addicted” is about the sunlight and the walk home.
Faithfulness: You’ve drawn inspiration from artists like Bakermat and Klingande. How did their sound shape your approach to creating music as a whole?
You Liang: Bakermat and Klingande showed me that organic instruments could carry a dance record without making it feel less contemporary. Their music treats saxophone, flute and other acoustic textures as the main emotional voice, not as decoration placed on top of a house beat. That idea influenced me, but I did not want to reproduce their exact sound. My own starting point is usually piano, harmony and vocal phrasing. I took the openness of saxophone house and combined it with the melodic economy I learned from a cappella, J-pop writing and years of reading club crowds. The larger lesson was that a house track can be accessible, musical and emotionally direct while still functioning properly on a dancefloor.
Faithfulness: “Feel Addicted” blends Latin percussion, saxophone, and Afro-accented vocals. How did that come about?
You Liang: It came together in layers rather than through one genre plan. The original voice memo carried the emotional connection to Africa. Later, during ADE, a label owner listened to my catalogue and told me that my strength with piano melodies could translate naturally into saxophone house. That comment gave me a practical direction for an idea I had been holding for years. I made the saxophone the lead voice in the drop, then used Latin percussion to add movement and warmth. The Afro-accented English vocal brought another human and global element to the record. The key was restraint: each influence has a clear role, but none of them overwhelms the song or turns it into a collage of references.
Faithfulness: What unique creative techniques did you employ to make the saxophone and vocals feel “live” and organic?
You Liang: The main technique was to treat the saxophone and vocal like performers rather than like samples that needed to be forced perfectly onto the grid. I kept the arrangement relatively minimal so the natural phrasing and adlibs could remain audible. The saxophone owns the midrange when it enters, so I removed competing elements instead of simply making it louder. With the vocal, I focused on preserving the character of the delivery and placing it rhythmically inside the groove rather than flattening it with excessive editing. Automation was also important: small changes in level, space and tone help the phrases feel as though they are moving through the track. Organic sound is often created by leaving room in the production.
Faithfulness: Do you have a personal quote or reflection about this track that captures your artistic journey?
You Liang: A line that captures the record for me is: “Sometimes an idea does not need to be replaced; it just needs the right memory to complete it.” The melodic seed existed for years, but I could not force it into a finished track. It took a completely different trip, a different stage of my life and the atmosphere of Ibiza for me to understand what it was supposed to become. That reflects my wider journey as an artist. I have moved through a cappella, game music pop music, remixes, underground clubs and residencies. None of those chapters were wasted. They became layers that eventually formed my own sound.
Faithfulness: In crafting this track, did you focus more on groove, melody, or atmosphere, and why?
You Liang: Melody came first, but atmosphere decided what the melody needed to become. My process usually begins with a piano idea or a chord progression that creates an immediate emotional response. If it does not work in that simple form, I normally do not continue. For “Feel Addicted,” however, the beach atmosphere was equally important because it determined the space around the melody: open, warm and unhurried. The groove came after that and gave the record physical movement. I see the three elements as a hierarchy rather than a choice between them. Melody provides the identity, atmosphere provides the world, and groove makes that world move.
Faithfulness: You transitioned from acapella arrangements to house remixes and original productions. How has your approach to music evolved over 11 years?
You Liang: A cappella taught me to hear music before I learned to build productions. When you only have voices, you have to understand harmony, phrasing, counterpoint and emotional movement without hiding behind sound design. Writing for game music and underground J-pop projects later taught me how to create concise melodies for specific characters, vocal ranges and structural limits. House remixes then taught me dancefloor architecture: repetition, tension, release and the importance of timing. Over 11 years, I have become less interested in proving technical complexity and more interested in clarity. Today I try to make every element earn its place. The tools and genres have changed, but I still approach a track like an arrangement of voices: each part needs a purpose and a relationship with the others.
Faithfulness: Compared to your previous release “Maybe Tonight”, what new creative directions or experiments are present in “Feel Addicted”?
You Liang: “Maybe Tonight” is more direct and vocal-led, with a stronger sense of longing and a clear electronic-pop payoff. It was also a major validation for me because Don Diablo supported it before it was signed and later played it again. “Feel Addicted” moves in a different direction. It is warmer, more rhythmically organic and less dependent on a conventional festival-style build. The saxophone becomes the main hook, the percussion has more human swing, and the arrangement leaves more air between elements. I was also experimenting with cultural texture: combining Latin movement, an African memory and a Balearic setting without losing the clean accessibility of Pop House. It is a quieter kind of confidence than “Maybe Tonight,” but it expands my sound much further.
Faithfulness: Were there any key collaborators or mentors who influenced this release, and how did they help shape the track?
You Liang: There was no co-producer shaping the record, but several people influenced its final direction. The vocalist delivered the Afro-accented English part and asked to remain uncredited, which I respect even though I normally prefer to credit everyone involved. At ADE, the label owner of Solea Records encouraged me to explore saxophone house after hearing the melodic side of my catalogue; that suggestion helped unlock the production concept. The older emotional foundation also came from my solo trip through southern Africa and the friend I later met in Cape Town, even though he was not a musical collaborator. More broadly, feedback and support from labels such as Hexagon have given me confidence to trust my melodic instincts. The track is self-produced, but it was shaped by conversations, travel and relationships accumulated over several years.
Faithfulness: Could you talk about your recent performances, like at WOMB or ZEROTOKYO, and how it contributed to your music career?
You Liang: Playing regularly at WOMB and ZEROTOKYO has given me two very different forms of education. ZEROTOKYO is large, mainstream and impact-driven, so a set needs clear peaks and immediate momentum. WOMB is more groove-focused, and the room will expose a weak rhythm very quickly. Performing in both environments has taught me how to make music that can translate without losing its identity. It has also forced me to improve technically and to trust my own unreleased material in front of real audiences. At WOMB, working as Sound Producer for the ASK TASK event also taught me restraint: how to build atmosphere without relying on constant drops. Those experiences directly influenced the spacing, pacing and versatility of “Feel Addicted.”
Faithfulness: Can you describe a memorable moment from performing this track live or previewing it for an audience?
You Liang: What I remember most is playing the track in a club environment where the surrounding music was much darker and more aggressive. I was not expecting a dramatic “festival drop” reaction because the record is not built that way. Instead, I saw people begin moving almost immediately to the groove, and the mood of the room visibly softened. Some people smiled even though they had never heard the track before. That reaction mattered because it confirmed the central idea: a record does not need to be familiar or loud to connect. When the melody, groove and emotional tone are clear, people understand it instinctively. That kind of honest first-listen response is one reason I test so much unreleased music in my sets.
Faithfulness: What makes you stand out in the current Pop House landscape, and why should listeners pay attention to your music?
You Liang: I think standing out means combining your experiences in a way that nobody else can reproduce exactly. My music comes from a Singaporean multicultural background; I was brought up learning songs of multiple languages and cultures including Thai, Mandarin, Malay, and more. Combined with more than a decade of songwriting, the discipline of Tokyo club residencies and the perspective of playing internationally, I am comfortable moving between radio-friendly songwriting and club functionality because I have spent years working on both sides. I also play a large amount of my own music in my sets, so the records are tested in real rooms rather than designed only for playlists. Listeners should pay attention because the emotional hook is immediate, but there are also many layers behind that simplicity.
Faithfulness: How does this release reflect your identity as an artist bridging Tokyo roots with global dance culture?
You Liang: The release reflects the balance I have developed between openness and discipline. Growing up in Singapore exposed me to multiple languages, cultures and musical traditions, so combining Latin percussion, Afro-influenced vocals and European house structure does not feel unusual to me. Tokyo gave me precision, restraint and the ability to read conservative dancefloors where unfamiliar music has to earn trust. Ibiza added a direct connection to the history and global present of house music. “Feel Addicted” brings those influences together without trying to sound like a tourism brochure for any one place. It is a global record, but it was filtered through my own memories and completed in my studio in Tokyo.
Faithfulness: If curators or fans could take away one feeling or image from “Feel Addicted”, what would you want it to be?
You Liang: I want people to imagine the moment after a long day when the sun is still warm, the ocean is beside you and there is nowhere you urgently need to be. You are walking back from the beach with someone you care about, or perhaps alone but completely comfortable with yourself. The record should feel like that brief space where everything becomes lighter and you are fully inside the present moment. For curators, I see it fitting naturally into sunny-day, poolside, summer-house and melodic dance settings. For listeners, the exact location does not matter. I simply want the track to leave them feeling warmer than they did before it started.
CHECK OUT THE RELEASE OF ‘Feel Addicted’
HAVING LISTENED TO ‘Feel Addicted’, HERE ARE MY HONEST THOUGHTS
You Liang’s “Feel Addicted” is a captivating electronic release that showcases the Tokyo-based producer’s refined artistry and evolving sonic identity. The track blends Afro-house grooves, Latin rhythms, and melodic warmth to create an immersive dance experience. Built around a driving four-on-the-floor foundation, intricate percussion, vibrant saxophone melodies, and polished vocal textures work together with remarkable balance. You Liang’s production approach avoids unnecessary intensity, instead focusing on atmosphere, movement, and emotional connection. The sun-soaked inspiration from Ibiza is reflected through the track’s uplifting energy and euphoric hooks. Every element feels carefully placed, highlighting impressive layering and sonic precision. “Feel Addicted” captures the essence of modern electronic music while preserving organic character and soulful expression. It stands as a vibrant showcase of You Liang’s creativity and ability to transform groove into a truly memorable musical journey today.
~ Faithfulness (Dulaxi Team)
Finally to our audience, I urge to listen to “Feel Addicted“, add it to your playlist and be Inspired by it and on behalf of Dulaxi I like to appreciate you all by saying thank you everyone, See you on our next interview.
For more information about You Liang, click on the icons below.