Making tender work in overwhelming times with YANA

A conversation with YANA on silence, intimacy, and the courage to make tender music in turbulent times

In this conversation, we talk about the journey from classical training to finding her own voice, and what it actually takes to protect the original feeling of an idea without overworking it into something unrecognisable. We explore the intimacy in her music, and how she thinks about simplicity as a creative act. We also sit with a question many artists are carrying right now: how do you keep making tender, meaningful work when the world feels overwhelming? A gentle and honest conversation for anyone learning to trust their own creative instincts.

About YANA

YANA (Joanna Bieńkowska) is a classically trained violinist, instrumentalist and composer based in Gdańsk, Poland.

She successfully combines classical instruments with electronic textures. She has two full-length albums to her credit — her debut, self-released Solace and Daydreamer, released in 2024 on the label founded by Icelandic producer and multi-instrumentalist Ólafur Arnalds — OPIA Community. The album delves deep into the human psyche, charting a path from inner darkness to emotional renewal. Through this new release YANA delivers an emotional and cinematic journey.

In 2025, YANA released the EP The Light Between Us, which consists of six tracks created for an exhibition of Malaysian painter Sylvia Ong.

YANA also creates music for visual projects — her portfolio also includes two soundtracks for short films.

She is currently performing on Polish and European stages, promoting her latest album Daydreamer.

About me

Pascale Côté is a creativity guide, therapeutic arts practitioner, and strategic thought partner to artists, culture-builders and creative teams. I help them re-member their creative nature, channel their imagination in generative ways, and create from a rooted place.

About the podcast

Creative minds are the architects of a new world, and their art holds the keys to reimagining our reality. The challenge is, creative minds often spend just as much time crafting self-limiting narratives as they do creating their art. Dear Creative Mind is a space for creative liberation—a pathway out of the cycle of overthinking, burnout, and stagnation.

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A special thank you to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alexandra Moreno⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the original music of the podcast.