She has one of the most recognizable voices in the media industry today, having worked in multiple media organizations during the past decade, and now, with her recent partnerships with artists in the local English music circle, Yazmin Yousuf has made a name for herself as a top promoter of Sri Lankan entertainment. 

Looking back, Yazmin credits growing up in multicultural Dubai for exposing her to different genres of music and fuelling her creative side which led to her career for all things music related.  

“There was never a day where the radio was off. I listened to all kinds of genres but as I got older, I started to like artistes whose music made a lot of sense to me, like Metallica, Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, Phil Collins, Phankaj Udhas and to a certain extent, even the cheesier pop had some appeal.”

An introverted child with a learning disability, she had trouble fitting in and making friends, preferring to immerse herself in books instead of socializing; but as Yazmin says, her disability also made her more aware of her creative side which she is thankful for. After completing her O/L’s in Sri Lanka, encouraged by her art teacher to join radio, she applied for a position at EFM radio and was soon hired.

“I was there for 2 ½ half years. It was fantastic at first because it was all new to me, eventually I ended up learning the ropes to becoming a radio personality and an audio editor and I am grateful for that. I wouldn’t deny that it was tough blending in with the team at the time because of cultural differences etc. but there was that eventual warm up and the rest is history as they say.”

It was at this station that she had the first of her many No.1 shows, no easy feat for a radio first timer.  From there, she moved on to SunFM, where she even worked as a producer for different shows.

In 2007 she joined TNL Radio, and she says it was a dream come true for her to work at the first radio station she listened to after moving here. She was appointed the position of producer for the Morning Show which was at No.1 for a period of time and this was amongst some stiff competition. It was through this show that popular skits like Nature Boy, spoofs of Friday The 13^th, Titanic etc. were born.

A short stint at KissFM followed before she took up her current position at YESFM, a station she says she has no plans of leaving as it’s never dull and keeps her on her toes

Yazmin, along with several collaborators, organise numerous events to promote local musician such as the Alternative Sunday gigs. Along with promoting artistes through her events and shows, she also manages and mentors several up and coming musicians. Her recent accomplishment is the launch of a new website yazminyousuf.lk which focuses on highlighting the local English music scene through news and reviews.

 

  

“When I took over the Home Grown Show, I really wanted to know about the new artists out there. After digging through pages of info I managed to discover quite a few names that have gone onto becoming chart recognized now and a normal user wouldn’t have spent so much of time as I did on discovering these names. The biggest challenges I face as a music scout is to hunt down unknown Lankan musicians.” For Yazmin, the site is another avenue to explore her passion for Sri Lanka’s growing talent; in short, to give back to, as she puts it, “the most deserving scene in our island”.

“It doesn’t matter what genre’s they love to make, what matters is a collective support and every little bit goes a long way in helping someone’s career, be it making a song a hit or getting word on a gig.” She added.

With a successful career in broadcasting and her musical events and talent scouting running smoothly, Yazmin has plenty to look forward to this year.

 

 

 

 

By Lake Argent

Pics by Kithsiri de Mel