Yuk. is the recording alias of Los Angeles-based experimental hip-hop producer Chad Valencia, co-founder of DJ/artist collective My Hollow Drum. His abstract sound constructions feature hazy, smudgy atmospheres and splintered beats, often incorporating found sounds and organic instrumentation. He has a strong preference for analog equipment and media, as opposed to digital, and heavily uses cassette recorders in the creation of his music. His best-known releases, such as 2015's a n a k, have reached the public via Stones Throw-affiliated Leaving Records. After beginning My Hollow Drum in 2007 with fellow beat junkies including Teebs and Bahwee, yuk. released his debut cassette, a d w a in 2010, with Matthewdavid's Leaving Records giving the album its digital release. The following year, yuk. released Of Wilderness, a digital mixtape featuring remixes and collaborations with several L.A. beat scene regulars, including Knxwledge, Devonwho, and Ras G. Yuk. appeared on scene-surveying compilations on Dublab, Stones Throw, and Dropping Gems and on albums and mixes by Mndsgn and Teebs; he also co-founded the Filipino restaurant LASA with his brother Chase Valencia in 2014. In 2015, Leaving Records released a n a k, yuk.'s sophomore album, digitally as well as on cassette and vinyl. Although his career as a chef kept him busy, he returned in 2019 with an EP titled Paraiso. ~ Paul Simpson