Music Blog

YACHT are shrouded (or should that be triangulated?) by mystery, masonry and mmmm...maybe murmurs... all great intrigue, no doubt. But wait! In See Mystery Lights YACHT has just released one of the most consistent dance album in years, not only that - the chants are intelligent, or at least meaningful, and the hooks are fun. Shouldn't we just enjoy it and analyze it all later, winter maybe (when darkness descends...)?

YACHT are Jona Bechtolt & Claire L. Evans. Their music is very hot in Europe and the bigger US cities. Since signing for DFA they're sounding a lot more more like LCD Soundsystem, delivering a pulsing club dance format with a message reminiscent of Terry Hall (The Specials/Fun Boy Three etc.), yet it's still distinctly YACHT's sound with its own particular quirkiness.

Live, they're great theatre, all black and white drama; great entertainment. Their presence, onstage, online, wherever, is on message - there's a "TeamYACHT" mission and they're advocating a different understanding of life - and it's all very skillfully controlled and packaged.

YACHT's connections to backers who may have Masonic links has led to 'cultist' accusations, but Bechtolt frequently counters this interpretation: "The "Psychic City" video depicts us performing religious rituals from all eras of human spirituality... Those who think that this video is an old-fashioned love story between Good and Evil are only partially correct: we protest the stigma of "occultism" and see the Left and Right-Hand paths as being simply two roads through the same woods.


Some worried that Claire Evans joining the much admired Bechtolt in YACHT would spoil a unique talent. Far from it - although much of Evans vocal delivery is monotone speech she can sing well and adds a dimension to the act. They've been working together since the 2006 Blow remix, they "collaborate on everything" and together they've synthesized their world view and outward presentation into a unique style. One of the notable songs on which Bechtolt was first partnered in YACHT by Evans is "See A Penny Pick It Up", to which, co-incidentally, you can sing the Rolling Stone's "Miss You", so I teasingly asked...

- Who's going to sue first? You or Jagger?

JB: Hah, we never knew until it was made, it wasn't conscious... Maybe now, by 2009, it's impossible to come up with any single melody that's completely original.

- Then there's that refrain on "The Afterlife" (whose chorus channels Desmond Dekkar's The Israelites) is there an homage there? ("Hail to thee: Empire builders... we know how to make life go on and on")
JB: It's about Oregon and manifest destiny.
- & the second part...
JB: That was written... while I was in a floatation tank. We needed an conclusion and it just came to me.
This song is typical of the YACHT approach as Claire follows a popping dance bridge by repeating "It is not a place you go, it's a place that comes to you/ and it's not about who you know, or who is in your heart/ It may come as a surprise/ But you are not alone, all that you have, is not what you own" A bit more complex than say "Yeah, get down!" but it really works as Yacht bounce around the stage, skipping, leaping onto speakers.

- When did you last skip (off stage), and why?
CE: Oh I love to skip, especially when I'm in a hurry - much more comfortable than running!
JB: Yeah, not too long ago, I skip down stairs.
- Down those stairs?? (steep)
JB: Yep, you should see our friend Rich Jensen, he is truly a great skipper, he skips on the spot, skips in the woods, everywhere.

- I'm enjoying the phrases inserted into your dance music, it strikes me that this format of repeating/shifting messages with trance like popping beats is an ideal platform for YACHT. The phrases stick in my head, such as "protect your eyes, protect yourself from digital decay" &  "every day is a future memory, and I have no fear of growing old".
JB: The original Mystery Lights copy that we submitted to DFA was under nine minutes, just very simple structures with the lyrics. They encouraged us to build the songs up - into longer pop frameworks, that was a good challenge for us. We'd been trying to work out how to get these... how to integrate these hooks into dance side repeats. DFA were great, that's what we're after a collaborative effort.

*The original 9 minutessource of See Mystery Lights is being release on actual copper records printed with a restored 1930's copper press by Riot Cop.

- What is a "psychic city"? Is Astoria a a psychic city? Is it even a real place? You make it sound fictional or esoteric, like Nirvana or that place that sunk...

JB: Astoria has been highly fictionalized by movies that have been made there, and there is a connection to Nirvana (the band) - when I was a boy I felt inspired knowing that he came from a similar small coastal town (Aberdeen, Washington state) and could achieve all that.
CE: They're places where you can escape the smell of high-society.
JB: ...and yes, there's a Masonic element to these towns.
CE: It's not filthy in any way,
JB: No, it's a good place, "mildly ambient".

- Do you use an alarm clock?
JB: A cell-phone alarm
CE: It has a 'Mr Rogers' ringtone
JB: Yes, my Dad worked for PBS

- OK, is it fair to compare you to Springsteen?
[Laughs] - I don't know if it's fair, it's like the Talking Heads comparisons, they're both just so much better than us.
- My tongue in cheek comparison to Springsteen was really about having songs misunderstood: Your song "It's Boring/You Can Live Anywhere You Want" seems to have an
underlying rolling commentary, about potential: About idyls, but also about resource scarcity, like water...
CE: It could be misinterpreted, but we mean it to be open ended, there are double meanings, it's also about the online world, being able to 'go' anywhere while in isolation. The overall intention is a positive direction.
- On a scale of Black to White how do rate your chances of that song misrepresenting your views?
C: White! - and not just because Jona wears white.
J: Or the opposite...
J: I want to say grey

- Tell me more about the stark black/white imagery.
JB: It's not just for fun.
CE: We like to simplify for performance, the presentation... there's a style element...
JB: It's an alternative to all the dualities - like Mac v PC -
CE: ...we're stylized characters but fluid, it's part entertainment, part art project, but being more than just a band.

- How did you dress in early performances?
JB: Like, any Pacific NW band, jeans etc... like kids.
CE: Part of it [The black and white presentation] is showing we have intention, that we've thought about it.

- On the cult issue: You've been accused of 'pushing' some cultist type message even though I find your lyrics nothing more than basic observations. [YACHT are sponsored by the YACHT Trust, who in turn are said to be associated with Masonic society and the writings of Manley P. Hall. Indeed message repetition is used in what is termed 'The Big Lie' - a political strategy for changing the facts.

JB:  "It's more ideological... we want to create something that's heavenly here, something with purity and light.
CE: ...and I'm interested in ancient mystery, paganism and it's symbols: We try to bring these things together.
JB: But it's sounding too much like a cult  - which it definitely isn't.

- So is there a Big Truth?
JB: Hmmm.. No. Not one, but there are many small truths...

- Taken from your song, what then is the 'theory in your heart?'

JB:  Ah!  (Both smile and look to each other  )We have a project - codename Bible! - "A practical guide to overcoming humanity and becoming your own god."
- That's big.
Both, seemingly simultaneously: We see religion and science as attempts to understand the same thing, which is an 'unknowable mystery'. The thing is to concentrate on our own self as leader, without need for things like a zen esoteric.

- Surprise or Anticipation?
CE: Surprise, I deal poorly with anticipation.
JB: Surprise for me too.
CE: But you can't keep a secret

- Here's a desert island question - your physical survival needs taken care of - pick one, add one - (no humans) from: Dictionary, pencil, pad & paper, hat, dog.
CE: Dog, I'd like the dictionary but I wouldn't need it, or the pad, but I'd be stressed about the finite number of pages...
JB:Are we together?
- No.
JB: with the dog, are we limited by breed?
- No
JB: Is there a power source?
- That's enough questions...

- How does it feel - getting recognition, going up in the music world?
JB: It's fantastic, European audiences really give us great support - they seem to suspend belief comfortably.
CE: And we've got a manager for the first time, that's great having someone to take care of small things, because up till now we've done everything ourselves; website publicity etc.
- But you still have creative control?
JB: Yes, the relationship with DFA is excellent - even though it's a bigger label with EMI distribution deals, it's still one person Jonathan Galkin calling all the shots. He deals with us directly and we really like the artistic relationship wherein we present something half-done and get feedback.

See Mystery Lights is all black and white except for an inverted red triangle on the disc (similar to those that keep mysteriously showing up in our photos...)  the red triangle happens to be the oldest logo ever sanctioned under law (the first registered trademark for Bass Pale Ale, Britain, 1876)... Gosh! Was William Bass a Mason? And why does that scroogle search come up with The Knights of Columbus as well?... The question of whether YACHT are sincere or merely tongue in cheek is all part of the fun: "Will we go to heaven or will we go to hell? - It's my understanding that neither are real." The messages, put as open-ended questions, are worthy of XTC's Andy Partridge (like Evans, born in Swindon, England) - no one took it too seriously when XTC dressed up for Mummer.

YACHT are fresh, stimulating and great to dance to. There's really nothing black and white about them except the image, and that is the point, great music with the bonus of including interesting ideas, things to consider, but not to take too seriously. Remember, intrigue is a negative force...

 YACHT also have releases on Portland's own Marriage Records.

Copyright: Zaph Mann 2009.  Reproduction with attribution is fine. Original publisher: opbmusic.org 2009
 

Tagged: interview