Global psych rockers YĪN YĪN are on top of the world with their 3rd album Mount Matsu
Deeply informed by both the imaginative sound waves of the cosmos as well as the earthly musical culture of Japan, Mount Matsu is the reflection of a chaotic environment of influences slowly coming into focus. Infectious, strangely harmonious and highly energetic, the record is also the first by the band that came into being as the result of a truly democratic process among four befriended musicians. Mount Matsu is bound to do well in end of year lists for anyone into warm and tapey sounding psychedelic disco, fat global funk, electronics and tribal experiments
Pentatonic scales and unknown sonic territories
Hailing from Holland’s southernmost city of Maastricht, Yīn Yīn entered the scene back in 2019 with the Thai psychrock influenced album The Rabbit that Hunts Tigers, which was followed up in 2022 with the more spiritual and cosmic sounding The Age of Aquarius. Mount Matsu finds the band - who now live and record in a nearby Belgian countryside home and studio - somewhere in between the two first albums as their sound has gradually shifted towards the land of the rising sun: Japan. Sticking to pentatonic scales, the band’s largely instrumental sound - created with a unique set of instruments including vintage synthesizers and a traditional Chinese string instrument; the ‘Guzheng’, - features big jumps between notes with melodies that are easy to love as they draw the listener into unfamiliar oriental territories.
Ascending to Matsu’s Height
The songs on Mount Matsu have - for the first time in Yīn Yīn’s lifetime - been co-created by all members of the band. “Art and ideas are personal and precious and the process of doing this truly together has been about more than just making an album, it was also a study of how collectives work,” notes Remy, Yīn Yīn’s bass player since day one. “It’s sometimes hard, seeing your own artistic ideas challened being part of a group, but we’re very proud of the result. When you truly co-create, literally every sound on a record has been tested and thought through. We have decided to only sparsely use vocals, which leaves plenty of room for the listener’s imagination: you can really let your fantasy run wild as you listen and dance to it. The process of creation felt like the tedious but very satisfying ascent of a mountain, hence the title of the record: Mount Matsu.
YĪN YĪN is
Kees Berkers – drums
Remy Scheren – bass
Erik Bandt – guitar
Robbert Verwijlen – keyboards
Discography
2024 – Mount Matsu (Glitterbeat Records)
2022 – The Age Of Aquarius (Glitterbeat Records)
2019 – The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers (Bongo Joe Records)
Mount Matsu
1.The Year of the Rabbit “A classic moody Yīn Yīn viber with a wink to our debut album.”
2.Takahashi Timing “Named after the family name of our extremely punctual advancer.”
3.Pia Dance “The sweetest song on the record, sounds like we’re monkeys singing in the trees.”
4.Tam Tam “Named after a girl we once met who couldn’t pronounce the word tamagotchi. This is what she said instead.”
5. The Perseverance of Sano “Just as Sano, a man who started his surfing career at the age of 70, we persevered whilst we made this record.”
6. Komori Uta “The Japanese word for lullaby. It turned out slightly more sexy than expected, but hey!”
7. The Year of the Tiger “Our gitarist and bassist simulated a conflict for this one, nasty behaviour that resulted in extraordinary art.”
8.Tokyo Disko “One infectious uplifting banger of a dance floor track, with a never ending funky guitar serving as a backbone.”
9. Shiatsu for Dinner “This is Yīn Yīn getting a massage, we soften the drum sound and relax.”
10. White Storm “A track based on utter melodic chaos and a driving 6/8 afrobeat rhythm.”
11. Ascending to Matsu’s Height “The grand finale. We once bought Kees a guzheng (Chinese harp) and this song features his first go at it. We recorded it on an IPhone with post production - sometimes it’s all about the idea.”
Yin Yin are Kees Berkers (drums), Remy Scheren (bass), Robbert Verwijlen (keys), and Erik Bandt (guitar).
Mount Matsu will be out January 19th 2024 on Glitterbeat.
Link single: https://open.spotify.com/track/2zL9g5L3BVOgnErH3I3vvs?si=5f4b456cda994b0b
The New Mourning (AT)
The sound of The New Mourning is as simple as the songs. Stoic drumming over a bare song, usually built around two chords, avoiding special effects or manipulation. But the defining feature of the band's sound is the way Thomas Pronai puts most of the hook and melody lines on the bass guitar, using the instrument like a lead guitar.
This concert was supported by the LivEurope and the Austrian Cultural Forum.
