Interview: Yeasayer

The year 2080 isn’t shaping up to be a very good one, and Brooklyn band Yeasayer [pictured] have chosen an interesting way of dealing with this ‘inconvenient truth.' They’ve written songs about it, pairing their anxieties concerning the distant future with far-reaching influences that the BBC calls a “cream-whipped mix of Fleetwood Mac, African highlife, Robert Wyatt, rebetika, Thomas Mapfumo, Neil Young, Tears For Fears and Aboriginal chanting.”

Mp3: Yeasayer - 2080

But it isn't merely musical appropriation. Much of the instrumentation heard on the band’s groundbreaking debut, All Hour Cymbals, has been reworked and altered digitally in the studio for an effect that Yeasayer can uniquely call their own. It is this forward approach to making music that had critics praising Yeasayer as one of the most exciting new acts of 2007. All Hour Cymbals was named one of the best albums of the year by Pitchfork, and the band even received a shout out in a recent MTV News segment about emerging indie artists in Brooklyn.

Yeasayer is currently on tour with another buzz band, electronic outfit MGMT. The two are making a stop in Houston this Sunday to perform at Walter’s on Washington. We asked Yeasayer bassist Ira Wolf Tuton a few questions about touring life and the band’s seemingly borderless sound.

You guys have been touring on and off for awhile, where is your favorite place to perform live and why?
Probably the Hague. We stayed in this hotel there that had an incredible shower with dual shower heads, and a window that opened out into the bedroom so your band mates could open the blinds up in the middle of your shower and surprise you with the in-house cable porn channel.

You describe your sound as "Middle Eastern-Psych-Pop-Snap-Gospel." What musicians/albums would you say have inspired Yeasayer's music?
Brian Eno, Alemayehu Eshete, This Heat, Aphrodite's Child, Miriam Makeba, Cool G Rap, Kate Bush

One of our favorite elements in many of your songs is the layering of vocals, all of your voices work wonderfully together. Was that something lead singer/Yeasayer founder Chris Keating always had in mind for the band or did that come about organically in the studio?
I think that both Anand [Wilder, guitarist,] and Chris, who started the band together, felt pretty strongly that drawing heavily on vocal arrangements was going to be an integral part of the band from the get go.

Another trait that is distinct to Yeasayer's aesthetic is bold experimentation with instruments and with manipulating sounds in the studio. How do you typically combine different sounds and textures into a song?
There's definitely the attitude that a pastiche of different styles can all work together in a song. Why steal from one thing when you can steal from ten? It distracts people from the fact that you're stealing at all. There's also the notion that practically any sound can be used to write a pop song, which is all we're trying to do.

Many of the song lyrics from the debut album, All Hour Cymbals, deal with uncertainty about what lies ahead. What was the songwriting process like with this record?
We live in very strange times. The possibilities of our future path are both unnerving and amazing. Pessimism gets more things done. The worse something can be imagined, the more there exists to combat it. Optimism blows bubbles in the face of reality. We're not saving the world with our music - that's a pretentious fallacy for anyone. But let's at least be realistic about what really matters. I like writing music a lot.

There was buzz online about Yeasayer, even when the singles "2080" and "Sunrise" were your only recordings available. What are your thoughts on the hype generated by the music blogosphere and how do you think it has changed independent music today?
The more the merrier. I was pumped to find out our album leaked before it was released. Lars Ullrich can keep his principles in his ivory tower. I don't exist in his world. The tide of the industry is swinging in the artist's favor and exposure to taste and ideas leads to a more interesting environment. The majors have eaten children for long enough. Let them scramble for a little.

We've heard that you've been playing new songs in your set lists lately, what can your fans in Houston expect to hear and see on Sunday night?
Four sweaty guys tryin their darndest to please. And MGMT kills it. I've never been to Houston. I look forward to it.

Yeasayer with MGMT
Walter’s on Washington: 4215 Washington Ave.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
$8 in advance, $10 at the door, All Ages, Doors 9pm
Ticketweb