An Ambling Interview With Yeasayer

Yeasayer are fast becoming one of the biggest cult bands to come out of North America. Aesthetic Octopus got together with vocalist Chris Keating, a live bandmate whose name was lost in the hustle and bustle of the busy Glaswegian bar, and, eventually, Ira Wolf Tuton, bassist and oil-wrestling enthusiast. We discussed their new album, Odd Blood, press negativity and the cover culture of today’s music. In addition to this, my personal penchant for Joanna Newsom, and anticipation for Have One On Me was slammed by Tuton during the interview. Don’t worry, insults are what he gives to his friends…

Why have you taken such a drastically different direction with Odd Blood?

C: Most bands we know and admire try something new all the time, so that‘s what we wanted to do with Odd Blood. It can work for some people, but most of the time you end up stuck in a rut if you do the same thing all the time. I think we’ll constantly be moving forward and changing. In four years we could be country! I wonder what the country version of Odd Blood would sound like [laughs]!

What were the production differences with Odd Blood?

C: The first album was done at home with better equipment. We did this one in the studio, but it doesn’t mean we’re better at it now. We’ve got new equipment and seeing as we’ve got the first album done, it’s time to move forward onto different kind of synthesisers and other new things that will make us sound different.

Chris, you’ve worked with Simian Mobile Disco, Is there anyone else you’d like to work with?

C: Yeah, I’m a whore man, there’s no one I wouldn’t work with [laughs]. I met those guys, they were cool guys, I liked them. They’re like semi instrumental, so it’s the kind of music you can do anything with, so they let me do whatever I wanted over the top. It was cool! We also worked with Bat For Lashes (Natasha Khan) on her record, but I’ll work on anything that comes up, if it’s at the right time.

At this point a better late than never Ira Wolf Tuton joins the conversation…

How’s this UK tour differed to the last time you were over here?

C: It’s only been a couple of days so far, but it’s very similar. Although, I was very humid last night, I haven’t felt humid in a while!

I: It was nice, there was a buzz.

C: We’re gonna go back to America and be like, whaaat?

How much input did you have in the video for Ambling Alp, and are you planning to work with Radical Friend again?

C: No input, I found Radical Friend and I really liked their work, it’s crazy and original. They’re so interested in our opinion, but we’re opinionated anyway, very controlling.

I: We like control. They sent us a demo of a previous video, and we just loved it. We’ve just done the video recently, so it’ll be about soon.

Do you like hearing remixes or reworkings of your music, and have you heard The Very Best’s reworking of Ambling Alp?

C: I love that version! I was like ‘I wanna do THAT instead!’, with all those vocals, y’know like the [insert Very Best impersonation here] bit?

I: I’ve yet to hear this cover…

C: It’s so cool, they took the instrumental and made it way cooler. It’s not even a cover, I heard it, and I was like, ‘what is THIS? It sounds so much better without me on it!’ But seriously, all those harmonies, how can they make it sound like that? I think remixes are confusing. One of my mom’s biggest questions is [assumes Mother‘s voice] ‘What’s a remix?’, she asks that all the time. It’s really weird how someone can reinterpret your music like that, and it’s even more confusing to previous generations, because they haven’t had that culture.

The lyrics to Odd Blood are very different to those on All Hour Cymbals, tell us a little about that.

C: Well, we’ve moved on musically, and obviously the lyrics come with that, so I suppose it’s just down to new experiences and interests!

Tell us a little about your first musical loves…

C: Michael Jackson’s Bad…

I: The Beatles…

C: I used to play that record non-stop, I used to play one side, flip it over, play one side, flip it again. I think it came out just when I was born, or when I was born, but it’s just the greatest.

Does it annoy you when songs that you personally enjoyed writing aren’t well received in the press?

I: I don’t think so, no, because even if it is negative, the songs were still important enough to write about. It’s all about weighing up your press. There’s a difference between something that’s constructive criticism and snarky and annoying, and if it’s like that-

C: You might get a letter!

I: Mmhmm!

C: We’ve written letters in the past!

I: Being negative for being negative isn’t cool. It’s like, we are who we are, we’re not above you and people act like we think we are.

C: It’s like, people will say ‘Ira’s haircut’s weird’

I: [laughs] Yes, I did it to myself! I’d be surprised if it wasn’t…

Your music sounds like a combination of lots of different genres, is it hard for you to take credit for certain parts of that?

C: Er…Naaaah, if people are gonna give me credit, they give me credit.

I: Yeah, at the end of the day it pays the bills and gives me food…and oil wrestling matches [laughs]! Hmm! Food or another oil-wrestling match? My money’s on the brunette!

C: [laughs and shakes head] It’s a tough call!

How has Brooklyn influenced your music?

I: There have been a lot more bagels! You are what you eat.

C: I don’t think it does, no. It’s just a cultural environment really.

I: It’s been good to be a torn musician there though, because there are lots of other torn musicians there too…and strippers.

Do you see your songs as separate snippets of experience or as different parts of one journey?

I: Yeah, I’d say they usually do make a whole, yeah. One or two of the songs from Odd Blood could have been on All Hour Cymbals though, so it’s not always like they’re specific to a time musically.

Which releases of 2010 are you looking forward to?

I: Are we releasing anything in 2010..?

C: I’ve heard some of MGMT’s new record and it sounds awesome, I’m very intrigued.

Odd Blood is out via Secretly Canadian. We HIGHLY recommend it if that means anything to you.

Here are some tour dates via Stereogum.

02/16 – Birmingham, England @ Academy 2 *
02/17 – Glasgow, Scotland @ King Tut’s *
02/19 – Dublin, Ireland @ Academy *
02/20 – Belfast, Northern Ireland @ Speakeasy *
02/21 – Manchester, England @ Academy 3 *
02/22 – Leeds, England @ The Faversham *
02/23 – London, England @ Heaven *
02/25 – Bristol, England @ Thekla *
02/26 – Brighton, England @ Audio *
02/28 – Koln, Germany @ Luxor
03/01 – Antwerp, Belgium @ Trix Club
03/04 – Malmo, Sweden @ KB
03/05 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser
03/06 – Oslo, Norway @ Rockerfeller
03/08 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega Small Hall
03/09 – Hamburg, Germany @ Knust
03/10 – Berlin, Germany @ Postbahnhof
03/11 – Munich, Germany @ 59/1
03/12 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Zukunft
03/13 – Rome, Italy @ Circolo Degli Artisti
03/14 – Milan, Italy @ Tunnel
03/16 – Barcelona, Spain @ Apolo 2
03/17 – Madrid, Spain @ Moby Dick
03/19 – Paris, France @ Point FMR
03/20 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
04/03 – Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
04/04 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
04/05 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
04/06 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
04/07 – Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone Cafe
04/08 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
04/09 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
04/10 – Austin, TX @ The Parish
04/11 – Austin, TX @ The Parish
04/14 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
04/15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
04/17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore Auditorium #
04/19 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom #
04/20 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos #
04/21 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Commodore Ballroom #
04/23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue #
04/24 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre #
04/25 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room #
04/26 – St. Louis, MO @ Gargoyle Club #
04/27 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre #
04/28 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre #
04/29 – Chicago, IL @ Metro #
04/30 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop #
05/01 – Toronto, Ontario @ Lee’s Palace #
05/02 – Montreal, Quebec @ La Sala Rossa #
05/03 – Boston, MA @ Paradise #
05/04 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall #
05/05 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero #

# w/ Sleigh Bells
* w/ Javelin