forYoungModerns

FYM ON THE LIST PREVIEW: HOLY GHOST! & CUT COPY LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO USA

Australia’s own Cut Copy are spending the weekend in San Francisco with 2 sold out shows. They just played Coachella last night and are headed up to Northern California today. Give a look to one of the most athletic music videos that has arguably ever been made.

Holy Ghost! will be opening up the evening with their self titled album that came out on April 4th after releasing singles and remixes for artists since 2007 mainly on DFA Records. They should be the perfect party starter for the evening with remixes that have been all over the club circuit the past few years.

If you slept on buying tickets, both shows are sold out but there will be an after party tonight that has not sold out yet with Cut Copy DJing along with local DJ Richie Panic of Blow Up and Frisco Disco fame. Tickets available HERE.

Cheers, FYM.

Words: Nick Codling Graphic: J Thomas Codling

April 15

FYM PREVIEW: YACHT • LIVE IN SEATTLE • AT THE CROCODILE TONIGHT! 2.8.2012

Tonight, at the famous Crocodile, the forYoungModerns Seattle crew will be hanging out dance party style with YACHT (Young Americans Challenging High Technology) tearing it up on stage, along with Secret Shoppers, and Bobby Birdman.

Though we’ve always appreciated the formidable duo’s electro, digi-pop dance hits, we really fell in LOVE with them, (specifically leading lady Claire L. Evans) when YACHT dominated at 2011’s Bumbershoot festival in Seattle. (Pictured Below)

Their ‘we just want to have a good time’ attitude and thrilling stage presence make them a must-see for any young modern looking to hang out and let loose tonight. Show starts at 8:00, $15 at the door…Be sure to bring your dancing shoes. Cheers, FYM

February 8

for young moderns Seattle washington DFA Records graphic by jesse codling FYM THEY LIVE the crocodile YACHT

FYM ON THE LIST: Y∆CHT • SEATTLE, USA • 2.08.12

Last night, DFA Records digi-pop powerhouse YACHT performed live in Seattle at the Crocodile. It was an evening full of enlightening pleasantries, which FYM took full advantage of.

Our first highlight of the show happened early on, as FYM socialite Emily C spotted YACHT founders Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans in the 21+ section of the club. Our brief encounter was incredibly delightful, and they were kind enough to have their picture taken with Emily C.

Bobby Birdman (who also performs as a touring member with YACHT) opened the night with a set of nostalgic dance driven visions. His simple set up- keyboard, guitar and drummer, created a vibrant sound that would have fit well in any classic John Hughes movie produced in the 80’s. Up next was local favorites Secret Shoppers. Our apologies we missed their set, visit their Facebook HERE to learn more about the band.

During Bumbershoot 2011 FYM first witnessed the magic of what it is to see YACHT live. After that show they left us vowing to see them again the next time they rolled through Seattle. That next time was last night, and as good as they were live in a festival setting, nothing compares to seeing YACHT in such a wonderful landmark like the Crocodile.

Jona and Claire (pictued above) have an unparallelled bond when performing. Their stage presence could be best described as a kinetic ball of joy, understanding their crowd came to dance, fostering a be open to anything atmosphere with the audience. It was truly a freeing experience unlike anything we’ve seen before live in Seattle.

YACHT seemed to be determined to break any artist fan social boundaries, they genuinely make you feel like you are a part of their crew, no rock star ego, just an all-inclusive good time. Part of that openness with their audience involves YACHT’s annual Q & A session they do during their set. Frontwoman Claire Evans fielded a handful of questions from the crowd. FYM’s Emily C was picked by Claire to ask a question, and Emily responded by asking if she could come up and dance on stage. YACHT obliged and said she was welcome to come up at any time.

After the Q & A was over YACHT just so happened to play our favorite jam, Tripped and Fell in Love, off their latest DFA release Shangri-La. Emily immediately decided to take stage leaving this art director behind to take photos of her. YACHT frontman Jona greeted her with a hug welcoming Emily C.

After we took a few decent photos of Emily dancing, the rest of the FYM crew felt compelled to come up and join her. Jona greeted all of us the same way, with a big hug, and we finished out the song on stage doing our best impression of dance sequences found in Pretty in Pink while singing along All my friends became my family!

YACHT brought the party to Seattle with thought provoking, tech-savvy sonic bliss. The FYM crew finished our evening in a fury of dance-floor boogie. (click horizontal photos to expand for detail)

YACHT seems to be a lifestyle choice, their ideals are enlightening, and they seem to truly love doing what they do. If you haven’t heard YACHT’s brilliant 2011 record Shangri-La click HERE. A special thanks goes out to the band for giving FYM such a thrilling, spontaneous, entertainingly unforgettable evening. Cheers, FYM.

February 9

for young moderns Seattle washington DFA Records graphic by jesse codling FYM THEY LIVE live at the crocodile YACHT

FYM PRESS PLAY: JAMES WHETZEL • COVER SERIES • PSYCHIC CITY (VOODOO CITY)

James Whetzel, a world-class musician based out of Seattle Washington, today releases the second installment (the first being Depeche Mode’s People Are People) in his on-going covers series. It’s a tune DFA Records/Yacht fans are very familiar with: Psychic City (Voodoo City).

What most of you may not know is the track was originally written and recorded by Rich Jensen for his Two Million Years cassette from 1987 via K Records. Yacht connected and became friends with Jensen, and put the track out on their 2009 DFA Records debut See Mystery Lights.

Just as Yacht breathed new life into this unearthed classic in 2009, James Whetzel does so again in 2012. Whetzel’s take is a percussive melting-pot of organic textures, full of life and beauty.

Recently FYM had the opportunity to dig a little deeper, and ask James about the recording process of his impressive new single (which was mastered by Emch from Subatomic Sound System in New York). Read Whetzel’s thoughts, and listen to the his new version of Psychic City (Voodoo City) below:

FYM: Could you tell me a little bit about why you decided to start this series of cover songs?

James Whetzel: I decided to do covers because I thought it would help people understand where I am coming from musically. I play instruments that are less familiar to people so I want to help people come to understand that sarod and tabla are as badass as guitar and drum kit.

FYM: How many covers are you planning to do?

James Whetzel: I am thinking of doing six tracks on my own. And probably six with Das Dhoom. I’m focusing on my own EP first. I’ll put the People Are People cover version on both.

FYM: Who are you working with to produce this incredible recording?

James Whetzel: I played every instrument on the “Psychic City (Voodoo City)” cover. I also recorded all of it, mixed and produced it myself. That’s why it takes me a little extra time, and most of that extra time is mixing time. There’s sarod, sitar, accordion, mandolin, bass, tampura, tabla, darbouka, dhol, bendir, talking drum, and a bunch of cool little shakers/ high hat sound making things that I used on the track. Some of these last things are found objects, that happen to make really cool sounds.

I’ve had the sitar for awhile but decided not to use it until now, because people always think my sarod is a sitar and I wanted them to know I play sarod. But what the hell it’s a cool sound. People can think I play sitar. I just bought the accordion last month and this is the track I’ve used it on.

It’s become my new aesthetic to make my beats out of all acoustic sounds. I sort of stumbled into when I did the Depeche Mode cover. I originally intended to add electronic drums to the acoustic drums, but it sounded so cool with all the layers of percussion and it was an interesting challenge to get all my acoustic drums to have the clarity of electronic drums. And of course since I played all the drum parts it makes my beats sound totally unique. I think it’s also good to mix unique sounds with the familiarity of a cover tune. And hopefully by the end of my cover tune adventure my own sounds will have become familiar.

FYM: Is there anything else you can enlighten us on, regarding your cover of Psychic City (Voodoo City)?

James Whetzel: This is what I say in the intro:

शहर में

كان عندي احلام

des beaux rêves

en la ciudad

Translation:

Hindi/Urdu: In the City (literally “City in”)

Arabic: I had dreams

French: Beautiful dreams

Spanish: in the city

If you dig what you heard above purchase James Whetzel’s version of Psychic City (Voodoo City) HERE. And check out his other music project titled Das Dhoom HERE. They Live. Cheers, FYM.

June 22

for young moderns DFA Records cover graphic by jesse codling FYM THEY LIVE world music seattle rich jensen YACHT james whetzel psychic city (voodoo city)