LOOKOUT: See Mystery Lights is the first YACHT album after the induction of Claire. How have you both built on the old conception of YACHT as a solo act? Or is this reincarnation completely different from previous forms of YACHT?

Jona: Well, I think there's a similar spirit to the band. The core message and core goals are the same, but now they are shared with Claire.

Claire: There’s no distinction of before me and after me, we had this shared experience (The Marfa Lights) and it changed our perspectives. It’s something that we share as a common source of inspiration.

Jona: We came together through this paranormal phenomenon of Marfa Mystery Lights. There’s no explanation for the paranormal phenomenon of the Marfa Lights, and teams of scientists have been trying to figure it out. After we saw it together, we felt we need to continue our journey together in everything we do together.

I find the very existence of something like a "modern mystery" very odd and kind of disturbing and unnerving to curious people like myself who think there should be an explanation for everything. Were the lights the first or main reason why you both decided moved to Marfa, Texas?

Claire: Yes, it was the reason we moved there. We hadn’t been looking for it, it just came to us in a random way. Jona saw it while he was driving on a tour.

Jona: I had no idea what it was going to be. I thought it was going to be an explained natural beauty but it really changed me and ended up being really supernatural and unexplainable.

Claire: We decided we had to live amongst them and figure them out.

Montreal, much like your hometown of Portland, Oregon, has long and depressing winters, but a thriving artistic population. How did Portland influence your creativity and the making of your music?

Claire: It’s always interesting to make music and art in a place where you don’t have access to the tools other people have. We were lucky to have a cool music scene but it wasn’t always there. A lot of musical trends in the Northwest is born out of a DIY period.

Jona: Yeah, we didn’t have the means to make anything, but I don't mean in a political sense.

Claire: It’s interesting to make music with limitations and to have no big record label, no awesome venues, no professional studios.

The band is very stylized with the black and white represention. What’s the intention behind the black and white dualities? Are these dualities completely distinct from each other?

Claire: We’ve always been interested in duality. We both have had a renewed interest in the ritual history of the world. We like to study religion, the secret societies of the world and any codified set of beliefs. There are huge commonalities between different threads of ideological history, whether it be Inter-Babylonian, Syrian or contemporary Western religion. We are all motivated by the same impulses. We want an understanding of things that are beyond human understanding. The light and the dark are two different paths, there’s no fundamental evil or fundamental good. There’s no right or wrong path, we all live in this interconnected universe. We’re all just a bunch of monkeys trying to transcend our situation.

For more Q&A with YACHT, don't miss the March 4^th issue of The McGill Daily.

Listen:

Psychic City - YACHT

So Post All 'Em - YACHT

See A Penny (Pick It Up) - YACHT

LOOKOUT: About your debut album Toeachizown, the five different volumes each have a life of their own, but still form a comprehensive whole and has an underlying story . Can you tell me something about the different volumes and why you decided to put it together this way?

Dãm: I wanted to make a concept record like progressive rock records I used to listen to back in the day. They would have a theme around it, as opposed to a bunch of hit singles on the record. “I Wanna Thank You (For Steppin’ Into My Life)” is one song that I think could be on the radio right now and be a hit. But, I didn’t want to make a record of hit singles, I don’t even want to aspire to do that. I wanted to create the record I've always wanted to make… and why not make it? In Toeachizown, the first volume is more electric based, the second more serious, Sky more positive, Hood more dark.

Is there something about L.A. that makes it a unique place for funk? How did growing up on the West Coast influence your style of music?

The music we grew up with on the West Coast is a little more laid back. Even though we have sunshine, there’s the darkness and the light… We’ve cultivated something a bit different from East Coast approach.  The warm weather, the palm trees, and the driving culture of L.A. definitely influences my music.

Prince was a big inspiration for you. What Prince era do you draw influence from most?

1978-1987

I feel like you’ve coined the term modern funk. I don’t want to suggest a clear break in “old-fashioned funk” and modern funk, because there’s a definite continuation, but what is modern about your modern funk?

It’s a mix of subject matter, log extended tracks, instrumentals, reverb vocals... It’s a different approach. It’s the funk you’ve always wanted to have. The modern funk approach pertains to some of the science aspects of things, like of exploration of different worlds. Funk is more like funk 45 vibe. Modern funk is more electric based and appeals to post-disco funk. You know what I’m sayin'?

For more Q&A with Dam-Funk check the March 4^th issue of The McGill Daily.

Dam-Funk @ Club Lambi - Mar 5, 2010

Listen:

Speak The Truth - Dam-Funk

Toeachizown - Dam-Funk

Passion - Dam-Funk

The OLDgOLD team have transformed the community-oriented boutique vibe into an online shop and website featuring exclusive downloadable DJ mixes, videos, and photos created by some of the movers and shakers of the Montreal art scene. Their latest podcast, by Peer Pressure’s Merk Meny, is the seventh part of a series dubbed "Transmission," and is just over a half-hour of what OLDgOLD calls a “smooth yet bouncy hovercraft ride through some dubby house swamps.” The blurb sounds dope, but the mix is even doper, so download the Transmission: OLDgOLD 7 mix here.

Transmission:OLDgOLD:7 by Merk Meny

Their latest video, "Twinkle Toes" is a stop-motion animation featuring THE DUDE 100% rubber shoes and subtly reminds me of a child TV show I would’ve watched when I was two, if my mother had let me watch TV… Consider it your lullaby. It’s that good. Peep the adult equivalent to a pacifier here.

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