Yamon Yamon - A lush Stockholm

What particularly struck me, for such a young band, is this entire year of recording you went through. My first question is: was it something you found necessary for the album's development, or did endless external complications crop up over the course of the year?

Actually, I think the main reason it took us so long is that we all have full-time jobs, some more than others. Also, we weren't sure about the final result. I mean, whether it would even get released.

Yeah, I think you're right. Since the record took all this time, ideas started to develop about the possible directions a track could take. We didn't really change or move parts around, generally speaking - it was more a series of different thoughts about the production. We did experiment quite a bit with different parts on a couple of songs, like the ones you mentioned, but that happened even before we went into the studio.

The main thing that draws me to your record is this apparent “absence of the wild”, which you allude to in the title. You sound “urban”, like a jam session in some American metropolis bar, and at the same time your music flows naturally, as if it weren't really detached from the natural world. There's still a longing for something you don't seem to know, but which is there nonetheless. Can I ask you to comment on that? Do you recognize it as a theme of “This Wilderlessness”?

I think the type of sound, or the “theme”, as you call it, was something that wasn't planned from the start. It just felt like the right path to follow, I think. We wanted to sound very “clean”, somewhat controlled and boxed in, in a certain minimalist way. In that sense there might be a connection to what you're referring to, I believe.

There are various influences showing up on the record. Take the intro to “High Class”, for instance. Are you leaving us a clue as to what might come next?

I couldn't say whether that particular song hints at what's coming. To be honest, the new stuff coming out of rehearsals doesn't sound much like what we did on this last record. Of course it's connected to it, but let's just say they won't be tracks as clean-cut, if you know what I mean…

I happen to talk about Yamon Yamon with some friends, and what I hear is: “Yeah, Scandinavian bands are usually good quality, but they don't show much personality”. And I can also see what they mean - I'm thinking of certain equations like Shout Out Louds/Cure, The Tallest Man On Earth/Bob Dylan, Kings Of Convenience/Simon And Garfunkel, and let's throw yourselves in there too, alongside Sea And Cake or American Football… What's your take on that?

I could even agree with them, thinking about a couple of these examples. I mean, in terms of a band's or an artist's sound. But my thinking is that it's a real problem if that's all that strikes you, all that stays with you, about a musical proposal. Everybody borrows these days, it's just a matter of adding something of yourself. Speaking of Yamon Yamon, I don't feel that lack of personality at all. If anything, I feel our record as the product of a band at a still very “embryonic” stage.

Your label states (I have to say the press page for “This Wilderlessness” is one of the most relatable press releases I've ever read): “Yamon Yamon are a band that trusts itself. Enough not to trust or rely on what's fashionable”. Obviously you don't care - and you shouldn't - but do you genuinely feel that what you do isn't “fashionable” right now?

I don't know, really, and to be honest I don't pay much attention to that kind of thing. Even if it were as you say. In my humble opinion, fashion and music are both much better off minding their own business.

What does a young band need to have or do, in your opinion, to succeed in today's music industry?

It depends on what you mean by “success”, I guess. For me the most important thing about music is its ability to move me, to hit me in some way - there always has to be something genuine at its core. I don't like it when you realize a band is doing what it does for the wrong reasons, if you follow me.

Any tips for us from the Stockholm scene?

If I had to name the most interesting artists in Sweden right now, I think I'd pick Ingenting, Britta Persson, Bob Hund, Damn It I'm Mad, Elias And The Wizzkids and of course all the other bands on Tendervision.

Ok, last question. What kind of promise can you make to the people in Italy who follow you?

I think I can promise that we really want to come down and play some shows, as soon as it's possible. That would be truly amazing.

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