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Album Review
by Scott Sterling-Wilder
6-11-2003
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| Yello: 'Eye', as in opening Ur mind one |
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Yello: 'Eye'
(Mercury)
Yello reappear to el-funk the world
Know the joke-stroke-teaser of naming five famous Belgians? [Easy-peasy, we can do ten, at least.] What, if it was to be changed to five Swiss acts? That’ll shut up 99 per cent of music lovers. Well, on the international level there were truly only two bands that have figured: The Young Gods and Yello. Now, the later one returns after four years of silence. The album is called the ’Eye’.
A few bio-notes to this strange, nay - eccentric duo, before we let music purify the polluted airwaves… Formed in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1979 by two characters of very different backgrounds, when Boris Blank joined Dieter Meier, the former member of Swiss national golf team, a self-confessed millionaire of noble descent and two-singles solo artist (after leaving Fresh Colour outfit). They found flavour with American label Ralph, The Residents’ home, and Euro-dance albums started to arrive regularly.
Moving from indie imprints to the mainstream, they scored number of Top-75 singles - the greatest success being ‘The Race’ at #7 (UK) in 1988; the song has been regularly used for sports and documentary programmes ever since. The duo frequently invited guest vocalists, such as Dame Shirley Bassey and the late Billy McKenzie (x-The Associates) on ‘One Second’ album in 1987.
During the 1990’s albums were less appreciated and the last we heard of Mr Meier was guest vocal on the X-Press 2’s album ‘Muzikizum’ last year. They are back now and doing their own thing, a bit familiar, part adventurous and a lot - quirky. Yello have always existed in their own bubble and nothing could distract them from there. Their once-futuristic sound is now more of a retro-futurism that doesn’t skirt experimentation. Music for your mind’s eye.
Although it is all electronically based music, its rhythms are as much disco/funk/club as they are primal. These two-men, both aged around 60, know that it all starts with tapping into our subliminal centre where memory of jungle-beat rests. For instance, ‘Hipster’s Delay’ combines mad-pace with liquid-like FXs and a jazz flavouring on top; ‘Don Turbulento’ gets samba into the mix, ‘Time Palace’ is trip-hoppy, …
Diversity is supplied in a quantity that is hard to imagine but, as Peter Gabriel sang once, ‘… Sans le Frontier’. Yello never refrain from any musical expression and most of them appear here, although it may not be big on rapping, or the contemporary R&B; vocals are handled by Meier and Jade Davies who can sound bed-sweltering, kitchen-sultry or diva-on-a-lost-highway… [Dunno what it means, but it reads good - Fitness Ed.] She graces five tracks and the rest are handled by Meier who alternates between narration and lounge-style.
Just the song titles indicate that this is not your DIY-variety electro-pop-cum-dance music: ‘Planet Dada’ (opens and closes this 14-track trip), ‘Distant Solution’, ‘Tiger Dust’, ‘Star Breath’… By the by, this is all original music and no samples here, comrade! They share quite a few trademarks with Kraftwerk but this puts ‘Tour de France’ firmly into the last century.
Despite its slick sound, it’s also relentless and your muscles-brain-soul triumvirate of humanity can’t but capitulate. It makes you dance on a 50 pence. ‘Eye’ is pop music of particular kind. Yello’s debut album’s title was ‘Solid Pleasure’. It still is, showtime!
9/10
Scott Sterling-Wilder
17-11-2001
Yello’s album ‘Eye’ is released 03 November 2003 by Motor/Def Jam
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