 |
| |
|
| |
Interview
by SashaS
23-9-2004
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
More on: James Yorkston and The Athletes
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
| James Yorkston & The Athletes of words |
|
Like a Scotch mist
James Yorkston and The Athletes: well beyond mundane
James Yorkston and the Athletes’ album ‘Just Beyond The River’ has been released this week and we went to the Wild East End to talk about it, Fife, folk, Scotland and more. Against the backdrop of the world falling apart around us, a beautiful album stands tall and the prettiest thing about it is that, despite sounding like a cliché, it is unclassifiable. A lot of people call it folk but it is misleading; there is some ancient spirit about it and if that makes it folksy…
“That’s very flattering and if there is anything medieval about it,” Yorkston muses, “it could only be on ‘Edward’… But, anyway, it is a huge compliment, thank you. Y’see, I used to play electric bass in a punk band and went nowhere, did nothing… When I was 27, 28, I decided not to do that anymore and do my music 100 per cent and not pander to what I think it may sell.”
“I wanted to present my true self and am very proud for giving myself this chance. I was lucky that people at Domino heard and liked it, and there are some fans… All I was trying to find is a mix for all my influences to put into music that I wanted to do absolutely… So, for you to say that it sounds like anything else, it is a great compliment.”
It is an ‘ethnic’ record but of Scottish and French origin, Yorkston is a troubadour of the Euro-lands who cares for quality of lyrics…
“There is also Cajun element to it, there are unusual instruments… And, sometime the timing is off due to the lyrics… I write lyrics independently and then fit them around music… There are times when words just come out but sometime it is hard work; I prefer when they just come out because it requires less effort but then, I hate editing and that can cause some strange phrasing… Maybe I should start editing a bit.”
“The thing about the lyrics is it has to mean something to me; if it doesn’t, how could I sing it night after night? If it doesn’t mean anything to me, how can the rest of the people react to it? I want to make songs beautiful, lovely to listen to but they also need to have some depth. There has to be something there or else - there is no point doing it.”
Grim palette
“I know I’ll never be a huge star and I‘m lucky to be doing what I‘m… But then, I have no ambition to become very successful and take on the ‘Big Boys’, I’d like to stay with Domino because they can handle success, they have Franz Ferdinand on their books… I am glad to live my life quietly but make the music I want. All I want to do is build my career slightly and slowly…”
Aside Wet Wet Wet and, probably, Texas, most of Scottish artists come up with music that is untouched and unaffected by Southern trends/demands/hype?
“I think it is to do with being far from the music industry and people look toward the Glasgow music scene and Manchester scene but it is London that rules in the UK. It could be that there is equal amount of turgid nonsense coming out of Scotland as anywhere else but it could be harder for that nonsense to get places and that only more individual are lucky enough do get a record deal.“
“Coming out of Fife, my musical friends and I have never thought that the music we were doing would ever be heard anywhere apart from our friend and family. We all play music we want to and there is no one doing the music we do; that way you get a very pure sound and nobody has ever paid any attention to us and that‘s never put any expectations on any of us.”
No white glengarry
“I’ve lived in Edinburgh for a while and am looking to move back to Fife. Probably next summer… The reasons are multiple: friends, family, partner, creative reasons… Sea, quiet, soft choice, the countryside, seasons… If you are urbanite you can‘t see it but the countryside is something special. I‘m not a city guy…”
“There are too many anonymous irritants in the cities, I have no problem relating to people on one-to-one basis, it is the rest of urbanity.”
There are ways to escape; are you aware of Devendra Banhart?
“I’ve got a better one for you, I played on his song! I was in New York, visiting a friend who was working with Banhart in a studio, and when I popped in to see my friend, I got asked to play electric guitar on this track… Alas, I was too drunk and my contribution, apart that I’m an acoustic guitar player and not the electric one, didn’t get used… As far as I know…”
“Sometime I feel I’m not the part of the same music industry as the rest of the pop people…”
Well, it is a different aquarium of sharks…
“Most of today’s music is manufactured and as palatable as a pint of lager…”
It could be even more common, like cider?
“Perhaps, it is just fashion… I simply don’t feel part of that world and I mostly ignore the majority of pop music; it is like DIY and garden programmes on TV, I don’t watch them because it doesn’t interest me.”
James Yorkston is not a songwriter of singles but an album artist: his songs are like novellas and you need to spend time on uncovering them. The nu-world of Download charts is something that will pass him by because he doesn’t write one or two songs people would like to listen to only but dozens of songs that should be taken collectively at one sitting. But beware - you can easily sense binge.
~ ~ ~
Tour dates:
30 Sept - Barfly, York
01 Oct - Metropolis Lounge, Peterborough
02 Oct - Ifor Bach, Cardiff
03 Oct - The Fez, Sheffield
05 Oct - Auntie Annies, Belfast
06 Oct - Whelans, Dublin
07 Oct - Rosin Dubh, Galway
08 Oct - Connolly's West Cork
09 Oct - Limerick Dolans, Limerick
10 Oct - An Cruiscin lan, Cork
12 Oct - Hanbury Ballroom, Brighton
13 Oct - Central Station, Wrexham
14 Oct - Zodiac, Oxford
15 Oct - The Cube Microplex, Bristol
17 Oct - Arts Centre, Colchester
18 Oct - Junction, Cambridge
19 Oct - Charlotte, Leicester
20 Oct - Scala, London
21 Oct - Academy 2, Birmingham
22 Oct - Night and Day, Manachester
24 Oct - Met Uni, Leeds
25 Oct - Georgian Theatre, Stockton
26 Oct - Academy, Liverpool
27 Oct - The Arches, Glasgow
28 Oct - Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
29 Oct - Bongo Club, Edinburgh
SashaS
23-9-2004
James Yorkston and the Athletes’ album ‘Just Beyond the River’ is released 20 September 2004 by Domino
|
|
|
