D. Yellow Swans

Recently relocating from Portland to San Francisco, the Yellow Swans haven't lost any of their productivity or intensity. We've had a little talk for rien about improvisation, typos, Little Jimmy Scott and why noise is always always there. This is a beautiful little interview, wouldn't pass it if I were you kids!

rien: Okay to get it out of the way, just one silly little question: is everything you do 100% improvisational, or do you keep some bases at times that you tend to use and then improvise upon live?
Pete: Our process is constantly changing. Sometimes we'll go through phases of attempted compositions that we'll replicate at least in some identifiable way. We've been more focused on improvisation that are based around drum machine patterns over the last year, but I think we've beginning to move into new territory. Instead of playing off of a lot of drum themes, we've been trying to develop practice drills to expand our musical vocabulary. We're trying to cover more ground over an extended period of time. We just did a US tour and our sets averaged about 15 minutes. We got a lot of complaints about that... so we're trying to spead out the sound and make it more tense and varied.
Gabriel: This isn't a silly question at all, but actually a very crucial one. At times I don't know the answer. We've shifted between being partially improvised and fully improvised throughout our time as a band, and what improvising means to me has changed a lot in that time. We do repeat elements in our songs, but those elements vary: structure, drum pattern, guitar part, vocal, even type of energy, are all things that we at times use to define and characterize a "song". For our album on Narnack we refined pieces that had started as improvisations. We worked them into more identifiable elements as we approached recording them, and some we can play live more-or-less as they were recorded. Still what Pete or I may view as a repetition of an element in a song, would still involve improvisation.

rien: Earlier on I was listening to something of yours, I think it was the Detestifi Yellow Swans cdr, and I was noticing the top beat and then the lower more muffled beat which was much faster, and for some reason, I suddenly thought: This is some clever-ass modern hip hop! The question is: was I on drugs?
Gabriel: Hip Hop is absolutely a strong element of what we do and what has influenced our music. We haven't set out to directly reference Hip Hop, but Pete's drum programming is definitely a result of a lot of Popular Hip Hop and Dance Hall being played in our house. We both listen to a great deal of varied music, and, at its best, Yellow Swans is a synthesis of all this. A lot of what people hear depends on the context in which they find us, as well as their own experience. One person will hear the Dead C, another the Neptunes, another Sun Ra, another Wolf Eyes, and that has less to do with what we think is in the music but more what point of reference the listener has for us.
Pete: Not at all.. I write the beats and I'm into hip hop like I'm into anything else.. My first record was Run-DMC "Raising Hell." I didn't listen to rock stuff til I was 14 or 15. up until then, I was really into Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions and geto boys. I listen to a lot of hip-hop radio these days because my car radio eats tapes. I also really like dancehall a lot.. I would really like to produce a hip-hopish record at some point but I'd have to gel with an MC and that seems really hard for me. I was super into the Neptunes and Silver Apples when we were starting this band. I'm also really into crooners. Scott Walker and Little Jimmy Scott.
I just made a first wave ska mix-tape for a buddy.
I really like a little bit of everything.

rien: How did the Jyrk collective start? I really appreciate the fact that you do your own handmade covers and all the sweet animations and art.
Gabriel: Collective Jyrk was started by Pete and I along with E*Rock, who runs the record label Audio Dregs. We all were working on various projects and it made sense to combine our interests to lend mutual support to each other. E*rock was really excited about a lot of the new music and art that was emerging out of places like Fort Thunder and Paper Rad, and wanted to support like minded artists in Portland. We wanted to put out our own records and thought that it would be good to help other artist make records, cds, zines, etc. The idea was that everyone could do what they were good at and be free to work as they please - Jyrk would just be a way for them to find assistance and companionship.
Pete: Portland always has tons of super weird bands and usually doesn't have a label to promote things. There was a point where we were just getting going with Yellow Swans and our buddy, Eric was super pumped on the new noise scene and all the Providence art stuff, and we were all hanging out and just being pissed that all these bands wouldn't get anything put out and the artists wouldn't get shown anywhere. so it just kind of happened from there.. started out with CDRs and records and now we're doing tapes.. I'm into expanding our tape catalogue. We're staying within our financial means and the demand from the public. most things we put out stick around for awhile if it's 20 copies or 500. Except for that Xiu Xiu LP..
The artwork is often awesome because we get the bands to do it themselves and bands tend to REALLY care about what their stuff looks like. I really can't believe what people have handed me and then asked me to sell.. Seriously beautiful stuff......... Then there's the artwork I do.... Xerox destroyer. I can barely write my own name.

rien: And how does it work really? Who does what and just how much fun is it?
Gabriel: I describe Jyrk as a loose collective of autonomous artists working together. If I had my way we'd be more of a Syndicalist type of group with meetings and Secretariats, but truthfully things seem to work better with more freedom and less expectations.
Pete and I tend to focus on the cdr/tape/vinyl aspect of things, but we each take on different projects using Jyrk as a kind of umbrella. E*rock is most excited about the Animations and web galleries, though he also does zines and CDR's. Pete tends to focus on the records, though he's talked about starting a publishing wing. I deal with the records as well, though I tend to mostly take on art duties. I also do zines and have curated art shows under the Jyrk moniker.
The truth is that every artist who does anything relating to Jyrk has a lot of freedom to do what they like, and the rest of us just are there to help them create something. Whatever they need help doing, from artwork to kicking down a little bit of money. Sometimes all we do is just give them encouragement and support to take what they're doing to the next step. It is fun, though we spend every last dime we have on CDR's and silkscreen ink, and selling things is not nearly as much fun as giving stuff away or trading. But yeah, it's fun.
Pete: "work" is a relatively optimistic term. pretty much.. well.. things are pretty chaotic with the label.. we don't run a lot of stuff by each other. we all just put out and put up what we want.. I think at this point, we've got a pretty solid catalogue.. lots of super weird improv and punk stuff and some super strange songwriters. Sometimes people just put our name on their releases without telling anyone involved.. It's cool.
As far as who does what?? well.. We all put out CDs.. I do most of the CD burning and mailorder.. I like doing really boring monotonous work like cut-rate audio mastering... Gabe does a lot of art stuff on releases and he's the in-house conspiracy theorist.. Eric does web design, animations and hell of art on that thing.

rien: What prompted the move from Portland to SF? Is this going to have any major impact on the way Jyrk works?
Gabriel: The move happened for personal reasons for both of us. The biggest impact is that it separates us from a lot of the amazing artists and musicians in Portland who became part of Jyrk, and who were our friends. On the other hand, it encourages us to view our community as encompassing the whole West Coast of the USA. Jyrk is about friendships as much as it's about art, and our community of friends has grown to include places like LA, Denver, Seattle, as well as Oakland and Portland.
Pete: Portland to SF?? Well. I needed a change. I had lived in Oregon my whole life. I'm 25 so that's a big thing.. never moving away from home. I never went off to college or anything.. I also have a lot of really close friends that have ended up here over the years so it seemed like a good place to go. Portland has been in decline over the last year or so. Nothing specific, just running out of gas maybe. There are still folks killing it up there.. Do you know Jonny X and the Groadies? Best band from Portland EVER. They kill the Wipers.
Back to SF. Gabe's family is here. He's into it. I'm into it.. Jyrk isn't changing. TRUE TIL DEATH. MORE TAPES AND MORE TEENAGERS. Less legitimacy.

rien: This is an age old question, but do you think music can play an important part in "killing the old world"? I am mostly referring to an interview of yours I remember in which you were mentioning how you considered improv to be a situationist thing. Do you think that the small collectives like Jyrk, and the direct improvised live settings can bring a shift in the current music scene that would put the focus on sharing something and giving something that makes people hungry for experiences and no longer just be spectators?
Gabriel: Situationist was a typo, but not really a mistake. Speaking only for myself, I believe that people need to organize themselves as a community in order to enact real change. That can mean many things, but I think that artists supporting each other is absolutely essential for their survival and growth, all the more so in American-style capitalist societies. I think that as Artists identify their needs and desires, and as they begin to work towards realizing these things, their art begins to reflect their capacity to change their own world. By setting this example with their art, they can inspire others to do the same with their own lives. Something I think about often in playing improvised music is that it is a metaphor for freedom, and possibility, but one that is real, and being demonstrated immediately and honestly in front of people. I believe that an audience, even one who doesn't like our music, can recognize that we genuinely believe there can be new ideas, new sounds, new ways of communicating and creating. Hopefully this empowers them.
I agree with Bertolt Brecht that Art is not a Mirror to reflect society but a Hammer with which to shape it.
Pete: Oh man.. That "Situationist" reference was actually a typo. I had said that Improvised music was "situational." Which is much less bold of a statement.
The question posed is pretty important despite that little discrepancy. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how significant the new noise/free/improv/tape label world is. It seemed like there was massive momentum behind our recent US tour. Our album wasn't out then and we had no real promotion behind it. It was all DIY spaces and us selling JYRK CDRs across the country. There is something happening. But it's all underground. What remains to be determined is if this momentum will be coopted and turned into something as inane as "girl-power" was to Riot GRRRL.
So, in terms of "killing," probably not. I know that MP3 culture is killing the major record industry and I think we should all download some lil jon in solidarity. I have this wonderful vision that filesharing will force major labels to go out of business and, in turn, shift the focus of music to being performance as opposed to object. Making records is a weird thing.... It's a strange process and doesn't really amount to much other than there being a lot of plastic going into a landfill somewhere.

rien: Also, do you like waffles?
Gabriel: Yes but I prefer poofages (POFFETJES!! man, that does indeed ring a bell to me, ah... the advantages of having a dutch girlfriend!)- Dutch mini pancakes, with strawberries and powdered sugar. I think Pete prefers crepes.
Pete: YES. Breakfast is like the regional cuisine of Portland. My favorite is a good tofu scramble with home fries and pumpkin bread. Breakfast of CHAMPS!

rien: I haven't received my copy of the Narnack release yet, could you tell me a bit more about it, I saw it called "pop-noise" online and nearly crapped my pants.
Gabriel: It is a "Pop-noise" record. We approach each release with a sensitivity towards who is releasing it. Since the Narnack release is bound to be heard by more people, we created it with the concept of it being a noise record for the masses. Keep in mind that the masses are at best a thousand or so people. I promise you that people who hate noise will hate this record every bit as much. Its been out for a week and I've already found a copy second hand.
Pete: Why would you crap your pants? We got asked by an indie-ROCK label to put out a record. At the time they asked us, there was only Coachwhips, Guitar Wolf and the Sonic Youth/Erase Errata 7" were out and we were working with these super abrasive sounds and putting out recs with John Wiese so we decided to give it up for them and punk it out a bit. Then, durning the process of making the record, we ran into some financial roadblocks and instead of mixing and mastering the record, we decided to ask a few friends who could produce the record on their computers on their time. We recorded raw tracks and then sent off the seperated instrumental tracks to Jamie from Xiu Xiu and Adam Forkner that's been in one million bands, he's probably best known for Yume Bitsu. So the producers added their touches and made it into what it is. I think it's pretty rockin and listenable despite being noisy and broken to all hell.

rien: At the very moment I am writing this question you have suddenly been reviewed twice by Pitchforkmedia in a short period of time and bands like Wolf Eyes or even Nautical Almanac are often mentioned on bigger medias, do you have the impression the damn improvised noise underground is taking over the world?
Gabriel: I think that Noise music resonates with young people, especially those who have become a bit tired of most underground and pop music. The kids who are teens now have grown up in a society that already uses noise and abstract sound elements all the time, whether it's in hip hop or cell phone rings. Compositionally they've become accustomed to hearing music that has no pop song structure thanks to dance music. Further, I would argue that the pre-apocolyptic quality of our planet lends itself to the abandon and "out" qualities of noise music.
Noise music, especially made by people like Metalux, Hair Police, Black Dice and the other more recognizable groups, isn't so far away from rock music. If anything, a lot of it manages to create a kind of decoder device for decades of experimental music, from Merzbow to Throbbing Gristle to Smegma to John Cage to Stravinsky. I feel like its the realization of nearly a century of avant garde music seeping into the collective unconscious.
Pete: Like I said earlier, it all depends on how the people involved interact with larger media. I'm sure there's someone at warner bros or whatever trying to figure out how they can sign and market wolf eyes and lightning bolt. I don't think this whole thing is going to be as flash-in-the-pan as electroclash was because it's not media engineered. It's mainly a bunch of teens who are stoked and 20 somethings who are stoked and 30 somethings who are stoked all thru the insane older folks that have been doing nuts music forever. Xenakis? Smegma? Noise keeps happening.

rien: Finally, what will you do after you stop replying to these stupid questions?
Gabriel: Love my friends, love my family, and love life.(Thanks Rien)
Pete: well. it's about 9 pm right now and I have a job where I teach art classes to developmentally disabled seniors. It's a fantastic job. But since the folks I work with aren't very high functioning for the most part, I can't get away with not getting enough sleep. If I'm too tired, someone may get hurt. So bed after mastering our next Weird Forest LP. And maybe I'll finish that Little Jimmy Scott Bio.

Thanks again to Gabriel and Pete.


Links:
Doop Dee Doo Yellow Swans
Jyrk
Narnack
Weird Forest