Yahweh - Fresh Air Session

Track Listing
1. Here I Am
2. Humans and Other Animals
3. It's Cold
4. Take Me To Thornhill
4. The Wee Ending

Download

We've Got It Covered #18

I really don't think I could imagine Yahweh covering anyone else but Animal Collective, even before hearing the song it just sounds like the perfect match up for their musical style. Originally recorded as part of a BBC Campervan session at last years Rockness Festival, this a corking wee take of 'My Girls'.

Yahweh - My Girls (Animal Collective cover)

Scots Way-Hay #29 - Yahweh

The first time I heard Yahweh was back last year on the inaugural Under the Radar podcast, there was a lot of great tracks on the show, but for me this was the one that stood out. Later that week I found myself in Avalanche Records in Glasgow (now Love Music, although it will always be Avalanche to me), intent upon buying their album 'Tug of Love'. The two things that stood out from that day was taking the CD home and gleefully unwrapping the brown paper bag and string package like it was some treasured possession. The second was sitting in my back garden in glorious sunshine, drinking far too many beers and listening to this album on repeat until late in the evening. I also remember waking the next day, feeling disgustingly rough and thinking to myself was that album really as good as I thought it was or was I just pished.
Thankfully though it wasn't just me being my drunken bum-self, it sounded just as good in the sober day of light. So that's my rambling story about how I first came across them, I suppose I should try and give you a better incite into the band. Yahweh is essentially the project of a talented young gentleman by the name of Lewis Cook. Originally from the Dumfriesshire town of Moffat, but now based in Glasgow, he makes lo-fi electronica music, that in the past has been compared to artists diverse as Boards of Canada through to Arab Strap. For me personally, I find it to be quite a unique sound that takes lots of the best bits of all of his influences and makes them truly his own. The new single, 'Make Me Stop' even improves upon this original promise, this is a band that will continue to grow their sound. Hop on, it's going to be one hell of a ride.


Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hello, I'm Lewis Cook and I make music under the name of Yahweh.

How would you describe the music you make?

It totally depends on who I was describing it to. If I was speaking generally, I'd just say weird pop music.

How did you start out making music?

I started off learning nu-metal songs on the guitar when i was wee and never really had the desire to learn how to play an instrument properly that much. In some respects, it was all about the quick fix. 'I can play three chords now. Listen to how these three chords sound when I press this button! Now when I turn this knob up! And this pedal...' etc. I'm still the same, I think. Even with programming and recording, I just like to press buttons and turn knobs to see how they sound and don't have much time for manuals and tutorials. The only instrument I have ever spent time learning to play the traditional way was the sitar and I don't use that for Yahweh very often at all.

What process goes into the way you write songs?

I don't think I have ever really written a song 'properly'. Maybe this idea of a 'proper' way to write a song is made up in my head but I imagine it to involve sitting down with intent to write something -perhaps with a purpose in mind - and then going about it in a semi-rigid and vaguely formal way. I don't know if anyone writes music like this but I never have. I never know what the finished song will sound like when I sit down to record it. Quite often, I'll record a loop or a guitar piece or a section on the harmonium or maybe just my voice then come back to it a few days later then add something else on top of it. More often than not, I like trying out some less 'tuneful' techniques over the top of what I already have recorded like field recordings, feedback, record crackle, tape hiss and stuff. By the end of that session, I often listen back to what I've recorded and hate what I've done and be quite depressed about having wasted 5 hours on something as crap as this. Maybe a few days later I'll listen back to it and think 'Wow! This actually sounds quite good! It just needs this and that...' and then it turns into a song.

Who are your big musical influences?

I genuinely don't feel as if there's anyone in particular I want to sound like. I listen to a lot of music and I'm definitely influenced from the things I listen to, probably more sub-consciously than I'm aware. That said, I think in some cases there's more to learn from the philosophy and intent from an artist than necessarily stealing aspects of their sound. For example, I'm definitely influenced by dub music in the way that it embraces irregularities and celebrates the 'faults' of music technology. There's something about that that really does something for me. I love the way that artists like Crescent, Broadcast, Colleen, Susumu Yokota, Jeffrey Lewis and Fennesz seem to me to be investigating a similar line of thought in their own very particular ways. I'm also really interested in the meditative qualities that can exist in music which is something I haven't explored as much as I'd have liked to in Yahweh so far.

Your latest release was a split single with Gerry Loves Records, how did that come about?

I met Andy and Paddy in a working men's club across the road from Crossmyloof train station in Glasgow. We were there to see Conquering Animal Sound and Barn Owl. One of the guys overheard me mention something about my band when I was talking to my friend and asked me what my band was called. I think they must have heard my music before because when I told them that I made music as Yahweh, they were insistent on buying me and my friends beer. I'd like to say that happens all the time to me but... Anyway, I'd kept in touch with Andy and Paddy, going to the Glasgow launch of their first release which was the split single with Conquering Animal Sound and Debutant and sent them through a couple of tracks in May asking them if they'd be interested in releasing it. We decided to go with Make Me Stop as the main track but the other track, Waves, comes with the record as a download too.

Yahweh - Make Me Stop by gerrylovesrecords

For me personally it seemed like quite an odd choice to have yourselves doing a split single with Trapped in Kansas, as you don’t seem to be a similar ilk of music. What was the thinking behind it all?

The thing that really made me sure that it would be good was looking at Gerry Loves Records last release and how much I liked that record. For me, I think both the artists on that record are also really quite different from each other but it works beautifully as a release. Trapped in Kansas are doing different things musically but I think there's definitely mutual respect for what each other is doing and hopefully there's an audience that can appreciate both. I think there definitely is but even if there wasn't, I don't think that's any reason to put anyone off from buying the record if they like one of us but not the other. I think one of the beautiful things about GLR is the passion and love for music that resonates from Andy and Paddy, not for one particular style of music but for music generally and a desire to create something special.

The band name seems to me, to be quite a bold statement of intent, why did you decide to go with Yahweh?

There's definitely an aspect of rebellious teenager wanting to be controversial there but it also seemed to work well on another level. I really liked the idea of appropriating something incredibly majestic and taking the word and associating it with something entirely unrelated. In a lot of ways it's totally out of place as a moniker for what I do but that's kind of what I like about it.

You recorded your debut album ‘Tug of Love’ almost entirely on your own, how have you found it working with other musicians?

I still do almost all the recording of my tracks myself, mostly down to the way I record the music. However, when Yahweh plays live, we consist of 3 of us (previously 4 until Hugh sadly left to live in Berlin for a year) which is me, Sadie and Stuart. We all met properly through the band and have become really good friends. I think we all respect each other a lot musically and the live set benefits a lot from everyone's input. Sometimes it can take over an hour before we actually pick up any instruments when we practice through talking and drinking cups of tea. I wouldn't have it any other way though.

What are your plans for the rest of the year and beyond? Do you have any new releases planned for any time soon?

I keep promising that we'll do a tour of some sort. We were offered a few gigs on the continent this summer after I asked around on the internet but it's just a case of making things financially viable. We're looking into booking some dates outside of Glasgow in October though. As for releases, maybe there'll be another one before the end of 2010.


Yahweh - Glasgow Smiles Better

Yahweh's split single with Trapped in Kansas is available to buy new on 7" and download through Gerry Loves Records for the very reasonable sum of £3.50. Their debut album, 'Tug of Love' is still available to purchase, although copies are pretty limited so be quick. This was one of my favourite albums of last year, I'd urge you to check it out.

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Weekly Round Up (25/07/10)

Monday - Penguins Kill Polar Bears sunk their teeth into some Fresh Meat
Tuesday - Scottish American outfit, The Wynnton Marshals Radio 2 session got a well earned posting. Fans of the Teenage Fanclub would be recommended to check them out
Wednesday - The Seventeenth Century stepped up to the plate and became the 25th entry into the Scots Way Hay club. Great band, great post, great tunes, if you missed it on Wednesday make sure you check them out.
Thursday - The legendary John D from Pin Up Nights did some Community Service, plus I also posted live sets from this T Break Stage.
Friday - Yet another week filled with some amazing Freebies, including tracks from Peenko favourite King Post Kitsch, a greta new tune from Edwyn Collins, up and coming Edinburgh outfit Trapped Mice and some solo tracks from Ryan Joseph Burns of the afore mentioned The Seventeenth Century.
Saturday - Camera Obscura were our We've Got It Covererd stars with their take on the Abba classic Super Trooper


News, gigs and any other gubbins......




Right it's Sunday, Sunday's nights are usually pretty dull nights, the fear of work the next day tends to start to kick in late in the afternoon. So what better a way to cure those blues than by heading along to the Classic Grand tonight for Mammoeth’s debut album launch. Formerly known as Team Turnip , the band have organised cracking wee line up featuring Sunset Song (formerly Wake The President), recent 'Ayetunes vs Peenko' starlets Randolph’s Leap and the a talented young lady by the name of Georgia Seddon (the daughter of Incredible String Band legend Mike Heron- now that's some impressive heritage). Doors are at 7pm and tickets are only £6, possibly the cheapest Sunday night blues curer that you're ever going to find.
You can find further details here.



Now for the bit where I go all corporate on you all. Some of you (i.e. Jim) might remember that I ran a post a while back about the end of the Mill, 'cleverly' entitled 'Run of the Mill'. I had picked the information up from a bands blog, but as they had their fingers rapped for it I had to pull the post. Turned out that it was actually true though, the Mill is no more, some might argue that it's not that great a loss, but I always thought it was a good idea that could have been tweaked. I guess once you give things away for free it kind of devalues to a certain extent, which usually meant that you ended up with a lot folk being there to be seen rather than to see the bands. I know I am getting older, but seriously why the fuck do people go to gigs just to talk shite to their mates. The older I get the more I can relate to Larry David.
Anyway, there was a point to this, honest there was. Basically the Mill is no more, in it's place Miller have used their research to find a product more tailored towards what 'the kids' want. It's called Miller Filtered and t sounds like it good be a much better way to market beer and music together. What they have decided to do is go with the novel idea of bringing big name bands to Oran Mor (sorry Edinburgh, but there will no longer be any East coast Miller gigs), and to have them play their songs in a stripped back fashion. Kicking it all off are The Doves, a band that are billed as one of the biggest in Britain, or at least that's what the press had us believe. Weren't they supposed to do an Elbow last year, I don't think they ever quite made the major league breakthrough did they? Still though, they are a pretty big band, I think the fact that the gig sold out in less than 24 hours can vouch for that. In addition to the Doves they have two local bands playing, one of which is Pearl and the Puppets. An artist that I will that I have never really painted in a positive light, after seeing her play at the launch I can appreciate that she's talented. Not my cup of tea, but she should do well. As for the other band that are playing on the night, they were so bland that I can't fully remember their name.
Right that's just about enough of my ramblings on Miller Filtered, basically it sounds like an interesting concept. The Doves gig is sold out so you'll have to wait until the next event before you can check it all out. Apparently they have someone pretty special lined up, but they won't be releasing any details until after the first gig takes place. So basically keep those eyes peeled, I am sure they have something exciting in store for us all.




In case you missed the plug for it during the week, then here's a wee reminder that this Friday is the second ever PinUp Nights Festival, featuring sets Mitchell Museum, Sonny Marvello, Futuristic Retro Champions and Campfires in Winter. Plus DJ sets from Scott from Sons & Daughters, Remember Remember, plus loads more. Check their website for further details.



Innovative Edinburgh base label, Gerry Loves Records, celebrate the release of their second split single. After the success of their first split release which featured Conquering Animal Sound and Debutant. Now they're back with another really interesting combination, Yahweh and Trapped in Kansas. The single is out next week (2nd of August) on limited edition 7", with the added bonus of a download of the two tracks, plus also an exclusive bonus track by each of the artists. Plus if you're quick off the mark then there is also going to be an extra special super limited, deluxe edition. You can pre-order yourself a copy by heading over to the Gerry Loves website.


To celebrate the release they're putting on couple of gigs in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The first one is this Thursday (29th) at the The Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh, with the bands relocating to Glasgow for on Friday the 30th July at Nice n Sleazys. Trapped in Kansas and Yahweh play live on both nights, plus support. You can stream both of the singles below.

LOVES002 by gerrylovesrecords

Next weekend sees the launch of the inaugural Captains Rest Festival. It takes place over two nights, Saturday 31st July and Sunday 1st August, with the 'Rest is being taken over by a whole mixture of Scottish and international bands. Saturday's line-up looks something like this World Atlas (Brooklyn, Ny) Lenzie Moss (Glasgow) Male Pattern Band (Glasgow) Lady North (Edinburgh) Q Without U (Glasgow) Calacas (Glasgow) Mike Nisbett (Glasgow)
While on the Sunday they have Young Empires (Toronto, Ca) She's Hit (Glasgow) Un Cadavre - (SEE THEY CAN STILL GET GIGS IN GLASGOW, FUNNY THAT IT'S WITH PCL) Xprolifex (Glasgow) Tangles (Glasgow) Curators (Glasgow) Little Kicks (Aberdeen/Edinburgh).
Further details are available here.



Tickets for this years Retreat Festival go on sale tomorrow, billed as a strung out weekend of DIY pop music in Edinburgh. The event which is in it's third year, takes place over the weekend of the 28th and 29th August. Featuring 16 acts from Edinburgh and Glasgow, the event has a a cracking line up in store for you.
SATURDAY AUGUST 28TH : eagleowl, Enfant Bastard, FOUND, Jesus H. Foxx, Skeleton Bob, Withered Hand and Wounded Knee
SUNDAY AUGUST 29TH : Benni Hemm Hemm, Conquering Animal Sound, The Douglas Firs, The Leg, Meursault, Milk, Rob St John and The Wee Rogue
Day tickets are £7 and Weekend Tickets are just £12
Click here for further details.

Lastly, next week sees the launch of another independant Scottish Festival, Doune The Rabbit Hole, which surprisingly enough takes places up in Doune (near Stirling). This one is for charity, it has a cracking array of Scottish talent, it looks something like this Meursault (Song, By Toad), The Junipers , Withered Hand (SL), Rozi Plain (Fence), Francois & The Atlas Mountains, Wounded Knee, Hidden Masters, Lipsync for A Lullaby, Les BOF!, Modus, Sara & The Snakes, and much more, as well as (DJs) Rudi Zygadlo (Planet Mu), Josh Jones (Death Disco - The Arches, Glasgow), Tall Paul Robinson (The Go-Go Club – Studio 24, Edinburgh), and GRNR.
Now that's what I call a line up! Tickets are very reasonable £15-£47, you can buy them here.

Peenko's Albums of 2009 #21 to 30

30. Yahweh - Tug Love


29. Volcano Choir - Unmap


28. The Antlers - Hospice


27. Air France - No Way Down


26. Lord Cut Glass - s/t


25. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimist


24. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion


23. Zoey Van Goey - The Cage Was Unlocked All Along


22. There Will Be Fireworks - s/t


21. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz

Yahweh – Live At Rockness

Track Listing
1. Glasgow Smiles Better
2. King Of Hillhead
3. My Girls

Download

Introducing - Yahweh

I first came across Yahew on Under the Radars first podcast, to be honest it wasn't the kind of music that I would normally be into, but there was something that sucked me in, that and the fact that I had no idea how to actually pronounce their name (yes I know I'm a tit). But now I know how to pronounce it I am more than happy to go with it (much like when you're abroad and you don't feel confident in asking for things, thankfully though I have Nic to do that for me), anyway, as per usual I am rambling. So what are they like, well they have been heralded as being being a lo-fi Boards of Canada, but as I am a bit of an ignoramus on BoC I'll take folks word for it. The first time I listened to the album it was like I was on some kind of crazy trip, that might have been because I was drinking on my own in the back garden, but then again I like to think it was the music. There were points that reminded me of the first Reindeer Section album, for which I guess i will be the only be the only one that hears it, but hey we all take different things from what we listen to. Again I'm rambling, so probably the best thing for you to do is listen to 'Glasgow Smiles Better' below, it is a truly amazing song, love it, seriously listen to it, then please come back and tell me I'm right, either that or just tell me I'm a stupid c*** and I don't know what I'm talking about. If you like what you hear then go buy the album, you can pick it up through their Myspaz or in Avalanche, it comes in a nicely wrapped brown paper bag, so if you're a yanky doodle dandy you can liken it too booze, if you're Scottish then you might liken it buying porn ya dirty pervs that you are.

If you read all of this I apologise, there really should be a breathalyser on my PC that blocks me after a couple of drinks. Please just check them out, the albums great, unlike my writing skills.


You can catch them at the Captains Rest on the 1st of July, or even better go and see them on the 16th of July at the V Club with rather ace Apples of Energy.

Yahew - Glasgow Smiles Better

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