RIP IT UP Magazine

Their name alone conjures up vividly colourful images of luscious purity. As well it should, given that they took it from a shade of blue popularised by a post-modernist French artist in the 1950s. The title of their debut album is also inspired by an artist, this time by American poet Jack Kerouac and his novel, On The Road. Add to the mix their highly expressive lyrics and cutting edge musical style and you’ve got one of the most artful and inventive musical groups currently plying their trade in Australia.

To the locals, they’re known as Yves Klein Blue.

“As a person, I need to either write out things or draw or play music,” Michael Tomlinson, frontman of the irrepressibly chic indie four-piece, explains. “It’s a kind of outlet that I need, otherwise I feel very frustrated and kind of unwell. I feel like I’m unfulfilled.”

It’s comments like these which give an insight into the uniquely artistic streak that runs through the band.

“I really admire writers like Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits,” he continues, “but their lyrics are very storytelling kind of lyrics and it’s very visual. I realise that I almost don’t have any visual aspect to my lyrics, it’s more conceptual. But I really enjoy it when songs are able to articulate something that you already understand but you weren’t able to articulate before. I like people to somehow come away with some sort of a response or an opinion.”

These are the words of a true artist; someone who’s not just in it for the fame or fortune, but for some intrinsically higher purpose. If they wanted a response to their music, they certainly got it with Polka, possibly the coolest four minutes of music about the clandestine excesses of teenage nightlife ever put down on tape. Ever since that song it’s been a whirlwind journey to the top, although Tomlinson speaks modestly about where his band currently sits.

“Well I wouldn’t say by any stretch of the imagination that we’ve risen to fame or anything like that. Every time we got somewhere, so to speak, we were lucky enough to be afforded other opportunities. What’s the saying? You know, the goal posts keep moving forward. We’ve had our heads down and I guess we’ve still got our heads down. And that’s the most important thing for us, to make the most of all these incredible opportunities we’re given.”

Recently these opportunities have included recording a debut album in LA, touring America and the UK, before returning home and bringing the party to most capital cities and regions in Australia.

“It’s been incredibly supportive. Three out of the four shows [in Queensland] sold out and Canberra was really well attended. The crowds everywhere are singing along so it’s very reassuring. It’s wonderful to see Australia - being on tour is quite homely.”

The reason for this tour is to promote their newly-released debut full-length, Ragged And Ecstatic. The album is truly one of the finest Australian releases of the year, displaying a mish-mash of musical influences and styles, ranging from the bitingly rocky Digital Love to the psychedelia-tinged Queeny and the country-fried Gin Sling, all fuelledby Tomlinson’s charmingly snarly vocals. But producing such an accomplished work came off the back of months of hard work in the studio, as Tomlinson explains.

“It was tough. It was a matter of tearing the songs down to their basic parts and assessing almost everything about them, which wasn’t a comfortable process for anyone seeing as we’d lived with the songs for so long. But looking back, I’m so pleased we did because we learnt so much about songwriting and about making music.

“I think the one thing we learnt was not to have any hang-ups about pop sensibilities. I think the greatest skill you can have is to be free and create without boundaries and then switch from the mode of creator into a destroyer, or editor.

“Coming out of that experience, we wouldn’t change a note on that record. We’re extremely proud of it and we feel very confident in what we came up with.”

They’re not the only ones who are confident in their abilities however. Ever since their inception, Yves Klein Blue have attracted audiences not only in Australia, but all around the world. Having recently returned from a tour in the US and UK, Michael says he cannot explain why Yves Klein Blue have a foreign flavour.

“I guess you just can’t put your finger on it. You can’t put your finger on why a certain band’s your favourite band or your least favourite band. I guess we’ve always tried to have a fairly open sound, a sound that isn’t necessarily Australian but isn’t necessarily any other place either.

“I wonder if we in Australia have such a thing as a sound,” he ruminates, “because the American and British scenes certainly have a very cohesive kind of a sound. And we’ve always been told that we have a kind of British sound but when we got there, we realised it really wasn’t the case. But it was very exciting. We just felt like we could have a go at cutting it with everyone else.”

Upon returning home, Yves Klein Blue have kept their creative juices flowing, wasting no time jumping back into the rehearsal room and writing new material. Inspired by his trips to America and the UK, Michael says the new songs have taken on a number of influences ranging from Primal Scream to The Happy Mondays and Elvis Costello. Like a creative bubble ready to burst, Michael is struggling to restrain himself and his ability.

“In many ways, I wish we could go straight back and record again because I just feel like I've got so many ideas. But I guess we’ll have to wait.”

Yves Klein Blue, Philadelphia Grand Jury and The Shiny Brights play Jive on Sat Jul 11. Ragged And Ecstatic is out now through Dew Process/UMA.

taken from: http://www.ripitup.com.au/interviews/13913