Everyone searches for their place, but along the way it’s easy to forget that the real essence of living is to engage in it, to not only experience it but embrace the chaos and uncertainty and elation and pain and everything in between. As Jack Kerouac so poignantly and simply put it, it’s the ragged and ecstatic joy of pure being. It’s this desire to experience and live all life has to offer that so brilliantly pervades Brisbane’s Yves Klein Blue debut album, fittingly called “Ragged & Ecstatic”.
“That summed up the whole experience; everything that’s on the album is about being alive and finding out about the world and your place in it,” frontman Michael Tomlinson explains. “It was the dilemma taking up a lot of my thoughts during the past couple of years: What is this place and where do I fit in? What do I have to do? And the highs and the lows – that’s what life is.”
The past couple of years have seen Yves Klein Blue (“Eve Kline Blue”) walk a path of highs. From the moment schoolmates Tomlinson and guitarist Charles Sale bonded over a love of music and realised their aspirations stretched far beyond their jam room, their path was set. Adding drummer Chris Banham and bassist Sean Cook, the quartet quickly and organically crafted their own sound that swam against the tide of the music scene around them. And with their 2008 debut EP “Draw Attention To Themselves” and single ‘Polka’ leading the way, the band’s skewed and playful pop hooks, refreshing rhythms and Tomlinson’s way with words, Yves Klein Blue sounded fresh but timeless, classicism mixed with youthful vigour. Incredibly, the four were barely out of their teens.
“We all like certain styles of music, but it’s impossible to be everything to everyone,” says Sale. “As difficult as it may be to have a universal-reaching appeal, we want as many people to appreciate, or at least respond, to our music. We try to make music that more people want to enjoy. And you might not want to take a risk with it, but it creates a good result.”
“We’re a band that’s influenced by not only new music but a lot of great older bands and classic recordings,” Cook says. “And there’s a certain vibe and feeling that wells up when you listen to those records. We talked about making our first record years ago – and I think Michael’s been thinking about his first record since he was an embryo.”
But first they had their own story on the road to write, as they built a reputation for energetic and resonating live performances that showcased their self-belief and talent. Relentless touring at home and abroad set them in good steed for their debut album and, in hindsight, also went a long way to inspiring it.
So with eight months of preparation under their belts, Yves Klein Blue ventured into the industrial wasteland of North Hollywood, piled into in a two-room flat and spent three months at Fairfax Studios pulling to pieces what they’d spent so long assembling. This unexpected and uncertain turn would prove to be masterful – even if it meant sleepless nights for Tomlinson, desperately scribbling new words in the bathroom at 4am, the only space in the flat that could be lit without disturbing the others.
“When we got to the studio we were confident,” Tomlinson says. “Then we tore apart every song we had and started again. That was a month ranging from total elation to total self-loathing.”
Recording with Kevin Augunas (Cold War Kids), Yves Klein Blue learnt fast to objectively view their work. With a less-is-more approach to varied arrangements and an energised live-sounding set-up ensured Tomlinson’s impassioned and witty lyricism came to the fore.
“We went over there wanting to do a live album, but Kevin made us realise the potential of what we could do with the songs,” Banham says. “We had a massive room where there was no reverb and the walls were padded, so you could put an amp in the middle of the space, mic it up, and it’d just capture a natural sound, a live vibe.”
“Kevin was the man that said: ‘Is this good enough?’ That was his challenge,” Tomlinson says. “And the challenge issued was the extra five per cent, which was the difference between what we thought was great and something beyond what we thought we could ever do. The five per cent between good and excellent is so important. So the challenge he issued was a big factor on the record.”
Great is a word that understates “Ragged & Ecstatic”, an album that subtly and cleverly captures the exuberance and experience of life, but in a way that’s as universal as it is personal. The end of the long journey was at Brisbane’s Airlock Studios and then Sydney’s Big Jesus Burger Studios with Scott Horscroft (The Presets, The Panics, Sleepy Jackson), where final touches to the mix were made.
This passion and uncompromising vision also makes “Ragged & Ecstatic” a lot of fun. With an off-the-cuff, energetic and live feel to the set, it veers from the buoyant, bright and swaggering single ‘Getting Wise’ and irresistible ‘Make Up Your Mind’, to the cheeky and joyous ska of ‘Summer Sheets’ and Dylan-esque generational anthem ‘About The Future’. Wonderfully original melodies ingrain, sentiments resonate and the feeling and splashes of colour carried by Tomlinson’s turns of phrase are illuminating.
“I didn’t want to have any throwaway lines; nothing that could discredit the intention of the lyric and nothing that would be unqualified,” the singer says.
Not unlike the book from which the words came, “Ragged & Ecstatic” is a wild, irresistible ride that, in the end, manages to hold a mirror up to your own place in this old world.
Yves Klein Blue’s debut album “Ragged & Ecstatic” is released through Dew Process on June 26th, 2009.
taken from: http://www.dew-process.com/artists-bio.cfm?id=26
RIP IT UP Review
YVES KLEIN BLUE
Issue 1041
RAGGED AND ECSTATIC (DEW PROCESS/UMA)
In 1955, French artist Yves Klein developed a deep blue hue of paint that had the same brightness and intensity as its dry pigments. The colour, crowned International Klein Blue, went on to be the inspiration for the majority of Klein’s masterpieces. In 2006, four lads from Brisbane borrowed his name and used it for their band. Three years later and after an almost unparalleled amount of hype from the Australian music industry, Yves Klein Blue have unveiled their very own masterpiece.
Yves Klein Blue’s debut full length, Ragged And Ecstatic, delivers on the promises made last year by their triumphant EP, Draw Attention To Themselves. Recorded in LA with Kevin Augunas, indie producer extraordinaire responsible for the Cold War Kids’ latest, the foursome have crafted a mature piece of Australian indie rock with a healthy serving of pop sensibilities spattered throughout.
Chances are you’ve already heard the insanely danceable Polka, filled with frontman Michael Tomlinson’s enigmatic musings on chemically fuelled nights on the town. And it’s Tomlinson’s witty lyricism that goes a long way to making Yves Klein Blue so damn charming. There aren’t many wasted moments on Ragged And Ecstatic, with every song a testament to the boys’ versatility and skill. While the horns of Summer Sheets are reminiscent of that signature ska sound, the carefully crafted rock goodness of Queeny cries out to be played at high volume every time.
Whatever your musical affiliations, Ragged And Ecstatic is destined to have you shuffling along in your bedroom and bursting into impromptu air guitar solos on the train. Oh, and it’s a hell of a lot more entertaining that watching paint dry.
Liam Sharrad
taken from: http://www.ripitup.com.au/reviews/13885
Issue 1041
RAGGED AND ECSTATIC (DEW PROCESS/UMA)
In 1955, French artist Yves Klein developed a deep blue hue of paint that had the same brightness and intensity as its dry pigments. The colour, crowned International Klein Blue, went on to be the inspiration for the majority of Klein’s masterpieces. In 2006, four lads from Brisbane borrowed his name and used it for their band. Three years later and after an almost unparalleled amount of hype from the Australian music industry, Yves Klein Blue have unveiled their very own masterpiece.
Yves Klein Blue’s debut full length, Ragged And Ecstatic, delivers on the promises made last year by their triumphant EP, Draw Attention To Themselves. Recorded in LA with Kevin Augunas, indie producer extraordinaire responsible for the Cold War Kids’ latest, the foursome have crafted a mature piece of Australian indie rock with a healthy serving of pop sensibilities spattered throughout.
Chances are you’ve already heard the insanely danceable Polka, filled with frontman Michael Tomlinson’s enigmatic musings on chemically fuelled nights on the town. And it’s Tomlinson’s witty lyricism that goes a long way to making Yves Klein Blue so damn charming. There aren’t many wasted moments on Ragged And Ecstatic, with every song a testament to the boys’ versatility and skill. While the horns of Summer Sheets are reminiscent of that signature ska sound, the carefully crafted rock goodness of Queeny cries out to be played at high volume every time.
Whatever your musical affiliations, Ragged And Ecstatic is destined to have you shuffling along in your bedroom and bursting into impromptu air guitar solos on the train. Oh, and it’s a hell of a lot more entertaining that watching paint dry.
Liam Sharrad
taken from: http://www.ripitup.com.au/reviews/13885
YVES KLEIN BLUE – Ragged & Ecstatic
WEDNESDAY, 08 JULY 2009
(Dew Process/Universal)
An indie-pop debut set to soar
The fervently anticipated debut album from lovely Brisbane indie boys Yves Klein Blue (with a silent ‘s’, please) has finally materialised. After spending three months at Fairfax Studios in North Hollywood recording with Kevin Augunas (Cold War Kids), the group of four have produced a clever and joyous album, and a debut set to buoy them upwards and onwards. Each indie-pop song leaps out spinning, dancing and tripping, with intelligent lyrics and charmingly catchy tunes. The two most recognisable songs, Getting Wise and Polka, are great for a weekend jive and remain favourites despite the considerable exposure they’ve received in recent months. Other standouts include Soldier, a contemplative number that states “When I’m a grown man I only hope I don’t forget / Exactly how I feel right now in this moment”; and Digital Love, a slightly darker grunge and bass-infused reflection on methamphetamine use. Frontman Michael Tomlinson cites this album as being about life and how we each fit in, so it’s no surprise they drew inspiration from Jack Kerouac’s line “It’s the ragged and ecstatic joy of pure being” when deciding on a title. The album is full of unashamed romanticism, with lamentations of love, life and memories abounding, such as in Summer Sheets: “Oh, I know I’m being forward, that’s not like me / But it’s not often in life you look into two eyes / That make you forget everything”. This is a sophisticated, entertaining and spirited album that sets a pleasingly high precedent for debuting indie groups everywhere.
[Four Stars]
NINA ATKINSON
taken from: http://www.ravemagazine.com.au/content/view/16003/180/
(Dew Process/Universal)
An indie-pop debut set to soar
The fervently anticipated debut album from lovely Brisbane indie boys Yves Klein Blue (with a silent ‘s’, please) has finally materialised. After spending three months at Fairfax Studios in North Hollywood recording with Kevin Augunas (Cold War Kids), the group of four have produced a clever and joyous album, and a debut set to buoy them upwards and onwards. Each indie-pop song leaps out spinning, dancing and tripping, with intelligent lyrics and charmingly catchy tunes. The two most recognisable songs, Getting Wise and Polka, are great for a weekend jive and remain favourites despite the considerable exposure they’ve received in recent months. Other standouts include Soldier, a contemplative number that states “When I’m a grown man I only hope I don’t forget / Exactly how I feel right now in this moment”; and Digital Love, a slightly darker grunge and bass-infused reflection on methamphetamine use. Frontman Michael Tomlinson cites this album as being about life and how we each fit in, so it’s no surprise they drew inspiration from Jack Kerouac’s line “It’s the ragged and ecstatic joy of pure being” when deciding on a title. The album is full of unashamed romanticism, with lamentations of love, life and memories abounding, such as in Summer Sheets: “Oh, I know I’m being forward, that’s not like me / But it’s not often in life you look into two eyes / That make you forget everything”. This is a sophisticated, entertaining and spirited album that sets a pleasingly high precedent for debuting indie groups everywhere.
[Four Stars]
NINA ATKINSON
taken from: http://www.ravemagazine.com.au/content/view/16003/180/
Bull-IT Not Fade Away
Michael Tomlinson of Yves Klein Blue chatted to Chris Beaumont about the young band’s rapid blossoming and the upcoming Big O festival.
Fading away is not an option for Brisbane indie rockers, Yves Klein Blue.
The band is named after French artist Yves Klein’s famous blue paint, International Klein Blue (IKB), hoping to emulate the paint’s famed trait – eternal lustre.
“The remarkable thing about IKB is that, while most paint fades and loses its sheen, this paint has a special resin so it just doesn’t fade, it always looks fresh,” said lead singer, guitarist and “enthusiastic amateur” art fan, Michael Tomlinson.
“It’s kind of a metaphor. A lot of music we like is from 30 – 40 years ago and is still popular today, like IKB, it doesn’t fade with time. That’s the kind of music we hope to make,” he said.
It’s a positive frame of mind with which to embark on a musical career.
It has been barely three years since high school jam-buddies Tomlinson and guitarist Charles Sale linked up with bassist Sean Cook and drummer Chris Banham at the University of Queensland to form Yves Klein Blue.
Since then the young four-piece have been caught in a relentless updraught that is carrying them to dizzying heights in the music scene.
In 2007 they were scooped up by prominent label Dew Process (home of The Living End, The Grates, Sarah Blasko and Bernard Fanning) after they were named a Triple J Next Crop artist and then took out MTV’s Kickstart competition.
With Dew Process, YKB began to unfurl their wings and achieved lofty praise for their EP, Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention to Themselves.
The band then spent six weeks in the United States late last year to record their debut album, which is due for a mid-year release.
“I can only describe it as ultimately challenging and ultimately rewarding,” remarked Tomlinson.
“The stuff we came up with over there was beyond what we thought we could do.”
With a band name embedded in artistic foundations, it’s little surprise that Tomlinson’s creative process for making music ends up as a collection of shapes and drawings on paper.
“A song has different parts and layers, it has beats and crescendos and stuff like that, so for me it’s easier to map it out visually,” explained Tomlinson. “It’s like those mind maps we used to do in school. I can’t really write music, but this works for me - no one else understands it”.
It’s this kind of abstract creativity that accentuates the band’s sound, which Tomlinson and his fellow band members determinedly ensure doesn’t “adhere to or regurgitate any genre”.
Regardless of where critics peg them on the generic spectrum, YKB’s infectious blend of pop-rock rhythm, danceable beats and countless influences seems to entice fans to cross boundaries of musical taste, making the band a valuable and versatile addition to festival line-ups.
They are already festival veterans with Big Day Out, Splendour in the Grass, Great Escape and Pyramid Rock under their belt, and St Jerome’s Laneway and the Big O beckoning early in 2009.
The Big O, which will hit Australian university campuses during Orientation Week, will be a ‘coming home’ of sorts for Tomlinson, a former law student, “just don’t tell the bus driver though, I still use my student card to get around!”
Tomlinson says the band is keen to tour with heavyweight British headliners The Music and The Fratellis as well as fellow Aussie talents Ben Lee, Bluejuice and The Cassette Kids.
“I’m looking forward to it big time,” he said, “the bill is incredible – it’s great to be touring with The Fratellis again – it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
One stop on the Big O tour familiar to Tomlinson and co. is the University of Sydney Union’s Manning Bar.
It was there Yves Klein Blue rocked a stage-melting set at Purple Sneakers New Year’s Eve House Party, alongside the likes of The Teenagers, Sparkadia, British India and Bluejuice earlier this month.
“It was probably the best New Year’s I’ve ever had,” enthused Tomlinson.
“The whole place had such a great atmosphere, everyone was going off and although we were there to play a set, we felt like we were a part of the party.”
“Also, we’d just flown in from Phillip Island and we were so relieved to be back in Sydney – no more arctic winds ripping our faces off!,” he laughed.
Playing to a fervent horde of students at Manning gave Tomlinson time to reflect on his two years as a student and although now a sought-after musician, he says university was an important time.
“I really enjoyed it, I probably wasn’t ready for all the studying involved, but the social experience was fantastic - I made a lot of good friends during my first year at uni,” he said.
“It’s great because everyone has kind of broken free from the yoke of high school and has more freedom.”
“Playing to students is always good - we were students when we first started playing shows – even if it was just on the Boardwalk [at UQ],” he said.
It’s a long and taxing trek from the Boardwalk to the U.S. and back, but like the paint that inspired their name, Yves Klein Blue don’t look like fading away anytime soon.
The Big O hits Manning Bar on 27 February.
Check out more info at www.manningbar.com
taken from: http://www.usuonline.com/Publications/The_Bull/Bull-IT_Not_Fade_Away.aspx?t=1
Tea Time Chat with Yves Klein Blue
Between playing LA's infamous Viper Room and giving small town America a taste of the Brisbane sound, Yves Klein Blue have also released their debut album Ragged and Ecstatic. Rachel speaks with Charles (keys and guitar) about what life is like post video-clerk career and current position livin' the dream... (well, almost)
Rachel: Hey Charles, so what's been cracking? Busy day?
Charles: Yeah, I've been doing a bunch of interviews and now I'm back at home, doing more interviews, while my Mum's walking around...
R: So you're still living at home, that's handy
C: Yeah, well it's kinda hard to keep a job when you're always having to go away for month or two to play a bunch of shows, so yep, there you go... still at home!
R: Ok, just so I can visualise who I'm talking to here, you're Charles from the video store right?
C: Yeah, that's me - well formerly of the video store, I'm not there anymore I'm afraid.
R: Oh, that's a shame
C: It's kind of sad for me because I just didn't get anymore shifts when I left to do the recording last year... I mean they didn't fire me, but I didn't exactly quit.
R: Fair enough, I guess it's a bit hard to manage being a video store clerk and a rock star these days
C: Look, it's pretty hard work you know - being a video store clerk, a rock star on the other hand - very easy (lols). But yeah, despite it sucking losing the job, I'm surviving and the band is doing things, which is kinda exciting.
R: Yes, you definitely are doing things, so you've got the debut album out now, which you've been working on for a while now, yeah? I remember you were busy recording when Laneway was on...
C: Yeah, we were doing the finishing touches at Airlock Studios over at Samford which is a cool little studio out the back of Brisbane's north. It was pretty fucking great getting it all on hard disc.
R: 'Getting Wise' is the new single - was it fun making that flim clip?
C: It was cool, it was actually just done in our rehearsal space, but amended with a few random things, like neon signs from some guy. Made it look all pretty.
R: Is that just in Brisbane?
C: Yes, In Woolloongabba actually, we've got this friend of ours, this great guy who has this big house that he lives in, with this big open area in the back with all our gear it in. So we just decided to film in the rehearsal space. I think it turned out pretty well, it was a good day and it certainly paid off.
R: Yeah, it looks really good.
R: Woolloongabba is turning into a bit of a new hot spot in Brisbane
C: There are a few bands that have their rehearsal spaces there. I know the Cairos do.
R: And there's a couple new bars and restaurants - it's really opening up
C: Yeah totally, it's sort of an untouched area in terms of ‘cool' you know, in terms of culture, aside from the ol' game at the Gabba, alot of the area is untouched since back in the day.
R: So, you've just come back from Europe, how did that feel, coming back to Brisbane after gallivanting?
C: It was pretty damn wonderful I think, Brisbane is home to me and I guess all of us [the band]. It's good to get home and sleep in my bed. But it was still a really productive time overseas, very satisfying.
R: Anything in particular from the trip that was noteworthy or really crazy-fun?
C: I dunno, we mostly hung-out with out fellow Brisbanites The John Steel Singers in London and those guys are always really fun. We were in the US as well which was also really cool. What happened? Uhh, oh actually this is really embarrassing.., It was our last night in New York and I went back to the hotel cause I was really tired and we had to get a flight to London at about seven in the morning or something stupid. Anyway, all the guys went out except for me - I went to sleep being the rock'n'roller that I am. And everyone else went out to this little bar which The Strokes own and they were just hanging out there and the story goes that Michael asked a woman for light, who turned out to be Juliet Lewis who then introduced him to her friend Drew Barrymore, who introduced him to the Mac guy, Justin long.
R: The Mac guy?
C: Yeah, he was also in Die Hard 4 for those in the know. He's going out with Drew Barrymore
R: Well that's definitely a talking point, cheers for that
C: Yeah I just feel really fucking stupid for not going.
R: So I take it no one in YKB has a criminal record, cause you can't go to America if you have one.
C: It really is an intense process to go to America; we had to get working visas
R: Did you have to go for an interview in Sydney first?
C: Yeah, we had to be searched and checked - but no one has any criminal records - I'm glad to have avoided that so far.
R: So, Splendour this month, is it the second time you guys have played?
C: We played last year, which was really cool, Hopefully there'll be even more people there this time. Splendour's real fun. I only went for the first time last year and it's a great festival. Jane's Addiction are playing which I'm kinda excited about and Flaming Lips will be cool and of course the tickets sold out in 5 seconds again...
R: Of course
R: And do you know which stage you're playing on this year?
C: No, but last year we played on the main stage, but at like 1 o'clock in the afternoon on a Sunday, but maybe we'll get a better time this year, who knows? But before that we've got the tour for the album.
R: Woo hoo, and so tell me Charles, how much of your week now is consumed by the band? Is it pretty much a full-time job?
C: Yep, It's a full time job, yeah there are interviews, discussing artwork and practise of course - there's a lot of practise. So yeah it's a full-time job, just not one we get paid for yet... laughs, maybe soon.
R: So, since you live at home is your mum cooking you dinner tonight?
C: You know what, I think I will actually be home for dinner tonight, often I get home too late or I'll be somewhere else.
R: Do you know what you're having?
C: No, not yet - she's just gone to walk the dog, so I'll have to ask her when she gets back... I'm sorry I can't give you the inside scoop to my dinner plans.
R: I think it's just that time of the day; I'm starting to think about dinner
C: Look it's 5.30, there's nothing on TV, people are making their way home from work, there's that grumble and you start to think dinner! - it's the same everyday.
It' s a process I'm looking forward to.
By Sadie Lost
Release: Album
To Cure: A quiet weekend
taken from: http://www.fourthousand.com.au/hear/tea-time-chat-with-yves-klein-blue/
Attention seekers - Yves Klein Blue
Think about it – how many people can you think of that can claim to have actually invented a colour? French artist Yves Klein can. Classified largely as an enigmatic Post-Modernist, Klein is still considered an important figure in post-war European art to this day and, amongst his many lifelong accolades, left his mark by patenting a colour – International Klein Blue.
While they’re not reinventing the colour wheel, Brisbane indie rock quartet Yves Klein Blue are pretty much living the rock’n’roll dream. They’ve been kicking around our backyard for only a couple of years but quickly built themselves a healthy buzz on the back of their debut EP – Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves – and a string of excellent shows.
A combination of boyish good looks, switched-on indie smarts and the penchant for writing hooky pop tunes soon attracted the attention of Brisbane label Dew Process who immediately funded the re-recording of the EP and whisked them off overseas for a number of international dates.
Even as Time Off catches up with YKB’s charmingly humble frontman Michael Tomlinson, the band are in Austin, Texas and have only just completed the shows for South By South West earlier in the day. “I never want to say anything too brash without touching wood,” he muses, scrambling to a quiet alley to complete our conversation, “but I think we went really well. All of this, needless to say, is sort of surreal. We came through Los Angeles on our way here and we played three shows there. Then we came to New York where we were playing with The Panics but most notably – not to take anything away from The Panics – we played with The Vines. That was a real thrill for us; all the high school bands each of us was in all did a cover of ‘Get Free’. Then we’re off to London and after that we’re returning to Australia for the EP launches.”
The original version of Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves was originally released in 2006 and after snaring the record deal, the band felt it didn’t represent them as accurately as they would’ve liked. They wanted a big, powerful recording. Big guitars, not thin and jangly. Big, solid drums. And the list goes on. “We really wanted to put the representation of our best, much like we did on the first EP,” Tomlinson explains. “The songs that we feel show what we are as a band most effectively. It’s a re-recording of sorts; it has the same name. Nothing of the old EP is on there, so it’s illustrating that it’s the same concept as the first EP and how we could’ve done it with more money, more time and if we were able to play the songs.”
With the EP growing from five to seven tracks, it’s more of a mini-album when played in its entirety. Aside from a shiny new production, what’s the newbie got to offer? “I guess you could say there’s two and half new songs on there,” Tomlinson continues, searching for the right words to explain the rare scenario. “I call one a half because ‘Blasphemy’ has a drastically different arrangement, plus there are two other songs. We used a Brisbane producer called Caleb James, who we were really lucky to get on board. He’s an incredible musician, a great producer and really, a guru of sorts. We went down to Byron to record our drums and then went back to his studio to complete the tracking. We had a couple of tracks remixed by Wayne Connolly, who did all the Josh Pyke stuff and The Vines and You Am I. We didn’t want to sound produced or sterile in any way; we wanted as much energy as a live show but sounding as strong for the radio. I think we got there in the end.”
As easy as it is to lose yourself with a string of endless accolades, worldwide trips and mingling with celebrities, Tomlinson and the lads are determined to stay grounded and not completely lose themselves within the whirlwind skyward journey. “It is really surreal, very hard to believe,” Tomlinson enthuses. “But at the moment it’s hard to be anything as we’re not that used to this. To us, we’re still just a local Brisbane band who have a chance to do some really cool things.”
But like every band trying to attract attention from labels and an adoring public, Yves Klein Blue had decided from a very early stage that this little thing called music is exactly what they wanted to do and weren’t willing to compromise to get there. “We tried a lot of stuff when we first formed,” he explains. “We’d already had all the time spent jamming and whatever in high school bands, playing just for the love of playing. By the time we were at uni and I was feeling like I really wanted to play music and we met some guys so we thought ‘If we really want to do this, then we really have to step up’. So we tried to make ourselves appealing, initially. At the end of the day, if you want something like this – without being rude – be good.
“I just think the best thing is not to behave like an arsehole. If you don’t behave like an arsehole, then things might turn out all right. Usually.”
Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves out now through Dew Process.
by Ben Preece
taken from: http://www.ourbrisbane.com/whats-on/gig-guide/yves-klein-blue
News: YKB support White Lies (UK)
The boys announced on their twitter site today that they will be supporting dark-edged UK trio The White Lies during their Splendour sideshows. YKB precede the moody rockers as they hit the stage on the 28th of July at Sydney's Metro Bar for an all ages show, and Melbourne's Hi-Fi bar on the 30th of July.
"did we mention we are supporting White Lies? sydney metro on 28 july is ALL AGES... Melbs hi-fi on the 30 July.." - twitter.com/yveskleinblue
"did we mention we are supporting White Lies? sydney metro on 28 july is ALL AGES... Melbs hi-fi on the 30 July.." - twitter.com/yveskleinblue
News: YKB support Wolfmother on New Moon Rising tour
Wolfmother will return to the stage in September for their appropriately titled New Moon Rising tour.
The ARIA Award-winning band is now a four-piece, with only singer Andrew Stockdale remaining from the original three-man line-up, which split in 2008.
The band have just returned from Los Angeles where they have been working on new album Cosmic Egg.
Recorded over a two-month period by UK producer Alan Moulder, the band say the new record is musically both darker and lighter than its predecessor and will "translate to a life affirming live experience".
Wolfmother will be supported by Yves Klein Blue and Jack Ladder on the tour, which kicks off in Brisbane on September 17 and takes in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Frankston.
taken from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/07/2618939.htm?section=entertainment
The ARIA Award-winning band is now a four-piece, with only singer Andrew Stockdale remaining from the original three-man line-up, which split in 2008.
The band have just returned from Los Angeles where they have been working on new album Cosmic Egg.
Recorded over a two-month period by UK producer Alan Moulder, the band say the new record is musically both darker and lighter than its predecessor and will "translate to a life affirming live experience".
Wolfmother will be supported by Yves Klein Blue and Jack Ladder on the tour, which kicks off in Brisbane on September 17 and takes in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Frankston.
taken from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/07/2618939.htm?section=entertainment
Musos stake claim in Texas
Iain Shedden, Music writer | March 10, 2008
THERE'S a lot of steak when Australian musos try to further their careers in the US.
Actually that should read "at stake", but if you're in Austin, Texas, this week, both terms could apply.
On Friday, 12 Australian acts including Paul Kelly, the Vines, the Panics and a handful of up-and-coming bands will peddle their wares at the Aussie Barbecue in Austin, home to the annual South By South West Music Conference and Festival.
The barbecue has become a regular feature of the international music industry event, which runs this year from Wednesday until Sunday.
The purpose of the Aussie gathering is to showcase our talent as well as to have a party, but the ultimate goal is to secure publishing, recording, distribution or touring deals with some of the thousands of industry delegates in the Texas city.
Hoodoo Gurus, Josh Pyke and Expatriate were among the Aussie acts who performed at SxSW last year. This year, a new crop of acts is on a mission, among them young Brisbane band Yves Klein Blue, which has released only one EP in Australia so far.
Last night, Yves Klein Blue played their first American show at a Los Angeles club and will also play in New York and London before returning to Australia in April to tour.
The band doesn't plan to release an album until next year, but singer Michael Tomlinson said the SxSW gig was a great opportunity to shop their songs to potential overseas labels and promoters. "We all feel extremely excited to be here," Tomlinson said in LA yesterday. "But at the same time we feel disbelief. The idea is to try to get set up overseas, get a label and things like that to push you in the overseas market."
More than 1500 acts from around the world are performing at SxSW this year, so competition is fierce. Each year there's plenty of sparring for entry to the shows that are considered the hot tickets.
Tomlinson and his three bandmates may not be among those this year, but they are enjoying the moment nonetheless.
"We're very green, to say the least," Tomlinson said. "We're just happy to have this experience. We're here with no expectations."
Also appearing at the barbecue on Friday are West Australian bands the Chevelles and the Stems, New York-based Sydney punk band Mink and Central Coast, NSW outfit Something With Numbers.
taken from: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23347397-16947,00.html
THERE'S a lot of steak when Australian musos try to further their careers in the US.
Actually that should read "at stake", but if you're in Austin, Texas, this week, both terms could apply.
On Friday, 12 Australian acts including Paul Kelly, the Vines, the Panics and a handful of up-and-coming bands will peddle their wares at the Aussie Barbecue in Austin, home to the annual South By South West Music Conference and Festival.
The barbecue has become a regular feature of the international music industry event, which runs this year from Wednesday until Sunday.
The purpose of the Aussie gathering is to showcase our talent as well as to have a party, but the ultimate goal is to secure publishing, recording, distribution or touring deals with some of the thousands of industry delegates in the Texas city.
Hoodoo Gurus, Josh Pyke and Expatriate were among the Aussie acts who performed at SxSW last year. This year, a new crop of acts is on a mission, among them young Brisbane band Yves Klein Blue, which has released only one EP in Australia so far.
Last night, Yves Klein Blue played their first American show at a Los Angeles club and will also play in New York and London before returning to Australia in April to tour.
The band doesn't plan to release an album until next year, but singer Michael Tomlinson said the SxSW gig was a great opportunity to shop their songs to potential overseas labels and promoters. "We all feel extremely excited to be here," Tomlinson said in LA yesterday. "But at the same time we feel disbelief. The idea is to try to get set up overseas, get a label and things like that to push you in the overseas market."
More than 1500 acts from around the world are performing at SxSW this year, so competition is fierce. Each year there's plenty of sparring for entry to the shows that are considered the hot tickets.
Tomlinson and his three bandmates may not be among those this year, but they are enjoying the moment nonetheless.
"We're very green, to say the least," Tomlinson said. "We're just happy to have this experience. We're here with no expectations."
Also appearing at the barbecue on Friday are West Australian bands the Chevelles and the Stems, New York-based Sydney punk band Mink and Central Coast, NSW outfit Something With Numbers.
taken from: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23347397-16947,00.html
Interview from Jan '09 Courier Mail
Yves Klein Blue are about to head off on The Big O tour; an orientation week festival hitting universities in each state. They're also getting ready to release their debut album in May, and as a sneak peek of things to come, you can download a free copy of their current single, Polka.
They're obviously pretty busy at the moment, but lead guitarist Charles Sale took the time to answer a few questions for BrizBands:
1. You're named after a type of paint who knows enough about painting that you were able to come up with Yves Klein Blue as your official band name?
Well, someone owned a calendar which featured prominent 20th century artists. None of us are particularly knowledgeable in the field or art history, but it sounded nice!
2. What's the first album you bought that really got you considering music as a career?
Personally it was The Living End and I would have been about 10 years old when it was released. I then became thoroughly obsessed with the band for about a year, and would draw the Living End as if they were animal cartoon characters. I have no idea why.
3. What band or musician, alive or dead, would you like to meet?
I have been in the presence of a few people who were influential to me in the past, though I never say anything to them in fear of being an annoying fanboy. For the sake of the question… I’ll say Alex Chilton.
4. If you could ask them one question, what would it be?
It’d probably be something along the lines of “OH MY GOD PLAY A SHOW IN AUSTRALIA.” Though hopefully not that out of control.
5. Do you guys ever get nervous before a show?
Occasionally, though most of the times my senses are dulled by 4 different factors.
a. Too much alcohol, this can happen and it’s not a good thing. Be responsible!
b. Fatigue.
c. Bloating from bad food.
d. Completely forgetting to either restring my guitar, or just completely forgetting the guitar. That has happened, twice. On the same occasion. With the same guitar.
With these factors in place, I often even forget I have a show to play before I’m onstage.
6. If so, what do you do to ease the nerves?
If I’m nervous I will just listen to aggressive music loudly and have a drink. That tends to ease things a little.
7. What are the best and worst parts of a tour?
The best part is when you’re onstage and it’s wonderful and the crowds are great and you meet cool people. The worst part is having to then lug 100KGs of gear into a waiting van and then get up at some brutally early time and go on a flight and your head hurts.
8. What's your favourite thing to do on the weekend?
Well, when we’re generally on tour we’re playing shows! Otherwise I will stay at home and do very little. That’s usually the case, though sometimes I’ll venture out of my bedroom into natural light to forage.
9. How will you be celebrating Australia Day?
Probably going to the coast with my girlfriend and having a BBQ. There is nothing more Australian than cooked animal, apparently.
10. As a fairly successful local Brisbane band, what one piece of advice would you give to emerging bands?
Work hard and play shows, and if you can’t get shows, throw a party and then play at it!
taken from: http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/brizbands/index.php/couriermail/comments/yves_klein_blue_interview/
They're obviously pretty busy at the moment, but lead guitarist Charles Sale took the time to answer a few questions for BrizBands:
1. You're named after a type of paint who knows enough about painting that you were able to come up with Yves Klein Blue as your official band name?
Well, someone owned a calendar which featured prominent 20th century artists. None of us are particularly knowledgeable in the field or art history, but it sounded nice!
2. What's the first album you bought that really got you considering music as a career?
Personally it was The Living End and I would have been about 10 years old when it was released. I then became thoroughly obsessed with the band for about a year, and would draw the Living End as if they were animal cartoon characters. I have no idea why.
3. What band or musician, alive or dead, would you like to meet?
I have been in the presence of a few people who were influential to me in the past, though I never say anything to them in fear of being an annoying fanboy. For the sake of the question… I’ll say Alex Chilton.
4. If you could ask them one question, what would it be?
It’d probably be something along the lines of “OH MY GOD PLAY A SHOW IN AUSTRALIA.” Though hopefully not that out of control.
5. Do you guys ever get nervous before a show?
Occasionally, though most of the times my senses are dulled by 4 different factors.
a. Too much alcohol, this can happen and it’s not a good thing. Be responsible!
b. Fatigue.
c. Bloating from bad food.
d. Completely forgetting to either restring my guitar, or just completely forgetting the guitar. That has happened, twice. On the same occasion. With the same guitar.
With these factors in place, I often even forget I have a show to play before I’m onstage.
6. If so, what do you do to ease the nerves?
If I’m nervous I will just listen to aggressive music loudly and have a drink. That tends to ease things a little.
7. What are the best and worst parts of a tour?
The best part is when you’re onstage and it’s wonderful and the crowds are great and you meet cool people. The worst part is having to then lug 100KGs of gear into a waiting van and then get up at some brutally early time and go on a flight and your head hurts.
8. What's your favourite thing to do on the weekend?
Well, when we’re generally on tour we’re playing shows! Otherwise I will stay at home and do very little. That’s usually the case, though sometimes I’ll venture out of my bedroom into natural light to forage.
9. How will you be celebrating Australia Day?
Probably going to the coast with my girlfriend and having a BBQ. There is nothing more Australian than cooked animal, apparently.
10. As a fairly successful local Brisbane band, what one piece of advice would you give to emerging bands?
Work hard and play shows, and if you can’t get shows, throw a party and then play at it!
taken from: http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/brizbands/index.php/couriermail/comments/yves_klein_blue_interview/
KEEPING THE BEAT
AS THEY EMBARK ON THE TOUR CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF THEIR DEBUT ALBUM RAGGED & ECSTATIC, YVES KLEIN BLUE FRONTMAN AND SONGWRITER MICHAEL TOMLINSON AND GUITARIST CHARLES SALE TALK TO STEVE BELL ABOUT CONFRONTATION, ISOLATION AND COMING OUT ON TOP.
It’s been a steep learning curve for aspiring Brisbane rock quartet Yves Klein Blue, but from afar it seems that they’ve managed to cross every hurdle placed before them with relative ease. In the past two years they’ve toured extensively overseas, played a host of high profile supports, strutted their stuff on the stages of the big Australian festivals and even had songs soundtracking high profile commercials, and all on the back of their presciently-titled debut EP Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves.
Now they can add to their catalogue the remarkably assured full-length effort Ragged & Ecstatic, a diverse collection of songs that they recorded in North Hollywood under the watchful eye of American producer Kevin Augunas (Cold War Kids). While justifiably proud of the final product, as the band members explain it the road to the album’s completion wasn’t all smooth sailing.
“It’s been a long time,” Tomlinson reflects on the album’s genesis. “For us it’s been almost a year of continuous slog. We started the demos mid last year, and we didn’t finish the record until this March on the first day of the Laneway tour. Then it was getting mixed while we were overseas on tour around America and the UK. We’d wake up and go sightseeing, then we’d play a gig, and then we’d get home and as we’d get home as the sun was rising and the mixes would be there waiting for us. It’s been flat out – not only the writing process, which went on indefinitely before that, but also the whole recording process was incredibly intense for a long time. Seeing the album finished is incredible. This is the first time that we’re able to have a definitive record of what we’re about. It’s all been leading to this for us.”
After decamping to America to record the album, the band found themselves confronting a very different recording experience than the one that they had initially envisaged.
“There was an agenda for what we wanted from the album going into the studio, but it got changed as soon as we got there,” Sale recounts. “It was, ‘Why the hell are we here? What’s the point of this? Why are we booked in for a month just to go in there and play the songs?’ At the start we thought that we were going to go in there and do it live, but once we got there we realised that we weren’t good enough to just fire it out and needed to spend some time on the songs.”
“Because we’d been playing together for two years we had a number of songs, so the most important thing for us was to make the best possible record with the best possible songs that we had,” Tomlinson continues. “We wanted to show the full range of songs and give the record an ebb and flow, and make the record like a record that we would love to listen to ourselves. We wanted to make it an experience, a sit down pop record with ten to twelve great songs. We thought what we’d do is tour the fuck out of it and then cut it live, but in the end we wouldn’t have got the record that we ended up with – and the record that we’re so proud of – if we had done that.
“So we got to the studio thinking that we were going to cut it live, and Kevin Augunas – the producer that we worked with – said, ‘What song do you want to start with? What song are you excited about?’ And we started with a newer song called ‘Soldier’, and we listened to the demo and he said, ‘Well, this song needs a lot of work’. And we’d been thinking that all of these songs were perfect and ready to go. So he began to rearrange it by stripping it back and we immediately realised that the drum beat and the bass line weren’t lining up, and that was a fucking awful moment for us. It was a really challenging moment – we were four cocky guys who thought we had it all, and then we realised that we still had a ways to go. Kevin’s contribution to the record was that he said, ‘Is this good enough?’. And as soon as that seed of doubt was planted by an objective third party, we knew we had to work really hard in the studio. The result is just that five percent extra – in grooves, arrangements, lyrics and everything – which has made this record better than what we thought would be possible.”
Being confronted in this manner, while somewhat threatening at first, was ultimately an invaluable lesson in the eyes of the band.
“It was definitely tough to face at first, but once we realised that Kevin was right it was awesome,” Sale offers. “We had a love/hate relationship with Kevin at times, but he did some really good shit and he changed our way of thinking, and we’re way better off for the experience. Hopefully next record will be even better again.
“We learned a great number of lessons about the music that we make and the music that we like to listen to,” Tomlinson agrees. “To become an editor of your own work takes a huge amount of discipline, and I think Kevin taught us a lot about discipline by being so uncompromising. In the end Kevin was right some of the times, and sometimes we were right, but there were two people going head to head and this synthesis – this huge dialectic.”
The impact of this clash of ideas on the young band was magnified by the fact that they were overseas and out of the confines of their natural respective comfort zones.
“At times we felt totally alone and isolated, and we had no choice but to face the confrontation,” Tomlinson continues. “I don’t think we would have been so receptive if we were in Sydney and could just get on the phone to our friends and family – if we had our support systems we wouldn’t have had to face it. So in many ways I think that was crucial to the whole thing – that we were away from home trying to stand on our own two feet. It was too important for us to fuck up – that was the main thing. There was no way we could fuck this up because there was too much at stake, and if we ever gave up we’d just be screwing ourselves over, so we were determined.”
It’s apt then that the album’s title Ragged & Ecstatic is taken from a passage of iconic Beat author Jack Kerouac’s legendary travel tome On The Road.
“In On The Road Kerouac talks about ‘the ragged and ecstatic joy of pure being’ – which is something that my little brother suggested we call the album after I recommended that book to him. Immediately I felt that it summed up what our band was like – a little bit of a shambles, but maybe like a well-oiled shambles,” Tomlinson laughs. “We’re just thrilled to be doing it – we aren’t the best and we aren’t the worst – but we’re trying our hardest. The experience in the studio was one of absolute despair and absolute triumph, and the lyrical content of the album is all about finding out about the world by living and experiencing defeat. I guess the mantra of the lyrical content is ‘hope not defeat’, so it seemed to be really fitting and indicative of both the band and the album.”
WHO: Yves Klein Blue
WHAT: Ragged & Ecstatic (Dew Process/Universal)
taken from: http://www.timeoff.com.au/html/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2951:yves-klein-blue&catid=11:features&Itemid=29
News: EP now available in Canada
The boys announced today on twitter that they have secured a digital release of the 2008 EP is available for download in Canada:
"our first EP 'Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves' is released digitally in Canada today, so if you are in Canada, go forth & buy!" - twitter.com/yveskleinblue
you can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Draw-Attention-To-Themselves/dp/B001H5W0X2/ref=dm_cd_album_lnk
The boys are also reporting that they are traveling to Melbourne on there first national headline tour, but a bout of the flu has infected the camp - probably blaming Berkfinger from support band Philadelphia Grand Jury for that one ; )
"en route to melbs - sickest tour bus in all the land, and we don't mean in a fully sick bro manner ... yves swine flue on the road..."
poor boys, go buy their ep or better yet new album and make them feel better!!!
Yves Klein Blue @ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney (04/07/09)
Just over a year ago, Yves Klein Blue were playing to handfuls of people for free beer. Now, they are selling out Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory.
Philadelphia Grand Jury offered their hand in support for YKB. A near-capacity OAF felt inclined to cease conversation and pay them a little attention with EP tracks I’m Going To Kill You and Ready to Roll turning a few heads. Their onstage energy, combined with a raw rock ‘n’ roll sound, had these three mismatched men putting their best toe-tapping foot forward.
If their old school vibe wasn’t entertaining enough, the recorded banter in between songs proved very humorous. Luckily, there are good reviews all round from me (otherwise I would run the risk of a PGJ assault, as the recording warned!). After looking away for no more than a second, I missed MC Bad Genius take a tumble off the stage. I did however catch the aftermath, which involved dancing with the audience before running through the crowd and out the door.
High-rotation single Going to the Casino Tomorrow Night predictably received a rousing response from the crowd. If you are keen on a good old-fashioned, hip shakin’ rock ‘n roll show, Philadelphia Grand Jury are the band for you.
Shortly after, four very talented and charming Brisbane boys came on stage to play us some new tunes off their debut album Ragged and Ecstatic. Yves Klein Blue launched into their set with Silence is Distance, which had frontman Michael Tomlinson displaying his trademark animated facial expressions. Dinosaur followed with its witty lyrics and fun pop sensibility, before Tomlinson traded his Rickenbacker for a spot behind the keys to play new single Make Up Your Mind.
New songs Digital Love and Solider were intertwined with the likes of older songs such as Blasphemy. The set seemed quite short, because before we knew it Charles was tapping out the intro of Getting Wise and we could sense the end was near. Getting Wise is probably my favourite YKB number to date. It has an unpredictable melody and a great vocal, but I just can’t put my finger on what it is that compels me to smile and dance.
After briefly leaving the stage, the oh-so-dreamy Michael Tomlinson returned, acoustic guitar in hand, to do a lovely version of About The Future. The other three lads joined him for what everyone assumed would be Polka – but boy, did we get a surprise! Instead, they did a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s hit, Born To Run. Now, I am a self-confessed, die-hard Springsteen fan, so you can only imagine my excitement. Although it lacked a few E-Street band layers, they unquestionably did the hit justice. Coming from me, that’s a hefty compliment.
Of course, they didn’t leave us without playing their most popular song, Polka. “This is the last chance to dance motherfuckers,” declared Tomlinson, and dance we did. Give Yves Klein Blue another year and they will be playing to 5000 fans. It’s amazing how much can change in just a year…
taken from: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/19260/Yves-Klein-Blue--Oxford-Art-Factory-Sydney-040709.htm
Philadelphia Grand Jury offered their hand in support for YKB. A near-capacity OAF felt inclined to cease conversation and pay them a little attention with EP tracks I’m Going To Kill You and Ready to Roll turning a few heads. Their onstage energy, combined with a raw rock ‘n’ roll sound, had these three mismatched men putting their best toe-tapping foot forward.
If their old school vibe wasn’t entertaining enough, the recorded banter in between songs proved very humorous. Luckily, there are good reviews all round from me (otherwise I would run the risk of a PGJ assault, as the recording warned!). After looking away for no more than a second, I missed MC Bad Genius take a tumble off the stage. I did however catch the aftermath, which involved dancing with the audience before running through the crowd and out the door.
High-rotation single Going to the Casino Tomorrow Night predictably received a rousing response from the crowd. If you are keen on a good old-fashioned, hip shakin’ rock ‘n roll show, Philadelphia Grand Jury are the band for you.
Shortly after, four very talented and charming Brisbane boys came on stage to play us some new tunes off their debut album Ragged and Ecstatic. Yves Klein Blue launched into their set with Silence is Distance, which had frontman Michael Tomlinson displaying his trademark animated facial expressions. Dinosaur followed with its witty lyrics and fun pop sensibility, before Tomlinson traded his Rickenbacker for a spot behind the keys to play new single Make Up Your Mind.
New songs Digital Love and Solider were intertwined with the likes of older songs such as Blasphemy. The set seemed quite short, because before we knew it Charles was tapping out the intro of Getting Wise and we could sense the end was near. Getting Wise is probably my favourite YKB number to date. It has an unpredictable melody and a great vocal, but I just can’t put my finger on what it is that compels me to smile and dance.
After briefly leaving the stage, the oh-so-dreamy Michael Tomlinson returned, acoustic guitar in hand, to do a lovely version of About The Future. The other three lads joined him for what everyone assumed would be Polka – but boy, did we get a surprise! Instead, they did a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s hit, Born To Run. Now, I am a self-confessed, die-hard Springsteen fan, so you can only imagine my excitement. Although it lacked a few E-Street band layers, they unquestionably did the hit justice. Coming from me, that’s a hefty compliment.
Of course, they didn’t leave us without playing their most popular song, Polka. “This is the last chance to dance motherfuckers,” declared Tomlinson, and dance we did. Give Yves Klein Blue another year and they will be playing to 5000 fans. It’s amazing how much can change in just a year…
taken from: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/19260/Yves-Klein-Blue--Oxford-Art-Factory-Sydney-040709.htm
smh.com.au review
Craig Mathieson
July 3, 2009
On Ragged & Ecstatic, the debut album from highly touted Brisbane four-piece Yves Klein Blue, the words pour out of vocalist Michael Tomlinson. From track to track he's the wisecracking observer, the excitable philosopher and a wry storyteller. Where some acts struggle to compile a disc full of original lyrics, Tomlinson has to work at containing his writing.
"It comes from me being a neurotic, verbose person. In real life I can't shut up or be concise," the 22-year-old admits readily. "I guess I have a lot to say. It's not for me to say whether it's true, or whether it's correct, or whether it's relevant but I am conscious of not appearing preachy or a know-it-all.
"I would write songs even if we didn't have the band. It's something I need to do. If I don't have the chance to play an instrument and use what I've seen in the last few days in some way, I feel terrible.
I feel wasted."
Ragged & Ecstatic is the culmination of a busy few years for Yves Klein Blue. The rockers have progressed from provincial hopefuls to laying the foundations of a national profile with few hiccups and much touring. The alternative band — Tomlinson, guitarist Charles Sale, bassist Sean Cook and drummer Chris Banham — have eschewed prevailing trends in favour of an idiosyncratic mood that moves easily between genres.
"We want to make the most of our opportunities. They're not easy to come by," says Tomlinson, who started the band with his school friend Sale and soon found a tune, Polka, from their debut 2008 EP, Draw Attention To Themselves, accompanying a car-maker's national television campaign.
For their album, the band travelled to Los Angeles to work with producer Kevin Augunas, attracted by his recordings with Cold War Kids. By day they would work in his studio, where Augunas would challenge them to improve their songs. At night they would squeeze into a tiny North Hollywood flat where you could barely turn on a light without waking a slumbering bandmate.
That resulting album adds muscular glam licks (Dinosaur) and solemn atmospherics (Celebrity Death) to the group's already frenetic sound. Ragged & Ecstatic sounds like a record: individual and multi-layered.
"We wanted it to be a 45-minute experience where you could sit down and listen to it from start to finish," Tomlinson says. "There's light and shade. There's not just slamming, compressed drums in your face the whole time. We wanted to show the length and breadth of the music we loved. We wanted to make something people could put on while they're driving and listen to the whole thing."
YVES KLEIN BLUE
Saturday, 3.30pm, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst, 9332 3711, $13.50.
taken from: http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/music/gig-reviews/yves-klein-blue/2009/07/02/1246127624189.html
Cheeky Fun
what happens on tour stays on tour... unless you own an iphone! LOL!
You can thank fellow musician Megan Washington for the release of these "cheeky" pictures of the musicians signing each others derriere's
posted on www.twitter.com/WASHINGTONx
"Michael just signed Berkfinger's arse. Seriously. http://yfrog.com/7glr2j"
6:08 PM Jun 27th from Twitterrific
"And now Berkfinger has signed Michael's arse. It's all happening. http://yfrog.com/0xlnyj"
6:12 PM Jun 27th from Twitterrific
Berfinger signed by Michael
Michael's signed by Berkfinger... "best bum ever xoxoxo"
hilarious!
You can thank fellow musician Megan Washington for the release of these "cheeky" pictures of the musicians signing each others derriere's
posted on www.twitter.com/WASHINGTONx
"Michael just signed Berkfinger's arse. Seriously. http://yfrog.com/7glr2j"
6:08 PM Jun 27th from Twitterrific
"And now Berkfinger has signed Michael's arse. It's all happening. http://yfrog.com/0xlnyj"
6:12 PM Jun 27th from Twitterrific
Berfinger signed by Michael
Michael's signed by Berkfinger... "best bum ever xoxoxo"
hilarious!
Dinosaur done acoustic-like
on their recent trip to the UK, YKB appeared on balconyTV with an awesome rendition of Dinosaur!
Blue about the future
Yves Klein Blue sing About the Future
Noel Mengel
June 25, 2009
"WHAT this generation needs is a war," Michael Tomlinson croons on a song called About The Future.
It's not so shocking as it reads in print, as he goes on to sing about the ills and dilemmas facing his generation – he's 22 – part-serious, part-mocking.
Those ills, it turns out, aren't so very different from the problems every generation of youth faces: Where do we fit in this big world, how can we best make use of our allotted time in it, why the hell are we so apathetic in the face of the challenge?
About the Future is a fantastic song, one among numerous gems on Ragged and Ecstatic, the debut album by Yves Klein Blue.
"Ragged and ecstatic" is a phrase borrowed from Jack Kerouac but it neatly sums up the pop thrills on the Brisbane four-piece's debut album, recorded in Los Angeles earlier this year.
About the Future is a big topic – Tomlinson, guitarist and chief songwriter, isn't afraid of those – and it's delivered as a simple but energetic acoustic guitar tune.
As with the band's best-known song to this point, Polka, there is something old-timey about it, like some escapee from a particularly black stage musical.
"It's difficult to know what phenomena are unique to your generation," Tomlinson offers. "You know how in the '60s people had a movement and something to get behind, bucking the system? Today everybody is doing their own thing. It's very easy to feel little about everything."
Tomlinson is sitting with guitarist Charles Sale, his musical collaborator since they met at high school in Brisbane.
Their conversation is as entertaining as the band's colourful songwriting, bouncing ideas and asides off each other in the way that old friends can do.
Tomlinson: "The first time I played guitar was at my grandma's house. It only had two strings on it and I wrote this really crappy song. Then I wrote a song about a rapping chicken. And one about eating vomit for the primary school talent show in grade seven . . ."
Sale: "At high school, you interviewed me. You were, 'So what music do you like?' And I was like, 'Led Zeppelin'. You were, 'Cool. See you later'. That was it!"
Tomlinson: "We had a rocking high school band called The Mighty Morphine Powder Railers. Not that we did morphine at high school or ever, except for the time I got my arm broken and . . ."
Sale: "We didn't sound too far off what we do today but there were more Strokes references and Stooges references."
That band fell apart after school, Sale and Tomlinson continued their university studies while spending plenty of time in a home studio working up new songs.
With the addition of bassist Sean Cook and drummer Chris Barnham, Yves Klein Blue was born.
Independently recorded 2008 EP Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves certainly did that – as did the youthful fizz of their live performances.
The band signed to Brisbane label Dew Process, home of The Grates and The Living End.
Chief among the EP's pleasures was the daffy, scuzzy Polka, which also appears on the new album. It starts with a bouncy, polka-ish rhythm before exploding into a howl of, well, ecstatic guitars.
Clearly Tomlinson is a songwriter who enjoys exploring deeper than last year's pop charts. Summer Sheets has a ska beat; Gin Sling is an authentic slice of country-rock; Make Up Your Mind and Getting Wise are delirious pop tunes.
"Polka," Tomlinson reveals, "that's all about listening to (gypsy jazz legend) Django Reinhardt. That's the rhythm I was apeing but obviously it's not what came out. I also listen to old blues guys, crooners, old cowboy songs.
"I just love songs and melody.
"When I was younger I messed with the sound of guitars and synthesisers but doing this record I realised, I don't listen to music like that. I listen to Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, The Clash.
"It seems like the most important thing is not changing the order of the parts or making a huge art show out of it, but just having those incredible parts and arranging them in the classic way.
"That seems to me to be the most beautiful form.
"We don't think about styles. If something's cool, we don't care if it's a ska song or a country song. We like The Specials and we like Neil Young, so what's the problem?"
And the LA experience, recording with producer Kevin Augunas?
Tomlinson: "The level was intense. We were in a two-room apartment that was 10 minutes walk from the studio. There was nothing else for us to do but obsess about the music . . ."
Sale: "Michael is definitely obsessive."
Tomlinson: "It's also fun for me to be obsessive."
Sale: "You can't have fun unless everything is being obsessed over."
Tomlinson: "That's true. That's what I get a kick out of I suppose."
With Ragged and Ecstatic, there are plenty of those kicks to share around.
Ragged and Ecstatic (Dew Process/Universal) is out tomorrow.
Yves Klein Blue play Bon Amici, Toowoomba tonight; Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane tomorrow (sold out); Sound Lounge, Gold Coast, Saturday; Woombye Pub, Sunday.
taken from: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25684824-5003421,00.html
Noel Mengel
June 25, 2009
"WHAT this generation needs is a war," Michael Tomlinson croons on a song called About The Future.
It's not so shocking as it reads in print, as he goes on to sing about the ills and dilemmas facing his generation – he's 22 – part-serious, part-mocking.
Those ills, it turns out, aren't so very different from the problems every generation of youth faces: Where do we fit in this big world, how can we best make use of our allotted time in it, why the hell are we so apathetic in the face of the challenge?
About the Future is a fantastic song, one among numerous gems on Ragged and Ecstatic, the debut album by Yves Klein Blue.
"Ragged and ecstatic" is a phrase borrowed from Jack Kerouac but it neatly sums up the pop thrills on the Brisbane four-piece's debut album, recorded in Los Angeles earlier this year.
About the Future is a big topic – Tomlinson, guitarist and chief songwriter, isn't afraid of those – and it's delivered as a simple but energetic acoustic guitar tune.
As with the band's best-known song to this point, Polka, there is something old-timey about it, like some escapee from a particularly black stage musical.
"It's difficult to know what phenomena are unique to your generation," Tomlinson offers. "You know how in the '60s people had a movement and something to get behind, bucking the system? Today everybody is doing their own thing. It's very easy to feel little about everything."
Tomlinson is sitting with guitarist Charles Sale, his musical collaborator since they met at high school in Brisbane.
Their conversation is as entertaining as the band's colourful songwriting, bouncing ideas and asides off each other in the way that old friends can do.
Tomlinson: "The first time I played guitar was at my grandma's house. It only had two strings on it and I wrote this really crappy song. Then I wrote a song about a rapping chicken. And one about eating vomit for the primary school talent show in grade seven . . ."
Sale: "At high school, you interviewed me. You were, 'So what music do you like?' And I was like, 'Led Zeppelin'. You were, 'Cool. See you later'. That was it!"
Tomlinson: "We had a rocking high school band called The Mighty Morphine Powder Railers. Not that we did morphine at high school or ever, except for the time I got my arm broken and . . ."
Sale: "We didn't sound too far off what we do today but there were more Strokes references and Stooges references."
That band fell apart after school, Sale and Tomlinson continued their university studies while spending plenty of time in a home studio working up new songs.
With the addition of bassist Sean Cook and drummer Chris Barnham, Yves Klein Blue was born.
Independently recorded 2008 EP Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves certainly did that – as did the youthful fizz of their live performances.
The band signed to Brisbane label Dew Process, home of The Grates and The Living End.
Chief among the EP's pleasures was the daffy, scuzzy Polka, which also appears on the new album. It starts with a bouncy, polka-ish rhythm before exploding into a howl of, well, ecstatic guitars.
Clearly Tomlinson is a songwriter who enjoys exploring deeper than last year's pop charts. Summer Sheets has a ska beat; Gin Sling is an authentic slice of country-rock; Make Up Your Mind and Getting Wise are delirious pop tunes.
"Polka," Tomlinson reveals, "that's all about listening to (gypsy jazz legend) Django Reinhardt. That's the rhythm I was apeing but obviously it's not what came out. I also listen to old blues guys, crooners, old cowboy songs.
"I just love songs and melody.
"When I was younger I messed with the sound of guitars and synthesisers but doing this record I realised, I don't listen to music like that. I listen to Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, The Clash.
"It seems like the most important thing is not changing the order of the parts or making a huge art show out of it, but just having those incredible parts and arranging them in the classic way.
"That seems to me to be the most beautiful form.
"We don't think about styles. If something's cool, we don't care if it's a ska song or a country song. We like The Specials and we like Neil Young, so what's the problem?"
And the LA experience, recording with producer Kevin Augunas?
Tomlinson: "The level was intense. We were in a two-room apartment that was 10 minutes walk from the studio. There was nothing else for us to do but obsess about the music . . ."
Sale: "Michael is definitely obsessive."
Tomlinson: "It's also fun for me to be obsessive."
Sale: "You can't have fun unless everything is being obsessed over."
Tomlinson: "That's true. That's what I get a kick out of I suppose."
With Ragged and Ecstatic, there are plenty of those kicks to share around.
Ragged and Ecstatic (Dew Process/Universal) is out tomorrow.
Yves Klein Blue play Bon Amici, Toowoomba tonight; Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane tomorrow (sold out); Sound Lounge, Gold Coast, Saturday; Woombye Pub, Sunday.
taken from: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25684824-5003421,00.html
Yves Klein Blue - Ragged and Ecstatic
Coming far from the days of like-mindedness between band members in regard to musical tastes and the school jam room, 2008 had Yves Klein Blue going against the grain of the music scene. Embracing their creativity as a group and taking a risk, the band produced EP Draw Attention To Themselves; and that they did, with international success of the single Polka.
Wasting no time at all, the four piece is about to release debut album Ragged and Ecstatic, which is a result of a newly learned objective perspective. Recorded at Fairfax Studios in L.A, frontman Michael Tomlinson says the musical abilty of the process “[captured] a natural sound, a live vibe…”. The album is about “being alive and finding out about the world and your place in it”, as Tomlinson summarizes the experience. Kevin Augunas taught the group that 5% of difference may be small, but that 5% may be the difference “between good and excellent”.
The band took on this knowledge whole heartedly, which saw them overcoming challenges within the recording of this album. Confidence was knocked about in the beginning of the process, as the zealous lads soon learnt how it felt to loathe oneself through tedious perfection; every track was torn apart and started again.
Travelling with the band and it’s destinations, the album is a reflection of an intense recording process. Fairfax in L.A was just the beginning, as the album (before completion) was summed up at Airlock Studios in the band’s hometown of Brisbane before the ‘cherry put on top’ in Sydney’s Big Jesus Burger Studios.
With wit stick intact and confidence obtained, Yves Klein Blue are ready to show Australia what they have on offer. With the release of Ragged and Ecstatic on 26th June, a tour will kick off the same date at the Brisbane Powerhouse. All tickets available through www.yveskleinblue.com
Until then, you can check out Yves Klein Blue on MyVision TV, as we caught up with them on their home turf in Brisbane.
-Emmyrose Hobbs
taken from: http://www.myvisiontv.com.au/2009/?p=1000
Wasting no time at all, the four piece is about to release debut album Ragged and Ecstatic, which is a result of a newly learned objective perspective. Recorded at Fairfax Studios in L.A, frontman Michael Tomlinson says the musical abilty of the process “[captured] a natural sound, a live vibe…”. The album is about “being alive and finding out about the world and your place in it”, as Tomlinson summarizes the experience. Kevin Augunas taught the group that 5% of difference may be small, but that 5% may be the difference “between good and excellent”.
The band took on this knowledge whole heartedly, which saw them overcoming challenges within the recording of this album. Confidence was knocked about in the beginning of the process, as the zealous lads soon learnt how it felt to loathe oneself through tedious perfection; every track was torn apart and started again.
Travelling with the band and it’s destinations, the album is a reflection of an intense recording process. Fairfax in L.A was just the beginning, as the album (before completion) was summed up at Airlock Studios in the band’s hometown of Brisbane before the ‘cherry put on top’ in Sydney’s Big Jesus Burger Studios.
With wit stick intact and confidence obtained, Yves Klein Blue are ready to show Australia what they have on offer. With the release of Ragged and Ecstatic on 26th June, a tour will kick off the same date at the Brisbane Powerhouse. All tickets available through www.yveskleinblue.com
Until then, you can check out Yves Klein Blue on MyVision TV, as we caught up with them on their home turf in Brisbane.
-Emmyrose Hobbs
taken from: http://www.myvisiontv.com.au/2009/?p=1000
MY VISION TV - YVES KLEIN VIEW
Music Video Code by MyVision TV
My Vision TV talk to the boys about how they came together and recording the new album! p.s. watch Sean take debate with himself on whether he should take a swig of beer on film or not... pretty funny stuff
taken from: http://www.myvisiontv.com.au/2009/vids/musicvideo.php?vid=999a8ee1a
Yves Klein Blue vs The Holidays II
Back in August, Simon Jones from The Holidays interviewed Michael from Yves Klein Blue for Fasterlouder on the eve of their Immaculate Confection Tour, which hits WA for three shows in October. We have ferreted around on the cutting room floor, and found some gems which didn’t make it into the official interview which we think deserve an airing as well… Your Mother, Dinosaurs and fart jokes are just some of the topics covered: For which Michael apologises for to the FL readership and promises to have a zombie chew with anyone from Perth who spots him in the crowd at one of the gigs…
Which of the following songs do you most associate with our upcoming Immaculate Confection tour: My Boy Lollipop (Millie Small), Candy man (Christina Aguilera), Milkshake (Kelis), Cups & Cakes (Spinal Tap), Pour Some Sugar on me (Def Leppard)?
Definitely the Leppard, I was only recently exposed to it via the dangerous medium of youtube. This technology is foreign to me, as the speed of my internet connection is only now entering 1994 standards. I downloaded it, second by excruciating second. According to Sean (who is the requisite source of knowledge of all things you would never expect him to know), the band drew inspiration from the song “Sugar Sugar”, just like Nitty! It just goes to show we’re all connected. The lyrics a little confusing though so I can’t say it’s my favorite, but the Millie Smalls one has always been our song…
What is your opinion on ugg boots being worn in public?
Uugghhhhhh.
What is your favourite prehistoric animal?
Mastodon / Brontosaurus / Velocoraptor / Lungfish / your mother
What do you get up to when not on the road or recording with your band?
What!? What do you mean? Like when I’m sleeping?
I play music mostly – writing occupies a lot of space, see my buddies, make my room a compete mess, drink malted milk and Pimms, cook, read, help my mother who is very busy, but it’s all pretty scarce. We have been rehearsing like a bad theatre troupe recently.
Who usually wins arm wrestles in Yves Klein Blue? (My money is on Chris)
We’re banter weights. I lose against the stylus on my turntable. Charles loses against lapdogs. Sean loses against armchairs. Chris…
Actually you’re right, Chris is massive.
Who do you think would win in a fight between Batman as Christian Bale and Batman as Michael Keaton (the 1989 version)?
Definitely Bale; Michael Keaton is a pussy.
Keaton, if you’re listening, come and get it you sissy man – you don’t need hairspray, your hair already resembles steel wool and could be carved into a hedge sculpture of any animal. Dean Koontz told me wants to make it into a puppy dog with breast instead of ears.
Which film is worse, The Godfather part III or Alien versus Predator?
I cannot tell a lie, I have not seen either of those pictures, and do not have the perseverance to sit through 4 hrs of motion picture in order to form an opinion. Oh wait…I have seen Alien vs. Predator.
It’s definitely worse.
...Though it’s pretty cool when he gets his little I-phone thing out on his arm right? And there are the generic digital symbols that used to be on your calculator where different portions of an ‘8’ would be illuminated. Please! As if they wouldn’t have an LCD touch screen on that? He’s from a super advanced race – they’re the Spartans of the Galaxy! What do they live stream Big Brother on? Somebody please get that motherfucker an I-phone. Somebody get me an I-phone for mentioning I-phones in the press. Though I probably just brought them into disrepute by associating them with the inhuman Predator…
In short I renege on my previous decision and award the razzy to the Godfather III.
On our upcoming tour, what topic is most likely to be talked about the most?
We’ll probably spend most of our time giggling uncontrollably and discussing boys and what celebrity we’d most like to marry as we place freshly sliced cucumber over each other’s eyelids and smear our facades with vanishing cream. Lets be realistic though – as you are touring with us the topic of “who-did-that-awful-fart” is bound to come up, as well as the old chestnut “Rumours” by Fleetwood Mac, which involves Sean yelling hysterically at the unfortunate soul unlucky enough to mention that they appreciate the drum sound.
What one type of confectionary would you associate most closely with our tour? We choose Zombie Chews (for no particular reason other than their great taste)
You bastards! You stole my candy!
Whatevs – as we will be in regional Victoria I’m definitely stopping by this sweet servo where they stock the most excellent shortbread.
I’d endorse Chomp but they are making a resurgence and I don’t want to appear to be part of the hype machine. Curly Wirly? (There’s a joke in that).
Hmmm… I just can’t decide so I’m going to have to say…GRYFFINDOR!
Oh wait! I Should have said: “I didn’t have any in mind Simon…
…you’re sweet enough!”
For more shenanigans of this nature, or to share a Zombie Chew, you can see them at the Amplifier on 10th with Boys Boys Boys! or at the Prince of Wales on the 11th or the Norfolk Basement on the 12th with Tracksuit at both gigs.
taken from: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/local/15048/Yves-Klein-Blue-vs-The-Holidays-II.htm
Tom Magazine Interview
YVES KLEIN BLUE by Anna Angel
You can’t tell from listening to it, but Yves Klein Blue front man Michael Tomlinson completed their debut record, Ragged and Ecstatic, from the toilet of a pokey flat in downtown Los Angeles. Tomlinson, who hid in the toilet with an acoustic guitar at 2am so he wouldn’t wake anyone else, says he is "often surprised by the material I can come up with while sitting on the toilet."
The band followed producer Kevin Augunas, and found themselves isolated in a 2-room flat, ten minutes from Fairfax Studios, where they spent three months recording. "We would have gone anywhere that Kevin was, we were really attracted to what he’d done with other groups, like Cold War Kids," Tomlinson says of their time in LA. "There was nothing for us to do there but focus on the songs, there were no distractions. Because of that, it turned into something much more than I ever thought it would."
The Brisbane-based indie rockers went into recording with confidence, with material they’d been sitting on for months. But Tomlinson says by the time the record was finished, they’d stripped it down to its bare skeleton, and completely rebuilt it. Ragged and Ecstatic, which features the well-loved, ‘Polka’, and their new single, ‘Getting Wise’, is a collection of everything Yves Klein Blue have been working on, and have experienced, within the past year.
"I’m really proud of the recording, and we can’t wait to see what people think of it," Tomlinson says. "We have a lot of hopes for this record, but we feel that it’s out of our hands now, you know, we’ve done as much as we can, and now we just wait and see if people like it."
The title is taken from Jack Kerouac’s counter-culture classic, ‘On the Road’, and Tomlinson says the desire to experience life in all its aspects that is so inherent in Kerouac’s work is exactly what their music is about. The self-confessed bookworm read ‘On the Road’ while living his own on the road experience, touring through Victoria, and then London.
"Anyone who has read that book and really loved it, it would be because they felt they had same feelings inside them," he says. "It wasn’t an influence in a lyrical sense, but we’re a collective of our experiences, and I felt it definitely affected me."
When asked what does inspire his often sharp and witty lyrics, Tomlinson is rather liberal. "Honestly, anything. I think that everything is pretty inspiring." Yves Klein Blue’s profile on MySpace lists a lengthy and peculiar string of muses as their inspiration, from Lego, to fantastic sex, to Mi Goreng noodles. Tomlinson explains, "It’s nothing in particular; it’s just life".
"The music and the lyrics are two different things, but I mean, I saw a news report once, and that became a song," he says. "I saw a friend vomit on his girlfriend’s shoes because he took too many pills, and that became ‘Polka’."
Drawing inspiration from all aspects of daily life does have its drawbacks, though. Tomlinson says the hardest part of putting together Ragged and Ecstatic was deciding what to leave out.
"To write is easy, but editing is more painful than death," he says, without a hint of jest. "You have to free yourself to the extent that you can create something, but then you have to take that hat off, and discipline yourself."
"You know, you have to cull your darlings, and from that you might create something completely different. That culling was more what this recording experience was about - dialectic between less and more."
Yves Klein Blue came to the attention of audiences in 2007, after winning an MTV Kick-start competition. Two short years and an EP appropriately entitled ‘Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention to Themselves’ later, and they’re set to release their debut album. Tomlinson, however, rejects the idea that their journey from playing house parties to international venues has been sudden or unexpected.
"To people who aren’t us - to people who aren’t directly involved in the process, it must all seem very sudden, or quick, but it doesn’t seem that way at all to us," he says. "We have not stopped since we started out, we have not in any way relented - I feel like it’s time for us to put out the record, and tour for it. It just feels like a perfectly natural progression."
Nor will they take a well-deserved break after the release of Ragged and Ecstatic. Fresh from overseas tours, YKB will be touring Australia promoting their record, and will be making a return to Splendour in the Grass in July. Tomlinson, who is already on the piano laying down the scaffolds of some new material, says they have no plans to stop there, either.
"Maybe we’ll head overseas, or we could tour Aus again this year, depending on the reaction to our record," he says. "We don’t see an end in sight for a long time; that’s what we see as the best case scenario anyway, if we’re allowed to keep going."
Tomlinson is excited to be on the Splendour bill for the second year in a row, where they’ll be playing alongside some of the hottest international acts around. "To be included on that bill is amazing, because we would go to Splendour if we weren’t playing". Splendour-goers should be on the lookout for YKB throughout the festival, as Tomlinson assures, "You know we’ll be out in the crowd, for sure!"
Ragged and Ecstatic is out through Dew Process on June 26th.
Ragged Ecstatic is out on Friday through Dew Process. Yves Klein Blue play The Brisbane Powerhouse on June 26th.
taken from: http://www.tommagazine.com.au/index.php?area=Interviews&pg=38&subarea=38&sel=9909&ttl=Yves%20Klein%20Blue
You can’t tell from listening to it, but Yves Klein Blue front man Michael Tomlinson completed their debut record, Ragged and Ecstatic, from the toilet of a pokey flat in downtown Los Angeles. Tomlinson, who hid in the toilet with an acoustic guitar at 2am so he wouldn’t wake anyone else, says he is "often surprised by the material I can come up with while sitting on the toilet."
The band followed producer Kevin Augunas, and found themselves isolated in a 2-room flat, ten minutes from Fairfax Studios, where they spent three months recording. "We would have gone anywhere that Kevin was, we were really attracted to what he’d done with other groups, like Cold War Kids," Tomlinson says of their time in LA. "There was nothing for us to do there but focus on the songs, there were no distractions. Because of that, it turned into something much more than I ever thought it would."
The Brisbane-based indie rockers went into recording with confidence, with material they’d been sitting on for months. But Tomlinson says by the time the record was finished, they’d stripped it down to its bare skeleton, and completely rebuilt it. Ragged and Ecstatic, which features the well-loved, ‘Polka’, and their new single, ‘Getting Wise’, is a collection of everything Yves Klein Blue have been working on, and have experienced, within the past year.
"I’m really proud of the recording, and we can’t wait to see what people think of it," Tomlinson says. "We have a lot of hopes for this record, but we feel that it’s out of our hands now, you know, we’ve done as much as we can, and now we just wait and see if people like it."
The title is taken from Jack Kerouac’s counter-culture classic, ‘On the Road’, and Tomlinson says the desire to experience life in all its aspects that is so inherent in Kerouac’s work is exactly what their music is about. The self-confessed bookworm read ‘On the Road’ while living his own on the road experience, touring through Victoria, and then London.
"Anyone who has read that book and really loved it, it would be because they felt they had same feelings inside them," he says. "It wasn’t an influence in a lyrical sense, but we’re a collective of our experiences, and I felt it definitely affected me."
When asked what does inspire his often sharp and witty lyrics, Tomlinson is rather liberal. "Honestly, anything. I think that everything is pretty inspiring." Yves Klein Blue’s profile on MySpace lists a lengthy and peculiar string of muses as their inspiration, from Lego, to fantastic sex, to Mi Goreng noodles. Tomlinson explains, "It’s nothing in particular; it’s just life".
"The music and the lyrics are two different things, but I mean, I saw a news report once, and that became a song," he says. "I saw a friend vomit on his girlfriend’s shoes because he took too many pills, and that became ‘Polka’."
Drawing inspiration from all aspects of daily life does have its drawbacks, though. Tomlinson says the hardest part of putting together Ragged and Ecstatic was deciding what to leave out.
"To write is easy, but editing is more painful than death," he says, without a hint of jest. "You have to free yourself to the extent that you can create something, but then you have to take that hat off, and discipline yourself."
"You know, you have to cull your darlings, and from that you might create something completely different. That culling was more what this recording experience was about - dialectic between less and more."
Yves Klein Blue came to the attention of audiences in 2007, after winning an MTV Kick-start competition. Two short years and an EP appropriately entitled ‘Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention to Themselves’ later, and they’re set to release their debut album. Tomlinson, however, rejects the idea that their journey from playing house parties to international venues has been sudden or unexpected.
"To people who aren’t us - to people who aren’t directly involved in the process, it must all seem very sudden, or quick, but it doesn’t seem that way at all to us," he says. "We have not stopped since we started out, we have not in any way relented - I feel like it’s time for us to put out the record, and tour for it. It just feels like a perfectly natural progression."
Nor will they take a well-deserved break after the release of Ragged and Ecstatic. Fresh from overseas tours, YKB will be touring Australia promoting their record, and will be making a return to Splendour in the Grass in July. Tomlinson, who is already on the piano laying down the scaffolds of some new material, says they have no plans to stop there, either.
"Maybe we’ll head overseas, or we could tour Aus again this year, depending on the reaction to our record," he says. "We don’t see an end in sight for a long time; that’s what we see as the best case scenario anyway, if we’re allowed to keep going."
Tomlinson is excited to be on the Splendour bill for the second year in a row, where they’ll be playing alongside some of the hottest international acts around. "To be included on that bill is amazing, because we would go to Splendour if we weren’t playing". Splendour-goers should be on the lookout for YKB throughout the festival, as Tomlinson assures, "You know we’ll be out in the crowd, for sure!"
Ragged and Ecstatic is out through Dew Process on June 26th.
Ragged Ecstatic is out on Friday through Dew Process. Yves Klein Blue play The Brisbane Powerhouse on June 26th.
taken from: http://www.tommagazine.com.au/index.php?area=Interviews&pg=38&subarea=38&sel=9909&ttl=Yves%20Klein%20Blue
Review of Draw Attention To Themselves
The buzz surrounding Yves Klein Blue has grown to positively deafening levels over the past 12 months, and culminated in their signing to Brisbane-based record label Dew Process. It’s been a while since they released any recorded work, but fans can relax, safe in the knowledge that the new EP from this poppy Brisbane four-piece, Draw Attention To Themselves, despite containing some rerecorded versions of older songs, has captured their dancey, energetic live show perfectly.
Blasphemy has a laidback almost-reggae beginning, but at the one minute mark, the songs true rock riff heart bursts out, and will get even the most cynical of listeners dancing in their chairs. It’s a perfect introduction for newcomers to YKB’s sound – stomping drums, jangly guitars, and Michael Tomlinson ’s irreverent vocals, all tied together in a superb sonic package. Not What I Want is somehow dancier, while the longer, drawn out ballad 19 shows off some of Tomlinson’s piano skills, as well as the versatility of the Yves Klein Blue sound.
Silence Is Distance has a sharper, meaner, rockier edge to it, with Charles Sale ’s guitar work taking pride of place. Chris Banham ’s drums do an excellent job of keeping this wild song on the rails, and Tomlinson proves he can croon over the top of anything. First single Polka is exactly that; a noodling, rollicking party song which would not have seemed out of place in a 30’s speakeasy – at least until Sale’s manic guitars really kick in, convulsing the song all over the room. (A Bookend) closes out the EP, with Tomlinson once again tinkling the ivories for this instrumental number.
Overall it’s a very classy beginning for Yves Klein Blue’s Dew Process career. Draw Attention To Themselves is an excellent snapshot of the band who have built themselves a first rate live reputation, and these four youngsters feel like veterans with no missteps to be seen on this six track EP. Fans of fun, dancey rock – your new favourite band has arrived.
Don’t miss Yves Klein Blue launching their Draw Attention To Themselves EP this Saturday at the Troubador, supported by Wind&Brackets and the Rocketsmiths
taken from: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/music/12833/Yves-Klein-Blue--Draw-Attention-To-Themselves.htm
Blasphemy has a laidback almost-reggae beginning, but at the one minute mark, the songs true rock riff heart bursts out, and will get even the most cynical of listeners dancing in their chairs. It’s a perfect introduction for newcomers to YKB’s sound – stomping drums, jangly guitars, and Michael Tomlinson ’s irreverent vocals, all tied together in a superb sonic package. Not What I Want is somehow dancier, while the longer, drawn out ballad 19 shows off some of Tomlinson’s piano skills, as well as the versatility of the Yves Klein Blue sound.
Silence Is Distance has a sharper, meaner, rockier edge to it, with Charles Sale ’s guitar work taking pride of place. Chris Banham ’s drums do an excellent job of keeping this wild song on the rails, and Tomlinson proves he can croon over the top of anything. First single Polka is exactly that; a noodling, rollicking party song which would not have seemed out of place in a 30’s speakeasy – at least until Sale’s manic guitars really kick in, convulsing the song all over the room. (A Bookend) closes out the EP, with Tomlinson once again tinkling the ivories for this instrumental number.
Overall it’s a very classy beginning for Yves Klein Blue’s Dew Process career. Draw Attention To Themselves is an excellent snapshot of the band who have built themselves a first rate live reputation, and these four youngsters feel like veterans with no missteps to be seen on this six track EP. Fans of fun, dancey rock – your new favourite band has arrived.
Don’t miss Yves Klein Blue launching their Draw Attention To Themselves EP this Saturday at the Troubador, supported by Wind&Brackets and the Rocketsmiths
taken from: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/music/12833/Yves-Klein-Blue--Draw-Attention-To-Themselves.htm
Yves Klein Blue - Getting Wise
By thatch • May 29th, 2009 • Category: Australian, Indie, Music, Pop, Rock
Yves Klein Blue
It’s been a long while since a band from Queensland impressed as much as Yves Klein Blues (named after French Dada artist Yves Klein and his wonderful piece from the 50’s “Blue - but I digress). Smart arse name aside this is band that knows how to play hard, have a listen to “Silence Is Distance” over at http://www.myspace.com/yveskleinbluemusic. They certainly impress.
But the real find was “Getting Wise”, this puppy is seriously slick. I am in awe of the clever lyrics and the phrasing. It sounds so casually thrown away as a performance, but damn it’s slick. And then there is the rest of the production, polished? This is so shiny bright that you will need shades to listen to it. The organ provides just the perfect counterpoint to the understated guitars.
Am I gushing? You bet but they are worth it. They have a great rep as a live act and the release of the new CD will confirm them as a great recording act.
Here is “Getting Wise”
Recommended (and make sure you don’t miss “Silence Is Distance” over at Myspace - it’s a gem)
Websites at http://www.myspace.com/yveskleinbluemusic and http://www.yveskleinblue.com
taken from: http://duggup.com.au/2009/05/29/yves-klein-blue-getting-wise/
Review by Michael Carr
The bright-eyed lads from Brisbane, Yves Klein Blue have finally returned from abroad, holding aloft the shining bounty of their wanderings. Ragged & Ecstatic their debut album.
I really like this album. First track Make Up Your Mind is a straight kick to your guts, in a nice way. With jingly piano hooks, catchy ethereal guitar hooks and an oddly Caribbean feel to it, the songs is stand up and 80s dance material.
Next tracks Soldier and Getting Wise keep things in the same up beat poppy rock interlaced with varying other influences from The Beatles to part of surf and punk. There is generous use of uplifting overdubs, and the always-happy piano riffs and clean guitar effects.
Most of the songs follow a solid verse chorus verse structure, with the mix making way for the vocals to shine through. Essentially for the most part it’s carefree pop, with irrepressible drive and earnest vocals all tied up quite neatly.
The band’s got balls but they keep them shaved, not to say though that the album doesn’t have it’s fair share of hairy bits.
Tracks like Digital Love (miles away from the Daft Punk song of the same name), allow the band to unleash their grunge-laden fury. The guitar effects that once were clean are nor covered in shit and mud and flying at you in surges and swell.
About The Future and its counterpart Reprise see singer Michael Tomlinson’s vocals presented over a single guitar playing a charmingly quirky blue number. The songs see Michael musing about the state of the world, with particular emphasis on the fact that in this world we’re really only presented with a choice of which of two evils is the lesser. Reprise does however seem to resolve the pain and anguish of About The Future, the lyrics implying an acceptance of our fate to suffer through the shit those before us have left so that in the future we may be able to look toward improving our world as opposed to relying on quick fixes to keep us afloat.
Summer Sheets is a wondrously ska influenced pop ditty, while Polka revisits the thrashy rockabilly of Digital love with even more fury than before. Queeny has this sort of airy Britpop edge to it and it reminds of something Damon Albarn might sample for a Gorillas track.
The whole album is pretty fun really will make for a good soundtrack to a dirty coke fuelled weekend of excess.
Here’s hoping the next one’s even better than this.
7/10
taken from: http://musicfeeds.com.au/album-reviews/yves-klein-blue-ragged-ecstatic/
I really like this album. First track Make Up Your Mind is a straight kick to your guts, in a nice way. With jingly piano hooks, catchy ethereal guitar hooks and an oddly Caribbean feel to it, the songs is stand up and 80s dance material.
Next tracks Soldier and Getting Wise keep things in the same up beat poppy rock interlaced with varying other influences from The Beatles to part of surf and punk. There is generous use of uplifting overdubs, and the always-happy piano riffs and clean guitar effects.
Most of the songs follow a solid verse chorus verse structure, with the mix making way for the vocals to shine through. Essentially for the most part it’s carefree pop, with irrepressible drive and earnest vocals all tied up quite neatly.
The band’s got balls but they keep them shaved, not to say though that the album doesn’t have it’s fair share of hairy bits.
Tracks like Digital Love (miles away from the Daft Punk song of the same name), allow the band to unleash their grunge-laden fury. The guitar effects that once were clean are nor covered in shit and mud and flying at you in surges and swell.
About The Future and its counterpart Reprise see singer Michael Tomlinson’s vocals presented over a single guitar playing a charmingly quirky blue number. The songs see Michael musing about the state of the world, with particular emphasis on the fact that in this world we’re really only presented with a choice of which of two evils is the lesser. Reprise does however seem to resolve the pain and anguish of About The Future, the lyrics implying an acceptance of our fate to suffer through the shit those before us have left so that in the future we may be able to look toward improving our world as opposed to relying on quick fixes to keep us afloat.
Summer Sheets is a wondrously ska influenced pop ditty, while Polka revisits the thrashy rockabilly of Digital love with even more fury than before. Queeny has this sort of airy Britpop edge to it and it reminds of something Damon Albarn might sample for a Gorillas track.
The whole album is pretty fun really will make for a good soundtrack to a dirty coke fuelled weekend of excess.
Here’s hoping the next one’s even better than this.
7/10
taken from: http://musicfeeds.com.au/album-reviews/yves-klein-blue-ragged-ecstatic/
Yves Klein Blue interview by Thomas Mitchell
Michael Tomlinson from Yves Klein Blue sounds tired. Like ten whiskeys deep, rock bottom, tired. The cause of his anxiety?
Recession? No. Rising price of fuel? Unlikely. Rather it is the birth of a new album, the release of a record, which has Michael crawling the walls.
“Yeah for a while there I was pacing down the halls ripping my hair out trying to finish the damn thing. But now its been done for a while, but again its weird because people are starting to hear it. We’ve been living with this record for a year, working on it for a year and people are finally starting to hear it.”
While the prospect of punters hearing the album is daunting, imagine being uprooted from sunny Brisbane to sunny LA to record it. Yves Klein Blue waved goodbye to BrisVegas and instead chose LA as their destination. It’s obvious that it was a learning curve for the band.
“So we went over to LA, which is the first huge thing, to work with a producer, Kevin Yagoones. When we got there we thought we were ready to cut the songs live. But Kevin was like, play this song, so we did. Then he was like, play it with just the kick drum and the snare and just the bass, and we played it and we realized the bass and the drums were just totally out of whack.”
While Kevin may sound a little demanding it was just the kind of push the band needed.
It led to many beer-soaked recording sessions, Yves Klein Blue desperately searching for unity. Michael admits there was a division in their playing style, and part of the ‘LA experience’ was finding a way to play together.
“It takes a great band to truly be playing together. We weren’t doing that, we learnt that. Kevin’s contribution to the record was to say straight down the line when he thought something wasn’t working or was missing, then it was up to us to find it, and up the standard.”
At this point lesser individuals, myself included, would’ve chucked it in and come home, but Michael and his band mates stuck to it.
“It was intense. It was confrontational. We’re really proud of what we’ve done, it was a huge emotional experience, from writing it, to studio time, mixing, just getting it perfect.”
With the album done and dusted the band now faces a tour, which brings a whole new set of problems. Issue one, combining the album and live show into one.
“I think certainly things get a lot meaner live, louder, faster. I mean I don’t really think there is anything on the record we did that we couldn’t recreate live,” he tells me with gusto. “Well we did get a horn section in for the album and we can’t do that. Oh and a guy from Wilco plays pedals on a track, so we couldn’t do that,” he confesses somewhat sheepishly.
But with musicians as with everyone, lacking enthusiasm is something that happens from time to time. Sometimes I don’t feel like writing a wonderfully articulate and equally witty article, but I have to. Similarly sometimes musos don’t want to be on stage on a particular night, but Michael explains that it is a fleeting thought.
“I mean there are some nights where you feel you’d rather not play a gig, but that lasts about halfway through the first song. There is nothing better then being on stage. When the crowd gives back it becomes this feedback cycle of excitement.”
Those who have seen Yves on stage know Michael is telling the truth. The live show is energetic and sensual, like having sex while skipping. No wonder they’ve found popularity overseas. Yves Klein Blue has toured three times abroad, learning invaluable lessons along the way.
“The last time we had much more know how when it came to touring overseas. Using hired gear, and transformers and power, it is all about getting converters for stuff, just weird shit.”
Admittedly this wasn’t the rock n roll answer I had hoped for. I was expecting something along the lines of ‘when someone smashes the hotel room, always blame the drummer.’ Luckily though, this last tour’s electricity wasn’t confined to converters and power points.
“Wait wait, the best night I had was in New York. We had this cool gig at some Warehouse in Brooklyn, dilapidated and shit. They were selling beers for a dollar fifty. The mic kept electrocuting me, so I put my sock on it, so I kept tasting my feet all night, and getting electrocuted.”
I ask if he was shocked, but he ignores me and continues his story.
“Then we went over to Greenwich Village after the gig, to some pub and it was down the bottom of a pizza place, and it was The Strokes bar. So we were hanging out with Juliette Lewis and Fabrizio Moretti and Drew Barrymore, and it was just fucking surreal.”
Enough said.
Ragged and Ecstatic is out now through Dew Process. Yves Klein Blue play Oxford Arts on Saturday 4th July. Visit www.yveskleinblue.com for more info.
taken from: http://musicfeeds.com.au/music/yves-klein-blue-3/
Recession? No. Rising price of fuel? Unlikely. Rather it is the birth of a new album, the release of a record, which has Michael crawling the walls.
“Yeah for a while there I was pacing down the halls ripping my hair out trying to finish the damn thing. But now its been done for a while, but again its weird because people are starting to hear it. We’ve been living with this record for a year, working on it for a year and people are finally starting to hear it.”
While the prospect of punters hearing the album is daunting, imagine being uprooted from sunny Brisbane to sunny LA to record it. Yves Klein Blue waved goodbye to BrisVegas and instead chose LA as their destination. It’s obvious that it was a learning curve for the band.
“So we went over to LA, which is the first huge thing, to work with a producer, Kevin Yagoones. When we got there we thought we were ready to cut the songs live. But Kevin was like, play this song, so we did. Then he was like, play it with just the kick drum and the snare and just the bass, and we played it and we realized the bass and the drums were just totally out of whack.”
While Kevin may sound a little demanding it was just the kind of push the band needed.
It led to many beer-soaked recording sessions, Yves Klein Blue desperately searching for unity. Michael admits there was a division in their playing style, and part of the ‘LA experience’ was finding a way to play together.
“It takes a great band to truly be playing together. We weren’t doing that, we learnt that. Kevin’s contribution to the record was to say straight down the line when he thought something wasn’t working or was missing, then it was up to us to find it, and up the standard.”
At this point lesser individuals, myself included, would’ve chucked it in and come home, but Michael and his band mates stuck to it.
“It was intense. It was confrontational. We’re really proud of what we’ve done, it was a huge emotional experience, from writing it, to studio time, mixing, just getting it perfect.”
With the album done and dusted the band now faces a tour, which brings a whole new set of problems. Issue one, combining the album and live show into one.
“I think certainly things get a lot meaner live, louder, faster. I mean I don’t really think there is anything on the record we did that we couldn’t recreate live,” he tells me with gusto. “Well we did get a horn section in for the album and we can’t do that. Oh and a guy from Wilco plays pedals on a track, so we couldn’t do that,” he confesses somewhat sheepishly.
But with musicians as with everyone, lacking enthusiasm is something that happens from time to time. Sometimes I don’t feel like writing a wonderfully articulate and equally witty article, but I have to. Similarly sometimes musos don’t want to be on stage on a particular night, but Michael explains that it is a fleeting thought.
“I mean there are some nights where you feel you’d rather not play a gig, but that lasts about halfway through the first song. There is nothing better then being on stage. When the crowd gives back it becomes this feedback cycle of excitement.”
Those who have seen Yves on stage know Michael is telling the truth. The live show is energetic and sensual, like having sex while skipping. No wonder they’ve found popularity overseas. Yves Klein Blue has toured three times abroad, learning invaluable lessons along the way.
“The last time we had much more know how when it came to touring overseas. Using hired gear, and transformers and power, it is all about getting converters for stuff, just weird shit.”
Admittedly this wasn’t the rock n roll answer I had hoped for. I was expecting something along the lines of ‘when someone smashes the hotel room, always blame the drummer.’ Luckily though, this last tour’s electricity wasn’t confined to converters and power points.
“Wait wait, the best night I had was in New York. We had this cool gig at some Warehouse in Brooklyn, dilapidated and shit. They were selling beers for a dollar fifty. The mic kept electrocuting me, so I put my sock on it, so I kept tasting my feet all night, and getting electrocuted.”
I ask if he was shocked, but he ignores me and continues his story.
“Then we went over to Greenwich Village after the gig, to some pub and it was down the bottom of a pizza place, and it was The Strokes bar. So we were hanging out with Juliette Lewis and Fabrizio Moretti and Drew Barrymore, and it was just fucking surreal.”
Enough said.
Ragged and Ecstatic is out now through Dew Process. Yves Klein Blue play Oxford Arts on Saturday 4th July. Visit www.yveskleinblue.com for more info.
taken from: http://musicfeeds.com.au/music/yves-klein-blue-3/
Yves Klein Blue interview by Dr. SJF Zhivago
My interview with Yves Klein Blue frontman, Michael Tomlinson is doomed from the start. The call comes through as expected, but as happens with the best laid plans, well, things begin to go awry – a couple of minutes in and my phone is on its last legs; lights flashing, alarms going off, and not a battery charger to be seen anywhere. I tell Tomlinson I’ll call him back. I’m in the process of moving house, and it seems the aforementioned battery charger is one of the items yet to be extricated from the Old Place – it seems we have a problem. But the gods are smiling and Claire turns up with the charger an hour or so later, and so all plugged in, I call Tomlinson back. His phone rings out. It’s at this point where apathy sets in, I mean, he’s not doing me any favours, but it’s then that he calls back, and we’re in business, despite what he’s been doing over the past hour, something which seems to have slowed his thought processes down somewhat and he rambles a lot, but I listen anyway and we talk about Yves Klein Blue.
“We’re Nullarbor virgins,” is one of the first things he tells me, referring to the band’s impending trip to WA, obviously their first time across the desert. It’s a trip that’ll yield only three shows this time around, but it’s an important trip, a trip that’ll get these Brisbane youngsters some much needed exposure out west, a definite bonus given how well they’re doing over here on the east coast. Their debut EP, Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves, released in March this year, has been picked up by Triple J, and as well, YKB won the MTV Kickstart competition around the same time, something which has had them up in lights all over the place. “The Kickstart money was actually what allowed us to record the EP,” Tomlinson explains laconically.
“But Triple J getting behind Polka (first single from the EP), and all the stuff that’s come from people hearing our music on Triple J, it’s the sort of thing you’d like to happen. We’ve just been very fortunate and lucky that Triple J have been so good to us…when you go in to record, you can only do what you think is relevant, and so to have people liking it is a dream come true.” It would seem that Tomlinson, in his slightly foggy state, is right on the money – things for YKB have indeed blossomed since they won the Kickstart competition, hence the fact you’re seeing their name and hearing their tunes every time you open a magazine or turn on the radio.
As it stands right now then, this current tour (which not only takes in WA, but the rest of the country as well) oddly named the Immaculate Confection Tour (yeah, there are cupcakes involved…) is that tour that goes down now that the EP is right out there, and before the band get into recording their debut full-length offering, something which is much on their minds. “That’s exactly right, we’re recording that album two days after we get back from this tour, so it’s very much that time-killer tour,” Tomlinson drawls. “We’ve been writing for the past month and a half and we’re doing our final demos this Friday, so it’s all very exciting and nerve wracking.
“Well actually, we’ve been working towards this for a couple of years, we’ve been writing for that long, but it’s been the past month and a half where we’ve been going back over songs, cutting out the fat,” he re-clarifies in a burst of lucidity, before going on regarding the evolution in sound they’re finding, as you’d expect from a young band with a host of live experience but yet to release their debut long-player. “Yeah, there’s been a lot of expansion, especially in terms of adding other vocal parts, using other instruments,” Tomlinson muses. “Although it’s hard to say, maybe we have no perspective, like, other guys in the band will go, ‘this is too different’, while I’ll say, ‘I think it’s fine’. But I definitely think that listening to the LP, there’ll be a progression, which is inevitable I suppose.”
Indeed, progression is the name of the game. It’s at this point where I decide we’ve both had enough, but before we wrap up, I put it to Tomlinson there’s a fair bit of hype surrounding the band at the moment – are they confident this record will live up to it all? “I’m feeling a fair bit of pressure from ourselves,” he admits. “Your first record is such a bold statement, we really want to say something that’s relevant, we want to do it right, so yeah, there’s pressure from us.” And so there should be – straighten up and fly right Yves Klein Blue, and maybe the world, on both sides of the Nullarbor, will be your oyster.
Dr. SJF Zhivago
taken from: http://musicfeeds.com.au/music/yves-klein-blue/
“We’re Nullarbor virgins,” is one of the first things he tells me, referring to the band’s impending trip to WA, obviously their first time across the desert. It’s a trip that’ll yield only three shows this time around, but it’s an important trip, a trip that’ll get these Brisbane youngsters some much needed exposure out west, a definite bonus given how well they’re doing over here on the east coast. Their debut EP, Yves Klein Blue Draw Attention To Themselves, released in March this year, has been picked up by Triple J, and as well, YKB won the MTV Kickstart competition around the same time, something which has had them up in lights all over the place. “The Kickstart money was actually what allowed us to record the EP,” Tomlinson explains laconically.
“But Triple J getting behind Polka (first single from the EP), and all the stuff that’s come from people hearing our music on Triple J, it’s the sort of thing you’d like to happen. We’ve just been very fortunate and lucky that Triple J have been so good to us…when you go in to record, you can only do what you think is relevant, and so to have people liking it is a dream come true.” It would seem that Tomlinson, in his slightly foggy state, is right on the money – things for YKB have indeed blossomed since they won the Kickstart competition, hence the fact you’re seeing their name and hearing their tunes every time you open a magazine or turn on the radio.
As it stands right now then, this current tour (which not only takes in WA, but the rest of the country as well) oddly named the Immaculate Confection Tour (yeah, there are cupcakes involved…) is that tour that goes down now that the EP is right out there, and before the band get into recording their debut full-length offering, something which is much on their minds. “That’s exactly right, we’re recording that album two days after we get back from this tour, so it’s very much that time-killer tour,” Tomlinson drawls. “We’ve been writing for the past month and a half and we’re doing our final demos this Friday, so it’s all very exciting and nerve wracking.
“Well actually, we’ve been working towards this for a couple of years, we’ve been writing for that long, but it’s been the past month and a half where we’ve been going back over songs, cutting out the fat,” he re-clarifies in a burst of lucidity, before going on regarding the evolution in sound they’re finding, as you’d expect from a young band with a host of live experience but yet to release their debut long-player. “Yeah, there’s been a lot of expansion, especially in terms of adding other vocal parts, using other instruments,” Tomlinson muses. “Although it’s hard to say, maybe we have no perspective, like, other guys in the band will go, ‘this is too different’, while I’ll say, ‘I think it’s fine’. But I definitely think that listening to the LP, there’ll be a progression, which is inevitable I suppose.”
Indeed, progression is the name of the game. It’s at this point where I decide we’ve both had enough, but before we wrap up, I put it to Tomlinson there’s a fair bit of hype surrounding the band at the moment – are they confident this record will live up to it all? “I’m feeling a fair bit of pressure from ourselves,” he admits. “Your first record is such a bold statement, we really want to say something that’s relevant, we want to do it right, so yeah, there’s pressure from us.” And so there should be – straighten up and fly right Yves Klein Blue, and maybe the world, on both sides of the Nullarbor, will be your oyster.
Dr. SJF Zhivago
taken from: http://musicfeeds.com.au/music/yves-klein-blue/
Record Day at Rockinghorse Records
Charles and Michael preform About the Future at iconic Brisbane institution slash record store the Rockinghorse
(consequently, this has to be my favourite YKB song, to watch Michael preform it facial expressions to rival a contortionist is pure joy - these boys are natural performers)
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