Music News - New Album for Yoko-Zuna
18 October 2018 - 0 Comments
Voyager is the new album from New Zealand electronic/jazz/hip-hop act, Yoko-Zuna. From their jazz school roots, the Auckland four-piece has built a cult following on the back of the Yoko-Zuna Plays series at Ponsonby Social Club, which saw the band cover eclectic acts such as Daft Punk, Radiohead, J-Dilla, Outkast & A Tribe Called Quest. They've raised their profile further with dozens of festival performances across Australasia and critically acclaimed releases This Place Here and Luminols. Now, they prepare to share their most impressive project yet, their sophomore LP Voyager.
Over one hour and 16 tracks, the album shows an act whose unique and incomparable sound has made them one of the country’s most exciting musical acts.
Voyager is available for pre-order now on limited edition double LP, showcasing the stunning artwork of Lyle Hawthorne, a staple of the Yoko-Zuna aesthetic.
The album further expands on their unique sound of combining sub-electronic frequencies, melodic moments and immense bass-synth-fuelled drops. Their unique instrumental sound joins with some of the country’s finest vocalists including Noah Slee, Ladi6, Melodownz, JessB, SWIDT & more, showing a growing variety to their sound.
Written and recorded over nearly 18 months, Voyager showcases each side of Yoko-Zuna’s eclectic sound. For over four years, Yoko-Zuna have showcased their brand of live electronic/hip-hop, however their inspirations lie as much with Daft Punk and J Dilla as they do with the likes of Dream Theatre.
Voyager is full of recurring themes – Television is another track with the tempo cranked up, while Chunky Munky & January Sun a chopped up vocal samples from previous releases. Specific riffs and beats first appear in the album’s opening ‘Intro’, and reappear throughout the voyage, right to the closing track. Yoko-Zuna are an act that have always featured progressive elements, and this album showcases that side.
Known throughout NZ for their work with some of NZ’s top vocalists, Voyager again sees Yoko-Zuna again using guests to expand their sound. Frequent collaborators SWIDT, Raiza Biza, Bailey Wiley & Melodownz again lend their talents to tracks, with Yoko-Zuna bringing out sides of these vocalists not heard on their own releases. The legendary Ladi6 and P-Money both make appearances, with Ladi’s smoky vocals perfectly complimenting the sax and flute on Find A Way, while P-Money guests on the centrepiece of the album, the 10-minute long beat-based epic The Lovecraft Mixtape.
As with previous releases, Yoko-Zuna again team up with some of NZ’s best up-and-coming talent, with JessB and Bobandii taking centre stage on Energy, a track which lives up to its name. Berlin-based ex-pat Noah Slee combines with guest strings to create Minority, one of the more emotive tracks on the album. The constant throughout however is the continually innovative and distinctive sounds of Yoko-Zuna.
The instrumental side of the album shows off the diverse sound of Yoko-Zuna. Tracks and sounds bleed from one to the next, Nortlov features the skilful guitar of Kenji Iwamitsu-Holdaway, before rolling straight into Frank Eliesa’s festival-ready synth-bass on Voltron. Chunky Munky is built around primal beats from Swap Gomez, while Form brings JY Lee’s smooth sax to the front, before descending into chaos. The album manages to combine many different sounds, which all complement each other perfectly and never sound out of place. It is a sound that is hard to pin down, but is undoubtedly Yoko-Zuna’s.
With elements of recording taking place at Stebbing Recording Centre and North Western Recordings in Auckland, the majority of recording took place at Frank’s House. Not a fancy name for a studio, just Frank’s home recording set up. Guitars in the closet recorded through a desktop computer next to the bed is how most of this album came to be.
Voyager is just that, a voyage. Crafted and honed both in studio with the respective artists and across many festival performances, Voyager shows, across 16 tracks and over one hour, an act with a truly inimitable sound. Yoko-Zuna
Voyager
Out November 16, 2018 on Loop
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