Interview: YJY Release New Video For “Amelia,” New EP On The Way

Since their inception, NJ-based rockers YJY have steadily risen in the tri-state scene. Their debut EP, Couch Surfin’ USA, showcased their eclectic blend of styles with their natural dynamic contributing to a naturally cool sound.

Recently, YJY shared the video for EP closer “Amelia” as they’re already at work on a follow EP set for release later this year. Groundsounds caught up with the band to talk about the video, future plans and the burgeoning scene circles they swim in.

 

1) Hi YJY! Congrats on the new video. What else has happened since the release of your EP, Couch Surfin’ USA? 

Thanks so much! The support we’ve gotten since our release has been pretty incredible. We’ve played all around New Jersey and made plenty of stops in Philly and New York. The Asbury Park music scene has really opened its arms to us and we’ve continued to play shows in New Brunswick, where we held our record release show back in July.

In the fall, we pressed an ultra-limited run of our EP on clear vinyl and sent all the proceeds to City of Angels, a non-profit working to better the lives of those affected by NJ’s heroin epidemic. Now, you can find the EP on our Bandcamp, or wherever you typically get your music, and order limited run cassettes and CDs here.

2) Tell us a little more about the video for “Amelia.” Where did you get the idea and the car from?

The video was inspired by the work of filmmaker Kenneth Anger and a photo that Steve took a few years ago — a double exposure of a Volkswagen Beetle and a cloudy sky.

The Beetle belongs to our good friend Louis, who has been restoring old mopeds for years. Recently he bought an old beat up Volkswagen Beetle and went to work. He added a fresh coat of bright orange paint, installed a tape deck and a stereo, and replaced a bunch of parts. We’d been throwing this video concept around for a while, and once we laid eyes on the Beetle, we knew we had to use it.

3) What is the song “Amelia” about exactly? How did you come up with those beautifully hazy sounds?

Ricky wrote this one, and I think those whirring, shoegaze-y guitars are probably the best evidence of that. In a lot of our songs, Ricky piles on the noise and adds this gritty, dirty element to otherwise pretty straightforward pop structures. Ricky’s parts on “Do You Love Me” are another great example of that noisy stuff that he brings to the table.

Most of our songs, like this one, are pretty straightforward in their subject matter. Still, we’ll leave it up to the listener to decide what “Amelia” is about.

4) I saw that you guys are involved with a session/interview project called Carriage House TV. How did that all come about?

That’s right. Steve, Ricky, and Tim team up with a few friends to produce a webseries featuring interviews and stripped down performances from up and coming bands. They drop a new episode each month, and you can find them all at CHTVseries.org.

YJY entered NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2015, where we filmed a stripped down performance of our own. Once we realized we could do something like this, and do it well, we started filming CHTV. Steve hosts the show, Tim does sound, and Ricky is the Executive Producer. Dean Luis, who directed our Tiny Desk Contest entry video, now directs CHTV. We’ve also got Conor from NJ’s Roy Orbitron and our good friend Kevin producing as well.

5) You’re coming up in the Philly/NJ/NY scene. Are there any local bands you’re itching to play with that you haven’t yet?

Sure, there are bands we’d like to play with, but we’ve also been really fortunate to meet a bunch of great NJ bands over the past year or so. Dentist, dollys, Roy Orbitron, The Cold Seas, The Great Depression, Hodera, Lunch Ladies, Paper Streets, and the list goes on. Asbury Park and New Brunswick are hotbeds for up and coming NJ artists right now and more people need to know that.

6) Plans for later in 2016?

We’ve got another EP on the way that will be out this summer. We recorded it in one day at the Converse Rubber Tracks studio in Brooklyn. We’ve also been reworking our set and learning some new songs together over the last few weeks. Stay tuned for the new EP and some other new tracks that we’ll be busting out at our live shows soon. In the meantime, you can stay in the loop and listen to Couch Surfin USA on our Bandcamp, or wherever else you get your music.

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