I had never had more than two weeks in a studio.
James Smith talks about the nine months it took to write their third album, their 3,000 vinyls and why William Onyeabor It is proof that good music has no expiration date.
Yard Act They came to the third album with something they had never had before: time. You're Gonna Need A Little Musicproduced together with Justin Gerrish in Leeds and Los Angeles, it is the album they spent the most time writing and, by far, the longest to record in their history. Nine weeks of studio plus six months of writing in their own space that the band built in Leeds, where, for the first time, they were able to play together in the same room without relying on loops or clicks. The result is rawer, more rock, more alive.
James Smithvocalist and lyricist of the band, spoke with Indie Rocks! about the process behind the album, about the internal war to choose the singles, about his stance against the algorithm and about the 3,000 vinyls he has in his living room. Also about William Onyeabora Nigerian musician who recorded synth epics in the '70s to fund his church and whose music took forty years to reach the rest of the world. And about why that says it all.
Indie Rocks!: I want to hear you talk directly about the process behind this new album. What was it like to do it?
Yard Act: Liberating. It's the album we've spent the most time writing on and by far the most time we've spent recording on. At first it was intimidating to have so much time on your hands. The first six months of writing were confusing because there was no rush. But once we settled into that, it became very freeing.
It was also the first time we built our own studio in Leeds and the first time we were able to play and record together in the same room. I think that gave him a real energy. The two previous albums had to rely on other dynamics to achieve this, much more electronic and dance-oriented. The rawest and rockiest sound on this album comes from playing in a room without being tied to loops and clicks in the same way.
When justin came on board, we had two weeks of pre-production, five weeks in Leeds and another four in Los Angeles with a break in between while we toured with The Hives. Having that time to let what we had captured breathe and rest meant that we arrived at the LA stretch completely focused, but also calm enough to leave important decisions to chance at the last minute. I think we captured that spontaneity for the first time precisely because we weren't under pressure.
GO!: I love that you said they weren't under pressure, because when you hear stories from the industry there's always that “they have to deliver the album in a month, in two months.” Having time really changes things, doesn't it?
Yard Act: Absolutely. In my entire life making albums, including the ones I made before Yard Act in bands that didn't have much success, he had never had more than two weeks in a studio. So having nine weeks plus all that lead time to write was everything I ever imagined being a professional musician would be. And we finally got it on the third album.
GO!: I was listening to the singles and “A New Beginning” really caught my attention. What was the process like choosing which singles to release before the album?
ALREADY: It was very difficult. Nobody could agree. “Redeemer” It came out first because there were enormous debates and we went around and around without getting anywhere.
In the end it was the choice of the label. They thought it was the song that most sabotaged the established image of Yard Actand they believed that was more important than coming out with a big commercial single. They wanted to destroy everything and start from scratch, which we literally did: we burned the golden rover from the first albums, set it on fire, it exploded and we filmed everything. That felt like a spiritual and ceremonial rebirth. It was very symbolic.
AND “Redeemer” It fit with the idea of wanting to start in the dark and move up towards the light, because we felt that the album oscillates between dark and light quite erratically. We wanted to show both sides of the album in the two singles.
“New Beginnings” It was always my first option, I wanted it to come out sooner, but I didn't win that battle. This is how democracy works. And in the end it came out anyway.
GO!: When I talk to bands releasing albums, the question always comes up about today's industry: the pressure for a song to hit TikTok or Instagram to be considered a hit. Why bet on an album and not just individual singles?
ALREADY: I think the singles are important, they have a function as an entry point. But for me they are always a door to the album, or a piece that tells part of the band's story within something bigger. Releasing loose songs without any sense of purpose just doesn't interest me. I know it sounds archaic and I may sound like a Luddite, but I've always been an album guy. I've always listened to music like that. I've always judged bands by how ten songs fit together as a coherent body of work and as a representation of who they are. A single can't do that the same way.
And as for social media: I don't know a single artist who enjoys it, but we are all caught in that wheel because everything that was the traditional industry, the record stores, the written press, the radio, is running out of listeners because everyone is looking at their phone. So artists go to the only channels left. But in the process, that only accelerates the destruction of the curators, of the passionate people who were behind the microphones at radio stations and behind the keyboards at magazines and websites who endorsed bands with real conviction. The algorithm is completely blind and lazy.
The argument made in its favor is that it gives power back to the people and that the people can decide for themselves. But I don't think people can be trusted.
GO!: Totally agree. I hate algorithms. People make the wrong decisions all the time. Look who is in power in the world. Are you a music collector?
ALREADY: Yes. And it shows that you also have that music lover energy. I'm in my living room right now, you can see it. All of that is vinyl. Like three thousand. It's crazy.
GO!: What would be your holy grail album?
ALREADY: I don't know, I have so many good things. Look, I'm going to take this one out. I bought it the last time I was in Mexico City. I love him.
It's one of my favorite albums of all time. The music is absolutely incredible, but I think the story behind it is what makes it special. It is from William Onyeaborwho was basically making these Nigerian synth-disco funk epics in the '70s to fund his village church. There's a story that he made a deal with the Soviets to get one of those Russian synthesizers, and no one else in West Africa had one. He was like eight. And no one had heard of him until Luaka Bop released the compilation around 2013. The idea that such great music can be hidden for so long and then shine and reach so many people is something that I find very powerful. And he had no interest in promoting it. He stayed in the shadows. I think he gave only one interview. He said that he no longer made music, that he was consecrated to God and that he did not want to play.
The fact that this music could exist and be released forty years later shows that good things are eternal. And that's something to aspire to in a world so obsessed with metrics and algorithms. The idea of artists feeling like failures because they created something they love but it didn't take off on TikTok, and meanwhile the album William Onyeabor came forty years later and had an impact on me, a random guy from the outskirts of Leeds. That's very special. That's why that album is important. But mainly because the music is brutal.
GO!: I love listening to you talk about music. I don't want to take up any more of your time, so last questions. Do you have plans to come to Mexico?
ALREADY: I think so. I'm thinking about it right now, but I'm afraid it's going to happen because it's one of our favorite places in the world. Just being in Mexico City would be enough. But if we can also play, even better. I want to go back to Mexico. Definitely.
GO!: If you were a fighter entering the ringWhat song would you enter with?
ALREADY: Phew! After having talked about the album William OnyeaborI would probably go in with “Fantastic Man.”
GO!: And in closing, if you could describe Yard Act in just three words, what would they be?
ALREADY: Joyful. Real. Ridiculous.
Stay tuned for Indie Rocks! for more details.
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