Yoav étant de passage au Zénith de Strasbourg pour son concert en première partie de Katie Melua lundi 11 avril, j'en ai profité pour l'interviewer (merci à Éphélide). Mais avant cela, une courte introduction à cet artiste unique.
Yoav naît en Israël en 1979, est élevé en Afrique du Sud jusqu'à son adolescence et vit aujourd'hui entre New-York et Londres; sa mère, chanteuse d'opéra, veut lui donner dès son enfance une formation classique (au piano), qu'il débutera à l'âge de 4 ans. Cette limitation ne convient pas du tout à Yoav, qui souhaite élargir son paysage musical. Interdit d'écouter d'autres musiques que le genre "classique", il se rend chez son voisin pour écouter la radio et découvrir la "pop culture". À 13 ans, il se rebelle et commence à jouer de la guitare pour reproduire ce qu'il entend; il écrit alors depuis déjà deux ans. Sa première acquisition sera Bridge Over Troubled Water de Simon And Garfunkel, autorisé par ses parents qui trouvent l'album assez correct pour être écouté ; il découvre également The Beatles et Strawberry Fields Forever devient sa chanson préférée. Rapidement et assez naturellement, il se tourne vers le rock et écoute Rage Against The Machine et The Police. Il continue à produire dans son petit coin puis avec une chance assez monumentale, il est contacté par Columbia Records : la seule copie des démos de Yoav atterrit dans le sac à main d'une cousine de passage à Cape Town; arrivée à New York, sa destination finale, elle assiste à un dîner de charité et confie le CD a son voisin de table, un responsable de la maison de disques qui finira par écouter l'enregistrement et conclure un accord avec Yoav (qui avait encore besoin selon eux de faire "maturer" son univers).
Mais qu'a cet artiste de spécial si ce n'est un trauma dans l'enfance parce qu'il n'a pu écouter ce qu'il voulait ? Éh bien, Yoav joue tous ses sons à la guitare ! Batterie, Basse, Guitare Électrique, l'artiste peut reproduire chacun de ses instruments grâce à sa guitare... et un rack d'effets (plus d'une dizaine de pédales). À la manière de Joseph Arthur dans la technique et des songwriters pop dans les lyrics, Yoav crée une musique au croisement des genres et à l'antipode des moyens de production actuel. Il a à son actif deux albums, Charmed & Strange, sorti en 2008, et A Foolproof Escape Plan, sorti l'année dernière. Son premier album était porté par le single Club Thing, remixé en long, en large et en travers, mais je conseillerai plus volontiers Yellowbrite Smile, issu de son dernier opus. Le clip et l'interview (en anglais, la flemme de traduire) ci-dessous :
YYF : You must be a little tired to be touring in France; how many shows are left ? Where are you heading after that ?
Yoav : In France ? Two dates, tonight and tomorrow in Paris, and then another couple gigs in Paris in June. We're heading to Switzerland & then Netherlands, and we already did UK, and the Germany as well.
YYF : You have a very special way to make your music, building it all with your guitar and pedals... How many pedals do you have in your rack ?
Yoav : I believe it's 14. And in the side of me there's 4 more pedals, so 18.
YYF : Is there an album that is more difficult to play live ? Charmed & Strange or A Foolproof Escape Plan ? Is it challenging to always play your music live ?
Yoav : A Foolproof Escape Plan is more difficult ; there are songs on which i'm using two samplers and all that stuff. I can do much easier Charmed & Strange, since I played it for a couple years. There's also more guitar parts on it, I'm more used to it. It feels like the new stuff is a bit more difficult for now.
YYF : Do you think one of the album is more dedicated to live ?
Yoav : Well, you don't know when you record a song if it's gonna work live. I don't really think of it, but I'm always working on it, trying to make the shows better.
YYF : Do you enjoy being on the scene ?
Yoav : Yeah, it's a pleasure to see people who come see me live, it makes a big impression, and I think this is the real connection : the music, the lyrics and the people, seing happen live. It's important to me that I'm one of the artists that people like to see live because it's much better. That's cool.
YYF : Charmed & Strange was an appropriate title to describe how many listeners felt when discovering it, even if you didn't know it by the time; What is the story behind the title of A Foolproof Escape Plan ?
Yoav : « Foolproof Escape Plan » is just a bunch of words that popped up in my head when we arrived at the end of the record, and we were arguing between my staff, my management and my label about what the title should be, and I came up with a few suggestions and no one would like them. And this just popped in my head and I thought "That's it, that's definitely it".
I like the fact that the word "escape" is in the lyrics a lot, there is just so meaning in that title: of looking around the world, looking at myself, and I even just like the fact that you got the CD, this little piece of technology, and in it there is a Foolproof Escape Plan.
YYF : Now that we are at the digital music age, is it still important for you to have your musical universe on a CD, with a booklet, a cover and something physical ?
Yoav : I'm still old school, when I love a record I like to have the lyrics, etc. I still buy CDs. I think the whole thing about music nowadays is just getting it out whatever way, and you know, some people will listen to it once and passionate other people; I think sharing is the most important thing.
YYF : Which support act did you enjoyed the most ? Tori Amos, Imogen Heap, maybe Katie Melua ?
Yoav : It will be differents shows, I enjoyed a lot doing Madison Square Garden with Tori Amos, it was really big; I also loved Underworld, that was a lot of fun, I love Underworld; I'd say differents shows, for differents reasons.
YYF : If you had to collaborate with an artist, who would it be ?
Yoav : I do wonder about it. It changes a lot; i would love to make a hip-hop collaboration, making beats and stuff. That would be weird...and cool. I'm also thinking of Björk, I'm not sure what she does, but just making jam with her would be cool.
YYF : Do you know or listen to any french bands ?
Yoav : Yeah, the most popular, like Phoenix, their last record; Air of course, the producer of A Foolproof Escape Plan is the drummer in Air for a couple records. Daft Punk, famous famous stuff...
Recently, when I spent some time in Paris, my record label would show me some new bands that were cool and should see live ; I'm thinking of Moriarty.
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