After its second tour of Europe this year, Vancouver-based dream-pop band 听made its way down the West Coast before capping the trip off with a star-studded sold-out performance at the Biltmore Cabaret on Saturday night.
With just three days of rest before Youngblood 鈥� consisting of members from Fake Shark, Real Zombie, Gay Nineties and Sex with Strangers 鈥� heads back out on tour, frontwoman Alexis Young took a few minutes to speak with the Westender on the morning after the raucous Saturday night before.听
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We last spoke the morning of your Rifflandia appearance and the day after Youngblood鈥檚 standout performance opening for Bishop Briggs at . What has Youngblood been up to since?
We were able to perform three shows at [festival in Hamburg, Germany], which was pretty unique. We did a DIY side of the festival and two awesome showcases. We did a tour surrounding the festival, including our first show headlining in London. Within 12 hours of arriving home I was in the recording studio, which is crazy. Throwing yourself into the next thing is one way to get over the jet lag. We arrived home at midnight on a Monday, and by noon the next day I was in the studio where I spent the next couple weeks recording the next batch of songs. After the studio sessions, we toured south of the border. We played the show last night after the tour and head to India on Wednesday.
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How did you land a tour of India?
The booking agent for the festival in Pune saw us play when we were part of in Brighton [England] and asked to bring us over to India. The agent contacted us as well as fellow Vancouver-based band Bad Pop, which was also playing the Great Escape. We have built a mini-tour around the festival that will see us play Bangalore in the south of India, Mumbai, New Delhi and then the in Pune.
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Sounds like a musician鈥檚 dream.
Having an opportunity to travel across the world and play music while sharing your story with various new people with differing cultures is fantastic and makes the sacrifice entirely worth it. Going to India is going to be such a whirlwind experience. I am not sure how it will change us, but I am sure it will, and I am confident that it will be for the better.
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Cigarettes After Sex headlines the day that you play the NH7 Festival 鈥� the name sounds a lot like your former band Sex With Strangers and describes its music as 鈥渄ream-pop.鈥� Coincidence?
That's funny that you say that, is the group that I am most excited to see at the festival. We are going to be in Delhi the day before the show with Cigarettes After Sex, so I am happy that our shows happen to fall on the same day so I can go over and catch their set. ... I didn't know about Cigarettes After Sex until after SWS. They have that darkwave dream-pop vibe and have been an influence of mine for many years now.
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Did you happen to see Vancouver-based Belle Game鈥檚 video for 鈥淪pirit,鈥� shot on location in India?
Yes, 听is so well done. ... Belle Game are terrific friends of ours. Andrea [Lo, vocals] was supposed to be at the show last night but could not get in because of the sell-out.
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The packed Biltmore show felt like a personal affair.
Last night was an excuse to get everyone that I had not seen in a long time (due to touring so much) into one room so I could make the rounds and say hi.
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Saturday night鈥檚 lineup had a tremendous flow. How was the lineup pieced together?
When we were asked to headline the show, I was able to put together the lineup. We have played a couple of shows with Manser, and I became a fan of her and her music. I wanted to bring her up to Canada and give Manser an opportunity to play in front of a group of people that I knew would dig her material. After asking the band for opinions on who might be another fitting act for the bill, our bass player Pascal Le Vasseur suggested Art d'Ecco. I have seen Art d'Ecco quite a few times and have always been blown away by their stage presence 鈥� particularly Art, he is so commanding on stage and writes great music. The flow from Manser鈥檚 haunting siren-like songs to Art's androgynous glam-pop was the perfect set vibe leading up to our set. I am proud of the bill, and I am delighted that people came out early to see the first two bands. I was pretty nervous at how many people showed up. Saturday night's show was the most nervous I have been since our first ever show at The Hindenburg two years ago.
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Any well disguised anxiety dissipated by the time you took your sunglasses off 鈥� it was evident that you were in full-swing at that moment.
There is a weird other-worldly shift that zaps my body once I place a boot on the stage.
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The band鈥檚 collective pre-show 鈥榃hoa Bundy鈥� side stage was heart-warming. Is that a Youngblood tradition?
We try and gather around to make eye contact with each other to make sure that we are all on the same page. We confirm that we are communicating with each other and prioritize that time before we go on stage.
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How has the band dynamic been with the increased spotlight Youngblood has been under of late?
Everybody is hanging in there well enough. We are gunning pretty hard for the success of this project and seem to be arriving at a bit of a stressful point, having been on the road so often. We are at a "make or break" point with Youngblood, so everyone is committing to this project 110 per cent. Having everyone so involved does not come without some struggle or relationship strain, which is common when a group of people are genuinely dedicating themselves to something. We are trying to be open, supportive and kind to each other and make sure that we are getting through this process together.
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You spent a couple of weeks in the recording studio; will we see some new material soon?
New music is currently finishing the recording process, as to when that music will come out I can't say because I do not know the timeframe. We shot a fucking weird music video for one of the songs last weekend; it is a strange one. We have a very cool 16-millimetre film video that I am incredibly excited about which will be released soon. I can not wait to share the video and the rest of the songs with the world, and I hope that everybody is as excited about them as I am.
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Can you disclose whether the new music will come in EP, LP, or mixtape format?
It is going to be a cheeky EP. It will be longer than a traditional EP, but not quite long enough to be a full album. The new release will reside somewhere in that perfect little in-between space.
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Which David Bowie song would you either karaoke or cover with Youngblood?
We covered "Let's Dance" last summer, which is a favourite. I also love "I鈥檓 Afraid of Americans" and, of course, "Space Oddity." It鈥檚 not one song, but more of a packaged deal.
