Just before their support slot for Andrew W.K at the O2 Ritz in Manchester, we had the opportunity to have a chat with Theresa from Brighton’s feistiest alt rock four-piece, YONAKA. We talked equality in the music industry, songs with attitude and a dream tour with Marilyn Manson.
So firstly, how is the tour going so far?
It’s going great, we’re loving it!
In regards to the formation of YONAKA, how did you all come together and where did the name come from?
Okay, so we met in Brighton. We’re all doing our own thing, and I’m like ‘f**k, let’s sort it out’, and then we all kind of came into this little thing together and like me and Rob are playing one day and George walked past, sounds really stupid. And with YONAKA, I actually had the name before the band. It means ‘dead of night’ in Japanese, which I loved and kind of fits with our songs because they can be quite dark.
So the other week you supported The Courteeners here in Manchester at the arena. Do you prefer playing in smaller venues to massive ones?
Bigger! Haha. Honestly, it’s not the venue, it’s more of the crowd itself. You could be in the biggest venue, but it’s all about the vibe of the crowd.
With the songwriting process, where does the inspiration for the songs come from and how did you know that these were the themes you wanted to write about?
It’s more about life experiences and what I feel. It could be about love, about watching someone go through something or watching like my mum, she’s got so many stories that she tells me. It comes from experience though; I find it quite hard to write about something that I don’t feel passionate about. It has to totally come from within and be real. It usually starts, I’m always recording s**t on my phone, all day every day, like melodies and lyrics, so then I’ll sing it to the boys and be like ‘I’ve got this idea’ and we will work from there. Or we will play some music and we work a lot from the computer more, so we can do loads of production and stuff. It’s just a mix of all that.
So you released the Heavy EP late last year, which of all the songs that you have written would you say sums up what YONAKA is about?
I feel like we have grown a lot since the other stuff, and we have a few new songs to play tonight. I’ve been writing like loads of ‘attitudey’ songs lately, just getting a bit p****d off with everyone I guess! I would say ‘F*****g with The Boss’ because it’s a good representation (which is going to be on the next release) of when we are on stage, we are really passionate in almost like this aggressive way. We are trying to make a mark, like a statement.
For me, your music makes me feel very empowered and formidable and feisty. is this the way you wanted your songs to be received?
That’s f*****g sick! That’s amazing. Definitely. You’ve got to hold yourself and do it yourself, that’s the only way to get what you want.
What is it like for you, as a band, to hear your lyrics being sang back to you and seeing people dance to your music?
So obviously, not having it really as much at other people’s shows, but at our own shows, it’s f*****g incredible. We’re like, ‘Yes!’, it’s amazing. Love it.
Do you think it’s harder for female fronted bands to break into the music industry?
I think there’s definitely a lack of female fronted bands. I don’t know whether that’s because they’re female or they’re male, but there’s definitely a lack. I just think if you’re good, you’re good, whether you’re a boy or a girl. The only time I think we have ever toured with a girl in a band was on the Hopscotch tour, but hopefully that will change.
If you could pick any two bands to tour with, who would they be?
I really want to tour with Marilyn Manson. Like really bad. I would say him, and I said The Other the other day because they’re f*****g cool and crazy. We love the Arctic Monkeys, so we’d do Arctic Monkeys and Marilyn Manson.
What are your plans for the rest of 2018, is there anything you are particularly excited about?
So, this year we are actually getting to play a lot of dates outside the UK. Don’t get me wrong, the UK is great, but we are getting to do loads of festivals and actually get to do the travelling bit. So we are really looking forward to that, and obviously, releasing more music. ‘F*****g with The Boss’ is ready, I’m so happy! I think, I hope, that will be in about a month and a half? And then, after that, we will try to aim for like a monthly release.
Grab tickets to see YONAKA on their future dates from their website.
