One For The Weekend: YĪN YĪN's "Spirit Adapter"

Check out YĪN YĪN's appearance on KEXP following their video for "Spirit Adapter" off their Yatta! album out now on Glitterbeat.

YĪN YĪN – Spirit Adapter

YĪN YĪN, the highly touted Dutch quartet from Maastricht, have just released their fourth album Yatta! on Glitterbeat Records (available via Bandcamp right here). UNCUT magazine called the band's highly addictive sound "cosmic disco," and while that is a good place to start, the band incorporates a kaleidoscope of sounds and textures, occupying a sonic space somewhere between Khruangbin and Kraftwerk, surf music and Southeast Asian psychedelia, all the while staying close to the pulse and abandon of the dancefloor.

"Spirit Adapter," the first single from Yatta!, is a fervent shout out to the joy of disco nights. While YĪN YĪN are fundamentally an instrumental outfit, the group's bassist Remy Scheren lends his voice to the track, intoning "the room’s alive, the walls are shaking / transform me like a Spirit Adapter." Watch the video for "Spirit Adapter" below. 

The band told us this about the track: " 'Spirit Adapter' started from a self recorded demo - just bass, guitar and drums at home. From there, we pulled out little fragments—beats, melodies, chords—and reshaped them until the track transformed into something completely new. At its core, it carries themes of funk, spirituality, and the strength of the water. Releasing it now, it feels like an opening ritual for autumn — rainy, mystical and euphoric. On the dance floor raindrops evaporate into gaseous party spirits, this autumn, go to your favourite bar, throw your jacket on the pile and conquer the dance floor!"

From the beginning, YĪN YĪN have been devoted to exploring global sounds with an emphasis on getting the dance floor moving – an impulse that reaches its peak on their upcoming album, Yatta!

Across the album, YĪN YĪN specialise in creating the soundtracks to dream journeys, opportunities for the listener to visit places that exist in realms of the imagination.

There’s no shortage of sparks in Yatta!’s blend of dancefloor fillers and laidback soundscapes. Guitarist Erik Bandt explains: “We tried to make a mix of songs that are very energetic, danceable party starters, but also have songs that take you on trips and are more easy.”

“It’s our most organic album to date,” says Bandt. “We recorded together as a team in the studio instead of recording separate tracks for drums, guitar, bass – it’s all live and that adds a certain feel.”

All of which explains the album’s title. Bandt says: “Yatta is a Japanese phrase meaning ‘We did it, we accomplished it!’ After we finished the album, we thought this simple phrase actually ties it all together.”

Drummer Kees Berkers continues: “It also speaks for a more general idea that we, as a band, succeeded to really become a band on a professional level. So, it's also, ‘We finally are true musicians now. We have arrived.’ Basically, we made the dream come true.”