Electro-spaz duo Yip-Yip wraps-up a round of rocking the states, prepares for the release of new album in early 2008.
Band discusses the origins of its name, being banned from Canada, Muppets, sounding “video gamey” and costume maintenance with Metromix.
“It’s hard to categorize what exactly Jason Temple and Brian Esser, the duo behind Yip-Yip, accomplish on stage. Dressed head-to-toe in identical checkered costumes, the two look more like manufactured clones, an impression that’s reinforced by their spasmodically electronic yet strangely organic music.” - Paul Heibing, Metromix
Collectively known as Yip-Yip, Jason Temple and Brian Esser are currently wrapping up a US tour in anticipation of the release of their latest record, Two Kings of The Same Kingdom, out February 5th, 2008 on the California-based S.A.F. label (Die! Die! Die!, The Show Is The Rainbow, Junius).
Two Kings of The Same Kingdom is the follow-up to the duo’s critically praised In The Reptile House album. The new album comes complete with a DVD including a video for each song on the record. If you don’t have your promo handy, you can check out the clips via You Tube HERE.
Recently, Temple and Esser sat down with Metromix writer Paul Hiebing who asked all of the questions any Yip-Yip fan would want the answers to. If you can’t see them now, be sure to catch these crazy brothers from different mothers in a city near you in 2008!
Yip-Yip Live:
12/04 Visalia, CA The Cellar Door
12/05 San Diego, CA Epicentre w/The Locust
12/06 Phoenix, AZ Trunk Space w/Cable Car Crash
12/07 Mesilla, NM The Bean
12/08 Austin, TX Mohawk
Two Kings of The Same Kingdom Tracklisting:
Stream The Album HERE
Release Date: February 5th, 2008
01. Anarchist Clog
02. Sprinkle Council (MP3)
03. Genius Beast
04. Humanly Wanderers
05. Car Picnic
06. Jazz Rats
07. Gender Changers
08. Club Mummy
09. Audacity Beach
10. Outer Tomato
11. Heavies Go Odd
12. High Heel To Mammal
More about Yip-Yip:
Yip-Yip is Brian Esser and Jason Temple, two 25 year-old “writhing costumed beanpoles” from Orlando, Florida. They have been making music together since they formed in 2001. They have also been roommates for much of this time, annoying neighbors in apartments until moving into “The Reptile House” in 2004. The house provides Yip-Yip with the space they need to continue making all of their music, recordings, art, videos, and costumes at home.
Yip-Yip started as a recording project and has, in its six years, resulted in two self-released full-length albums and an EP, two handmade art zine/CD singles, the CD-R-turned-international-release Pro-Twelve Thinker, and two more “real” releases, In The Reptile House and the upcoming Two Kings of The Same Kingdom. Two Kings of The Same Kingdom is Yip-Yip’s fourth full-length album and comes in at just under 25 minutes. Its twelve new tracks were recorded by Yip-Yip in their house in Orlando, Florida over the summer of 2007.
New additions to the Yip-Yip arsenal of musical instruments on Two Kings include an organ, cymbals, a gong, and a real saxophone, a noticeable departure from the digital horns heard on their previous album. Yip-Yip also experimented with video for the album (a DVD is included with the CD), making a music video for every song using newly acquired, cheap, used equipment. Esser and Temple try to push themselves to their musical limits with each new album, resulting in a sound that is increasingly complex, yet still fun to listen to. The same goes for their live show.
Esser and Temple started playing live shows in 2003 and since then have experimented with incorporating everything from videos and strobe lights to rollerskates and goodie bags. At the beginning, they played scattered shows around Florida with friends and soon after began opening shows for various touring acts. A year or so of this led to their first tour in 2004, after which they’ve done eight tours with two more planned before the end of 2007. During this time, Yip-Yip has played nearly 300 shows, played with many of their favorite bands, made a lot of great friends, and seen most of the United States and parts of Canada — this after serving a one year ban from the country in 2005 after trying to enter without work permits.
This year, Yip-Yip has stayed busy making new music, trying to push their sound into new musical territories. Their live show is a constantly growing, portable multimedia event, including costumes, video projections, and matching backdrops with every hand and foot being used to play the music on various analog synthesizers, an organ, a saxophone, cymbals, and effects. Their new album Two Kings of The Same Kingdom is set for release on February 5th, 2008 on S.A.F. Records.
