YEARNS of Brisbane, Australia
"Abyssal Plains" by YEARNS is a frosty three-minute soundscape that concludes Dark Transmissions 2, a compilation of Australian shoegaze, post-punk and dream pop tracks put out by Shore Dive Records in January 2024. The dream drone of "Abyssal Plains" was included in episode 14 of _____ mood. I discovered that the track is currently exclusive to the Dark Transmissions 2 compilation, but it sounds like that could change along with a forthcoming album from the band ... read on to find out more from the Joel and Andrew of YEARNS.
//wendy
YEARNS is composed of who? When did this project start?
I think it started during COVID. It’s a file trading project still, even though we live only a few kilometres from each other, which suits our current lives.
Generally I, Joel, make a drone or some loops often using a Casio sampling keyboard I’ve modified. Andrew takes that, structures it, processes it, and adds bass lines and melodies.
You're based in Brisbane, right? What's your music scene like there?
We are really lucky. While Brisbane is a fairly small and isolated city, there is a healthy scene. There are DIY spaces, independent art galleries, neat small bars, tunnels and bowls clubs hosting music. It’s small enough that a night can have something folky with something noisy, but also fertile enough that someone can organise a 24 hour drone festival.
On top of that with people like Lawrence English of Room 40 in town curating things we get super lucky with international acts playing in small spaces, at times for free!
Wow, that sounds great! How do you gain and stay connected to international fans/listeners?
I am not sure that we have many international listeners but we are keen for more. Being included on the Dark Transmissions 2 compilation really helps in bringing out circuit-bent ambience to the wider world.
Is there college or community radio community where you're based? If yes, has it been supportive of your music?
Yeah, 4ZZZfm is our local station. There’s a few shows that lean towards more abstract and ambient sounds and they are really supportive of us and the whole local community. One of our first shows was organised by Rusted Satellites, a show on 4zzz. Each major city in Australia has its own community radio station or two dedicated to forward thinking music
Your self-titled EP is described as "sparse piano melodies shimmer amidst the restrained streams of noise." Compared to "Abyssal Plains" the EP is much more piano-driven. Can you give us some background on your sonic range and how that has developed?
We definitely try to set little challenges or sonic worlds to create. We’ve gone through phases of trying to be as sparse as possible, just a single drone and melody, but other times we’ve explored thick slabs of sound. Given the nature of this compilation it seemed like a suitable track to contribute.
Can you tell a bit about your individual music projects?
Joel: YEARNS is all I am doing really at the moment as I have a young family. Recent projects have included Spirit Bunny - Commodore 64 and circuit bent keyboard grit-hop. A Country Practice who play mangled folk music. Our first LP was remixed by lots of great experimental electronica artists, including Andrew under his Grids/Units/Planes alias.
Andrew: I have a bunch of small projects that are mainly just me under different names/genres. I make glitchy electronica as Grids/Units/Planes. I make shoegaze with bitcrushed drums under the name, ‘Make a montage’ (which is also included on the Dark Transmissions compilation). I make epic post rock under the moniker ‘That field of red flowers is actually a grassfire’. I am also in a dreamy, indie electronica duo (with vocals) called ‘An heirloom’.
Is there a story about the name of the project?
Yearning for hope is a beautiful thing particularly when faced with crushing challenges. Something in our ambient music with its building crescendos, hazy melodies and blurred soundscapes seemed to evoke yearning.
Is your song "Abyssal Plains" exclusive to the Dark Transmissions 2 compilation?
We are not sure yet. We are working on an album with an ocean-orientated theme. This track is named after deep plains in the ocean filled with mysterious creatures and inky darkness. I imagine a submarine scanning the blackened depths. In the instrumental tracks on our full length, we are thematically exploring mysterious and illusionary parts of the ocean.
What was your main reason for contributing to the compilation?
Greg Peters, who hosts a wonderful radio show and organised the compilation, invited us to submit a track and we were thrilled to be included. It is an honour to be included alongside incredible bands like Underground Lovers, Relay Tapes and many more.
What is YEARNS up to in 2024? New music? Live shows?
We’ve got another exclusive compilation track coming out this month on local label 4000 records: Solidarity Soundwaves. It is raising funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians.
We are also finalising our first full length and starting to see if anyone is keen to put it out!
Anything else you'd like to mention?
Our last self titled EP included a booklet of Stereograms (like Magic Eye puzzles from the 90s) with a corresponding stereogram image for each track.
Woah, cool! Thanks to you both for taking my questions. Can't wait to hear more inky darkness!
Thank you for all you do.
Follow YEARNS on Instagram and Bandcamp. Read more about the Dark Transmissions II / 2 on the blank mood blog.