Interview: Y
Photograph by Steven Spicer of Y
After catching a gorgeously genre defying set accompanied by sharp lights, I sped upstairs in The Baths to interview Y in a sweaty greenroom. Y were buzzed post set and didn’t seem to mind the heat as they spoke to me, all piled onto one sofa.
“Could you just introduce yourselves a bit and tell us what your sound is about?”
Adam sat closest to me, so unfortunately had the burden of having to answer first every time as we passed the mic around, which we joked was from Temu because it felt so fake. Adam plays the guitar and sings. Sophie does vocals and synth. Fells jokingly explained he plays the bongos (drums), and Dan plays bass. Harry, who was missing, plays sax.
I asked Dan what the band sound was about, and he explained that “I think you have to come see it. Like it's not a thing we can describe. It’s genre defying? And, it's more visual; you definitely have to see it, there's no way we can explain it.” Thank god I did see it.
“What does your band name mean? Y. And how did you come up with it?”
Dan explained again that “it’s kind of a long story. So one of our tracks is called Why and then we were trying to come up with a name and I'm from Italy originally; we were talking about how the letter Y isn't in the Italian alphabet and a lot of other alphabets, that was one of the reasons. It just fits that idea of the eternal question.”
Sophie added that she didn't realise she used that word a lot when she writes lyrics, and Adam chirped in comparing her to Bob Dylan. “It's a good word isn't it- why - it's good yeah it just makes sense it all around. Why is the question and the answer you know”
“So regarding your band name again, I mean you're questioning something right? What are your biggest questions at the moment?”
Adam immediately replied “why is national rail so expensive. We are saying nationalise the railways, nationalise everything… we're questioning authority.”
“If you guys can only have one meal deal for the rest of your life what would your meal deal be?”
“They're all disappointing and they're all like cold sandwiches. I just can't abide by them so I’d just have the crisps. I'd have you know they get the snacks and the drink? I'd have the snacks and you know you get chopped up fruit. Chopped up fruit is just kind of repulsive… but I'd have that over the sandwich and I'd have crisps and some of the places have those smoothies so I'd have that and that would be my meal deal.” Sophie continued from Adam, insisting that she doesn’t do meal deals.
Fells decided on “bacon and ketchup on white bread. Yeah yeah bacon and ketchup on white bread yeah nothing else”, to which everyone condemned his choice for not being an actual meal deal. As redemption, Fells added cheese and onion oven baked crisps, and a bottle of whiskey. Wish the whiskey was in a meal deal.
Dan’s choice was “if it had to be a sandwich, anything bacon related. You need the pork at all times.”
“Next hypothetical question. If you were stuck on a desert island for the rest of your life and you could have one luxury item, open to interpretation, one film and one album would you pick?”
Adam voiced “I would take Star Wars A New Hope because it's the best film ever made. Album wise it's really really hard but I really like The Damned so any one of their albums, and luxury item I'd have a pen knife.”
Sophie picked Sly and the Family Stone Stand! for her album, and continued that “For film… Oh but I feel like a loser because I'm in a band with guys” to which Adam guessed it would be Bridget Jones’ Diary. “NO! True Romance! Do you even know that film Adam?”
“Luxury item, eggs. Or avocados.”
Next up was Fells, who could only pick an album which was Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones before passing to Dan, “Film would be Bridget Jones' Diary. No ahaha jokes, it would be Brazil bay Terry Gilliam, album would be Bone Machine by Tom Waits, and then luxury item would be a lot of salami.”
Dan loves his pork.
“What is your favorite song to play live?"
“We have a song called Why” said Adam, “that one that's fun because it's just a name. It's just a riff. I say why and I don't have to remember any lyrics, but I do a ripping solo.”
Sophie said “I think Skipper for me. It's the easiest one. Fells couldn't pick one, and compared it to picking a favourite child if he had them. “They're all good. Go and listen to them.” Dan went with “the new one, Waiting.”
“Right last question. If any director dead or alive could direct a music video for you, who would it be and what song of yours would you pick?”
Adam went with “George Lucas, and I think the song would be Why.”
Sophie decided “Jim Jarmusch. And let's go with Hate. I think that would be a pretty good mix.”
Dan picked “Terry Gilliam, again, doing a video for Truth.”
“What's the name of that guy?” Asked Fells. “What's his name.” Sophie jokingly replied “What guy? Quentin Tarantino?”
“No, no. Well, that's a good idea. Yeah, Tarantino and Skipper. There you go. That's quite good, isn't it?”
Image courtesy of Facebook
Thanks to Y for chatting with me and Tom Larsen-Wright for filming!
Written and edited by Faith Hussain
Cover courtesy of Facebook