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INTERVIEW: The Yalla Yallas
Leeds band The Yalla Yallas are not ones for artifice.
The music is a mix of punk and rock and roll, we wear our influences on our sleeves and people can pick out five or six bands in every song," explains their bass player Matt Dempsey with admirable candour.
"It seems to be a fashion to say your band doesn't sound like anything else ever made, but we tend to say we sound like every band you have ever loved all in one song."
Such straight-talking has won them the approval of Strummerville, a charity set up by the family and friends of the late Joe Strummer (including the Leeds-bred artist Damien Hirst) that helps up-and-coming musicians.
The city four-piece – who also feature Rob Galloway on vocals and rhythm guitar, Will Grinder on lead guitar and Matt Delahunty on drums – are, after all, "named after the last song that Joe Strummer wrote". Upon hearing the band's first digital single, Retaliation, the charity stepped in to fund their full debut album.
In true punk fashion, the disc, Act of Defiance, was recorded with producer Grant Henderson at Ivolve in Idle in 10 days flat "with no click tracks and minimal overdubs to try and capture the energy we possess when we play live".
Matt is full of praise for the studio and their charity benefactors. "We would be nowhere without them and we really appreciate it."
The album is available now from the band's website. "It's only 5 plus postage," says Matt. "For the first batch (of 200) we are selling them from there. If those take off and start selling well we will make more available to get them into shops.
"We did go down the iTunes route (with the first single) but we found people wanted a physical copy in their hand."
The Yalla Yallas will launch the album at The Elbow Room on July 10. They promise an hour-long set "including the album in full, some new songs and an exciting new cover that will definitely get the crowd going". There will also be support from Thee Uncomfortables, Rebel Yell and Cath Edmonds.
In the autumn they plan to tour – and may even get as far as Sweden.
"Somebody has caught on to some of the songs that we put on the internet," revals Matt. "They were offering for us to come out and and play. We say if you'll pay for us to come out and stay we'll play anywhere."
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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