It’s ten years since Philadelphia’s Clap Your Hands Say Yeah formed and nine since their looping off kilter art pop laced with cracked streams of consciousness, first tumbled into the light, in the shape of their Wichita housed self titled debut album.
This summer saw the release of their fourth full length ‘Only Run’ the culmination of a journey that has witnessed line up changes, solo projects and an evolution in sound that now encompasses more epic synth, plusher production and a more direct vocal style. Still, at the eye of CYHSY’s storm is singer and main songwriter Alec Ounsworth and these songs are the product of an artist’s singular vision. During their recent UK and EU dates we caught up with Alec for a rummage around in CYHSY’s present, past and quite probable future….
Hi, how are you?
Good enough.
First of all how did the name Clap Your Hands say Yeah, come about?!
I found it in a stream. At first, I thought it was dead but it came to life when I shook it.
(It was written on a wall somewhere in New York — graffiti, I guess. I don’t know if it’s still there.)
How did you form as a group?
I wrote some songs and I met a few people at a practice space to work on them. Then we met at a studio to record them.
I remember seeing you when you first came over to the UK, how would you say you have changed in the intervening ten years?
I’m not sure. Things have stayed about the same from my point of view.
Your debut album caught many people off guard in the UK, it had a charmingly art rock quality paired with stream of consciousness lyrics it was quite unlike much of what was happening at that point in the music scene, Is This Love? and Upon This Tidal Wave in particular were a delight….How did those songs come about?
Like the others, these were done in a number of ways before making it to the album. I don’t remember how Is This Love? came about precisely. I do believe on the oooohh lead parts I might have borrowed a bit from “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel” but that’s about the only thing I remember. The backup vocals I put on toward the end to fill in what I thought were some emotional gaps.
Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood, the first I did it (when I was about 18), was in 3/4. I came back to it when I was 23 or so and straightened it out a bit. Again, I added back up vocals toward the end. Something about a backup melody against the lead made sense to me. I generally try to do that with keyboard parts too so that everything is weaving in and out of the lead vocal melody.
Only Run at least to my ears sounds like sonically the most ambitious record you have put out, what were the inspirations behind the grandeur of the sound? Were you playing with use of synth textures this time around?
I don’t know what the inspirations are for the albums really. I did get a couple new toys before tracking on this one. Synths always seemed a defining element of the project. I wrote the songs in another way before but decided to go in that direction for the album as a whole. It’s more or less the same every time but you have to be sure to follow it to the end.
Would you say ‘Only Run’ is your most personal work given that it was less of a traditional band album?!
No, I don’t think so. I think the others are equally personal but I did have to do a bit more tracking on my own.
Lyrically what inspires you? Do you keep a notepad to capture them? And how do you set your words to the music, does it involve a lot of painstaking editing?
I usually start with the music. I do a lot of editing. I want everything, first and foremost, to fit with the music. Secondly, I would like the lyrics to be clear and make sense, at least to me.
Your vocal approach and the strength of your voice appears to have matured over the years, is it something you worked on consciously or just how it has evolved ?
I think it is just how it evolved but I did intend on putting those cracks in there on the first album. I intended all of them. I guess I just decided not to sing like that anymore.
Would you say your third album Hysterical, was a bridge to the sound that you have gone towards with ‘Only Run’?
I don’t know. I think Hysterical was sometimes too complicated, not necessarily the songwriting but in other ways. I think Only Run restores a bit of simplicity to things. This seems to work best but it is more difficult to simplify.
I read that you recorded the ‘Little Moments’ EP that proceeded the album in your own studio, did you adopt this approach with the album, and did you have any other production input?
Most of the album was recorded at home but a lot of necessary touch ups (and some additional tracking) happened up at Dave Fridmann’s. Dave was enlisted as a mixer but he kind of can’t help but add some production notes while he’s at it. This is a good thing.
You cite lyricists such as Tom Waits, Lou Reed and Bob Dylan, as inspirations what it is it about their singular visions, that you admire?!
I appreciate that they’re willing to take big chances and accept the consequences.
A song like ‘As Always’ has an almost wistful in the dead of midnight quality lyrically, yet the sound is cinematic it reminds me a little of M83…How did the song emerge for your perspective?!
Again, I like to introduce albums with something that sets the tone for the rest of it. The song was meant to build upon itself and drop out at the end. I think this is what it does.
How did the collaboration with Matt Berninger (The National) on the track ‘Coming Down’ happen?
Matt is an old friend. We asked him and he said yes. I think he did a great job.
I read that you played a series of living room gigs last year, this must make the idea of taking your music to your fans to a whole new level?!
I’m actually in London right now about to do four in the UK. I love doing these shows. It reminds me why I am doing this in the first place.
Are there any bands out of Philadelphia or New York that are exciting you right now?
I like Light Heat, The Purples, Martha Graham Cracker . . . There are others.
What were the last five records that you loved?
I don’t know. I can tell you the last five records I listened to (none of which were unfamiliar to me to begin with but it’s the best I can do at the moment) . . .
Randy Newman’s Harps and Angels,
Nina Simone’s “Nuff Said,
Kevin Drew’s Spirit If,
Dave Bazan’s Passenger String Quartet album,
Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
I like these albums enough to listen to them more than twenty times probably . . .
You play dates in Europe this Autumn, what’s the set up for a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah live show in 2014?!
Drums, keyboards, guitars, vocals . . . pretty much the same as usual . . . oh, and there’s an elephant on stage.
You released his a solo record Mo Beauty, in late 2009 do you have any plans to work on more solo records or are you solely concentrating on work on Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the moment?
I don’t know. I’m proud of Mo Beauty but didn’t do it to embark on a solo career. To make things less confusing, I think that from now on I’ll write band songs and this will be Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. This was what was intended when I began. If I call anything by my own name again, it’ll be much more pared down.
