Waiting For The Rapture

Music is littered with cases of musicians combining their art with their own personal beliefs and ideology. The fine line between an interesting aspect and an awkward distraction is an easy one to cross, and for the most part the balance is too difficult to maintain with any commercial ambitions in mind. Having spent the better part of four years merging the commercial with the personal, Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans know more than most about successfully juggling the two.

After beginning its life as a solo outlet for Bechtolt's own particular brand of dance pop, the euphoric electronica of YACHT has since become a doorway into the duo's own way of life. Described on their website as a 'band, belief system and business', the YACHT story begins properly with the introduction of Evans in 2008. A long-time friend of Bechtolt, Evans is now as fully invested in the group as her partner; the dynamic counterpoint to Bechtolt's creative electricity. Having already collaborated together on previous YACHT recordings, the partnership evolved into something entirely different after one profound experience.

“In 2008 Claire and I moved to the far west Texas desert,” explains Bechtolt. “To a small town called Marfa. And in Marfa is one of the longest-running and most spectacular light phenomena that exists in the world. It's called the Marfa Mystery Lights, and that's what we made our record See Mystery Lights all about. That's where we had that collective-like experience of seeing this crazy light phenomenon in the desert. We just decided that from there and then we wanted to work on everything together and express ideas about human ritual and just play with that sort of stuff.”

“I say this a lot,” continues Evans, “but I think Jona and I are both very self-navigated, digital generation-type people. We've always felt like we have a lot of access to tools and information. That's a big part of what we do, and for us to come into contact with something legitimately paranormal and weird and mysterious – something that we couldn't immediately just Google and figure out – it was a very enlightening experience for us, and it's changed the way we thought about everything that we do.”

In many cases the urge to include an artist's beliefs into their music can feel forced, but for the YACHT pair it grew out of a natural desire to explore their new passions. The duo believe that art and spirituality are inseparable, and as outlined in their F.A.Q., aim 'to provide an alternative to religion, by creating a community which provides long-lasting meaning and value without dogma or submission'. In the group's detailed and complex mission statement, what stands out above all else is just a genuine push for positivity and ambition. “We've always been fans of and interested in the paranormal and mysteries and all that stuff,” admits Bechtolt. “But from that shared experience we were like, 'We should just talk about this all of the time, we should incorporate this into everything that we do'. It has such a heavy meaning for us.”

“We're the kind of people that, in our creative projects, it's difficult to separate from who we are in our day-to day-lives,” offers Evans. “We spend all of our time working on YACHT, so if we're thinking about something, we're going to be incorporating that into YACHT, whether or not we intend to. So we might as well be direct and transparent about it.”

That transparency is at odds with many of their contemporaries. Indie rock is known more for its detachment, as many bands prefer to move away from heart-on-your-sleeve emotionalism and honesty. YACHT wear their ideals proudly, and push for something that doesn't always fit comfortably with the standard musical story.

“I don't know when I would say that it began or how I would really define it,” laments Bechtolt. “But I think there is a movement away from naked vulnerability in the arts. I think people are a little bit afraid to stand by something that they believe in in a direct way because they are afraid of being criticised, because there are so many avenues for criticism now. If you do something and it's unpopular, you will know immediately, and in many different ways and intimately and painfully. It's scarier to be weird. And so I think people shy away from the earnest positivity that we have always embraced and they shy away from a lot of the language that we use. And I totally understand that. And I sometimes wish that we were less transparent, because it does hurt sometimes, but at the same time I can't imagine being an artist in any other way.”

Named after the school Bechtolt attended as a teenager, YACHT are as entertaining in interview as they are onstage, finishing each other's sentences and swapping jokes throughout. They take their art seriously, but favour enjoyment above all else. “We try not to be dogmatic or anything,” clarifies Evans. “The mission statement, the philosophy, the sort of conversational aspect of what we do, it's there for the taking for interested parties. We present ourselves with the music first and the visual identity first, and then if people are interested, it's all there for them if they want to go there. But we're not marching into the rock club with a stack of bibles and an attitude. It really is a lot more open and loving than that.”

The pair put on a show like no other. Expanded in the live environment to include Rob “Bobby Birdman” Kiewwetter on bass and keyboards and Jeffrey Brodsky on drums, the YACHT live show is a pure sensory experience.

“I started this band with the expressed interest in making something that was fun to watch,” enthuses Bechtolt. “When I started, laptop music  at least in America,  was less band-centric. They would mostly have these almost academic performances where there would be one dude standing behind a table, standing behind a laptop, and it could've been him checking his email or browsing the web as far as the audience was concerned… And I feel like I love that kind of performance! I'm not knocking it, but I just wanted to do something that was totally different than that. It's always been a goal to make something that I would want to watch. And I have a very short attention span!”

“We start with trying to make the show as visually complex as possible, to a point where it's not fun to look at. Too much information happening, like signs, banners, videos, Powerpoint, all these things happening at once. And then we just strip away each layer until we find the essence of what we're trying to do, and refurbish it until it is just the right harmony of things.”

YACHT will be playing the following dates:

Saturday 27 April - Groovin The Moo, Maitland Showground, Maitland NSW
Sunday 28 April - Groovin The Moo, University Of Canberra, Canberra ACT
Tuesday 30 April - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney NSW
Friday 3 May - Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 4 May - Groovin The Moo, Prince Of Wales Showgrounds, Bendigo VIC
Sunday 5 May - Groovin The Moo, Murray Sports Complex, Townsville QLD
Friday 10 May - The Bakery, Perth WA
Saturday 11 May - Groovin The Moo, Hay Park, Bunbury WA