Q&A: Yearn on Music as the Ultimate Self-Expression
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY GIGI KANG ☆
Photo by @kaaysphotos
AS THE NAME IMPLIES—yearn is about catharsis. Pulling from J-rock, Visual Kei and a variety of alt influences like shoegaze, the three-piece writes music that is the ultimate tell-all emotional release.
Formed in Atlanta and currently based in LA, Yearn are Justin Yang, Athena Xiong and Shawn Wong. Their latest EP, yearn, Vol. 1, touches on themes of heartache, hidden feelings, and regret. It’s not an EP that asks particular questions or gives any answers—it’s more about reflection.
A unique recurrence across the tracks is the alternation between female and male vocals. The opening lines of the first track, “silently, and from a distance,” is a great example of Athena and Justin’s voices gently existing side by side; there’s no strain to make it work.
“I like having the second level of tonality,” Justin describes. “It’s not necessarily a harmony; we just sing the exact same thing on top of each other and it has this nice ring.”
It’s interesting to have two voices tell one story. In a way, it communicates that the story isn’t limited to a single storyteller—it can belong to anyone, including the listener.
A track that differs is “dazed” which is led by Athena. While all yearn songs are deeply intimate through the band’s atmospheric approach, “dazed” feels even more like a private one-on-one specifically because so much of it focuses on Athena. Her mellow vocals are accompanied by raw lyrics like, “regret lives inside me.”
However, toward the end of “dazed,” the story flips. The last minute of the song is an impressive showcase of the band’s instrumentation while Athena’s vocals move to the background, gently accompanying. While the first half feels like Athena’s moment, the second half brings it back to the whole picture. It’s a great example of balancing the members’ strengths. “Dazed” is certainly a stand-out moment on the EP that makes you slow down before listening on.
Make sure to check out yearn, Vol. 1 and read our full conversation with Yang below.
Photo by @kaaysphotos
LUNA: Atlanta has a great music scene, especially with heavier music. Lots of metal fans. What would you say starting yearn in that environment contributed to what the band became?
YANG: Like you said, there are a lot of indie-rock, metal and hardcore bands. Being around that pushed us in a particular direction because that’s who we were collaborating and playing shows with. It really helped us find our niche. The people we played with were really welcoming and everyone was cool. There were mixed genre shows all the time, but it didn’t quite feel like our niche, hence why we ended up moving back to California. Finding a physical niche, where we can play shows with other bands that are similar to us, pushed us out here. We met so many great people [in Atlanta] and had great opportunities presented to us, but what really helped us in Atlanta specifically was realizing we needed to find a place for us.
LUNA: After you lived in Atlanta for a bit, then came back to California with more music experience under your belt, did your relationship with your home state change at all?
YANG: For sure. Everything was different. You leave your hometown wanting to be something, wanting to experiment and break out of your comfort zone. I went to Atlanta to attend music school and I had the dream of playing shows and writing music. You come back and you’re like, “Well, I have what I want. What do I do now?” It feels different. It feels challenging in a different way than it was before. We’re looking for the next steps. We all grew up a lot over in Atlanta. Coming back here is a bit stressful, but it’s an exciting kind of stress to look forward to.
LUNA: What I notice about this band is your personality. You’re funny and it really seems like you’re having a good time with the project. And yet, the music is emotional and cathartic. It’s quite a contrast. Do you feel like music enables you to access a different part of yourself?
YANG: I would say so. I’m typically the one writing so within the music, it’s a lot of myself. What comes out in the writing process is not something I’m typically willing to show other people. If I didn’t have music, I don’t think I would know how to express myself any other way. I’ve always written music, same with Shawn and Athena. I think we all have our walls up. But when it comes to music and art, we’re able to break that barrier and create something that feels authentic to all of us. When we play live, it’s nice to have that emotional release. It brings us a lot of joy which is why we have a good time when we play. Anything to do with our project, it feels like I’m hanging out with family.
LUNA: The nice thing about different types of artists is they have different mediums where, instead of carrying it all internally, it gets translated into something tangible to share with other people. Then it belongs to other people as well.
YANG: It’s all about artistic expression. Everyone has their own reasons for creating art, but I feel that is the most genuine way for an artist to make their art. That’s something I really appreciate when it comes to other people, especially with artists that you can tell their work is coming from within rather than them trying to copy something.
LUNA: When it comes to sharing that vulnerability and sitting down with the other members, what does it look like for you?
YANG: I think that even in a song without words, you’re still able to feel the emotion of that song. When I’m writing, I start with the chord progression and the arrangement to develop a solid foundation for how I want the song to feel. I’m usually in charge of writing the lyrics, then I’ll hand it over to Athena because she’s the second vocalist. She’ll do her thing on top of it, or will help me figure everything out.
I’ll literally just sit there with 10 or 11 demos and listen to them over and over. Because the music already has a really specific feeling built into it, listening to it over and over helps me develop melodies, or lyrics will come into my head. I don’t try to force writing. I find that when I force writing, it never works. I write a bit slower than most people, but I feel like it’s the right thing to do because it feels authentic.
LUNA: In terms of the visuals of the group, there’s a cohesion in the fashion. Is it your style as individuals that comes through, or is it something you think about as a band?
YANG: It definitely is our style as individuals, but we all grew up with the same media. We all grew up on early 2000s, late 90s Visual Kei, alternative Japanese fashion. I never got super into fashion until I moved to Atlanta. Athena’s always been into that stuff. [The band] helped me get my style together. It is definitely a central part of our identity. Our visual has always been something that we focus on and try to emphasize. You feel confident, you feel good, when you like the way that you look and I think that helps us express ourselves and have fun on stage. When we play a show, people come to our show dressed the way we are. It feels like you’re part of a community.
LUNA: Fashion and music have always been intertwined. There’s subcultures within each genre, like the metalheads and the emo kids. They all have certain characteristics that translate into appearance. It’s really precious how these people have a tendency to do the same things and listen to the same music.
YANG: I definitely see things that way too. It makes me happy. We’re all looking forward to developing this community further. It comes down to [us continuing to] make music, keep up the self-expression, get others comfortable with expressing themselves too, and give people the confidence to not be afraid to be who they always wanted to be.
