Mehek’s Music Monday: You Say Party!We Say Die!

December 21st, 2009

ysp!wsd!

So here’s the dealio my lovely readers.

We’ve got this really, really awesum band that show us why Canadian crop is so amazingly delicious. They’re from Abbotsford, British Columbia, and while their name might throw you off, they’ve got some sweet tunes. So I says to you, enjoy the new-wave-indie You Say Party!We Say Die! because their sound is so infectious, you just have to get up and dance, nah mean?

But hey, instead of me rambling about how this is the coolest band to hit your ears since, well, ever, the kind people from YSP!WSD! did an interview with lil ol’ me for this week’s Music Monday.

Check it out after the jump!

Band origins: How did you get together?
The band started back in the winter of 2003/04. We were originally a bike gang called “the smoking spokes”. when the weather got too cold we came in doors to becky’s parent’s basement and divided up a pile of instruments.

What was the process of putting together your first album, having been fresh on the scene? What were certain obstacles during the recording and distributing process that you had to overcome?
YSP!WSD! has always been a band that operates at break-neck speeds. Our first record came out in the fall out 2005. We recorded it in 2 weeks in vancouver in between playing local shows regularly. We were signed to a hot local label at the time called “sound document records”. They were totally awesome and helped us get our record out all over the world.

Talk about the creative process. Any rituals when it comes to songwriting? What or whom inspires you?
In the past we had a very strict “you play the instrument, you write the part” rule to our song writing. But these days we’ve grown as musicians and as a band are able to really work together at writing songs. We all ensure our parts work together for the greater good of the song, and so that there’s enough room for Becky to sing overtop. My usual guide for knowing if we’ve written a good song or not is based on whether I’m dancing while we’re practicing it.

You’ve said that your latest album, XXXX, is a very emotionally involved record. How so, and why was it important this time around to lay it out all on the table, so to speak? What makes this album different than your last two?
This is the first album that we did after our terrible band fight in Berlin back at the end of 2007. There was a healing process in 2008 amongst the band members that coincided with the writing of the songs for this record. All 5 of us have become much closer as friends and grown deeper as people, we felt it was completely natural for this to come out in our song writing.

XXXX means “love”. Why so cryptic?

If you return to all the releases we’ve ever put out (3 albums and an EP) you can see that XXXX is hidden somewhere in the artwork. When Becky first designed the artwork for the Danskwad EP, she put those 4 X’s across the top and said to herself “There, that is my mark of love”. When we were in the studio, Becky suggested the title and explained her reasoning and we all loved it.

In one interview I listened to, you said that you enjoy collaborating with other artists. How interesting is the creative process in that type of situation?
The 5 of us have become very comfortable as song writers and have gotten a pattern to how we write our songs, when you collaborate with others, it shakes up your “tried and true” methods of songs writing and shows you a different way you could be writing songs. Every one has a different style and it’s great to get to try working with other people in that manner. When Becky and I collaborated with K-OS on his last record, we were both thrusted into this world of hip-hop we had never experienced before but we were able to take away certain ideas and themes that worked well for our music.

If you could work with anyone, who would it be?
Kate Bush.

Your work has taken you to some pretty cool places abroad. What’s been your favourite spot to play in internationally so far? Where would you like to tour?
Our favorite place to tour has been China, the music fans there are really passionate. We had great shows with crowds that had never seen us before but were dancing like crazy. The whole experience from the travel right down to the food was amazing for all of us.

We really really want to make it to Australia and Moscow.

For new listeners/fans, what can be expected from your live shows?
Our live shows have always been where we’ve been most comfortable, we’re a very high energy band and it’s our goal to get you dancing. When people show up ready to dance and have fun and be involved, we can be sure that everyone is gonna have a great night at a YSP!WSD! show.

You’re going on tour very soon. Excited? Nervous? Where will you be venturing off to this time?
We love touring, we do it alot. Last fall was our 9th time across canada in 4 years. Touring used to be a very nervous experience, unsure of how to get to city to city, but now we’re very relaxed and confident we know our way. In the Spring we’ll be returning to the USA, Europe and China plus some dates in Canada in April! We’re really looking forward to 2010.

To end it off, do you have any music recommendations on this Music Monday for us?
I can very much recommend some friends of ours from Sweeden, They’re a great band that we love very much. They’re called “Love Is All”. Here is their MySpace: www.myspace.com/loveisall8
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The New Year is approaching, and fast!! If you’ve got suggestions as to who should dominate everyone’s headphones in 2010, send me some recommendations at mehekmusicmonday@gmail.com, comment, or tweet me.

Tags: correspondents, interviews, music monday, you say party!we say die!