After the release of their first single “The Brae” at the very start of 2014, New Zealand’s Yumi Zouma has pretty much solidified themselves as a band of note pretty soon after with the release of their first EP. With two rapidly sold out EPs that spawned a combined EP collection, the band is finally poised to make their full length debut late next month with Yoncalla.
“Keep It Close To Me” is the first single from Yumi Zouma’s debut album, Yoncalla, due out May 27th on Cascine (and Arch Hill in Australia, Rallye in Japan and Double Deer in Indonesia). The band will embark on a tour in support of Yoncalla that stretches across New Zealand, North America, Europe and Japan starting next month. Dates below.
Where Yumi Zouma’s previous EPs were created in isolation, capturing the nuances of each member’s life half a world away, the new material was given a singular voice. “Yumi Zouma has always been an exercise in refining ideas and collaborating,” reflects guitarist Charlie Ryder, “but this was the first time we weren’t limited or protected by distance. With Yoncalla, the process was different, and it can be scary to present raw ideas to your friends ‐ but it’s also incredible to see songs evolve through the sparks of inspiration that bounce between people in the same room.” That intimacy is apparent on Yoncalla ‐ an album about being close to people, rather than miles apart. Yumi Zouma’s effortless waves of harmony have been redefined and the creative process laid bare to expose an act more unguarded and interconnected than ever before.
Additionally, Yoncalla sees Yumi Zouma continue their tradition of creating collectable vinyl releases, with the new album including a limited grey 7” that includes two studio outtakes from the recording sessions. The 7” will be bundled with the first 500 copies of the Yoncalla 12”. These outtakes are exclusive to the limited edition vinyl and will not appear digitally.
To capture the concepts on Yoncalla, New Zealand visual artist Henrietta Harris was tapped to create the cover art, illustrating the band together on a front cover for the first time.
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“Keep It Close To Me”, the first single from Yumi Zouma’s upcoming full length debut, essentially continues right where the band left off albeit with Christie Simpson sliding into Kim Pflaum position as the band’s frontwoman/vocal lead. The band members are still scattered across the globe in New York, Paris, and Auckland and still predominantly writing songs via the Internet but some thing’s have changed: Yumi Zouma has gone from a sort of secret project between friends never to really be shared to a full on touring band and that experience has surely made a mark on their process. Yoncalla also marks the band closing the distance between somewhat as they shared ideas and worked on it in part together in the same room for the first time.
Where EP II introduced a faster, dancier edge to Yumi Zouma’s soft focused, walking tempo electro pop, “Keep It Close To Me” more closely resembles the moderate pacing of their debut EP. And yet as much as it’s a return to form, the foursome push forward as well channeling the best of both EP’s into their latest effort to create a wonderfully pop gem featuring subtle, sparse production, affecting vocal hooks, and just a hint of danceability.
The Fat Angel Sings 