Project Description
Interview with
LUCY and JAKE
from
YUMA X
Interviewer – Dave Bruce
.
.
For any new fans, how did the two of you meet and decide to share your musical talents together?
Lucy: We met at a house party in high school! Jake was fashionably late, and I answered the door to his big grin. I didn’t really talk to him but then I think I changed the music from some super loud circa 2009 electronic music to Jimi Hendrix “Bold As Love” and Jake was like YES. And then we got into a conversation about music. And here we are haha.
How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people have resonated with your music as they have?
I think our sound is hard to pin down. A bit alt-pop. A bit electronic. A bit sad and sometimes a bit happy. Very honest. I think that’s one reason why people can resonate with it. Because it’s honest.
Which artist or artists, past or present, inspire you and influence your music today?
Lucy: I love too much stuff. It depends what mood I am in that I’ll draw inspiration from something!
Jake: Some recent one’s would be Toro Y Moi, Childish, Little Dragon, Lana Del Rey. And an older one would be Funkadelic and Kraftwerk.
Your new track Secret Lover has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
Lucy: We don’t want to give away too much about the truth around the lyrics, but the actual song came about in a session with Lucy Taylor aka Pawws. She’s incredible and has written with Dua Lipa + Kele (Bloc Party). She’s one of the first females we’ve ever done a writing session with. Lucy and I were talking about some stuff + put down a few lyrics. Jake had a really nice little 80’s kinda vibe chord progression going on and we basically wrote the whole song within an hour or two. The bridge came a bit later at Jakes studio.
.
.
The video, at just under 4 minutes, is engaging and artistic. I saw your comments and how great an experience it was for you. How challenging was it to create and achieve all your objectives?
We can’t take credit for this one! Its our phenomenal director Maddy King and her team! I wasn’t sold on doing a video for the song, but she bought a treatment to us and I remember reading it over a coffee one morning and it was so enthralling I didn’t want it to be over!
Is there an Album on the drawing board at the moment?
Maybe :)
There are no tours at the moment, and some say it may be a long time before we have more Festivals and the like. Are you developing plans at the moment for the future as it unravels uniquely as it will?
We’re just taking it one day at a time. I think that’s important.
And just to reminisce, what are some favorite moments from collaborations with G Flip, Boo Seeka, RÜFÜS and ODESZA and the like?
Lucy: G Flips show was one of the most musically entertaining shows we’d been to in so long I felt like I was at one of my first concerts again! It was so wholesome and playful. She rocks. The Rufus runs will always be some of our favourite memories as they were our first bunch of shows + experiences in the industry. They’re like our big brothers who showed us a lot of the ropes. Getting to sing “Hypnotised” with them in LA (my old hometown) was one of the most special things I’ve done.
Boo Seeka was funny because Micheal + my brother used to play against each other in their AFL matches so I used to heckle him pretty hard from the sidelines then had to play support for him haha. Oops.
Rocking up* (crashing) to a house party in Melbourne with the Odesza guys after our first show with them was so fun! Hayden James had played a show the same night and they’re really good friends, so he came too. And they all took over the decks and it was SO much fun.
.
.
If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why?
Lucy: This is tough. I honestly can’t answer that. I could say anyone from Notorious B.I.G to Frank Sinatra to Kevin Parker or Ariana Grande. What a lineup haha.
JAKE – So many – Alive would be James Murphy.
Lucy: Yeah him too! He’s brilliant. See! Too many!
What is the best thing about performing to a live audience?
Seeing faces of people who your music has reached. Hearing people sing along always kills me in the best way.
What are your longer-term aspirations at the moment?
Survive Corona. lol
Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album –
Lucy: currently? The Slow Rush by Tame Impala
Jake: Parcels – Live Vol. 1 has been on repeat a lot lately.
Artist –
Lucy: right now, Tame Impala, Benee, James Blake, Kehlani. But ill always love The Xx and Frank Ocean. Could listen on repeat forever n ever <3
JAKE- I’m really enjoying digging through other dj/producer mixes at the moment. Jamie XX, Four Tet, Caribou, to name a few.
.
.
Movie –
Lucy: Romeo + Juliet. The cast, soundtrack and basically everything is a masterpiece.
JAKE – Short Term 12 is a good one!
Place to visit –
Lucy: Mexico baby!
Jake: NY
Venue to play –
Lucy: Loved playing at The Forum. Its so pretty! But the Fremantle Arts centre in WA was pretty incredible!
Jake: The Filmore In San Francisco was pretty special occasion for me. BB King played there!
Food –
Lucy: Mexican. Or Italian. But only if its cooked by my friend Adam.
Jake: I was recently introduced to persimmons. Big fan of persimmons!
Drink –
Lucy: Alcoholic, 1000% a tommys margarita. Or a jalapeno margy. Or to be honest i’d take any sort of margarita. If there’s no tequila I’m going to ask for a negroni. And if there’s no alcohol I will have a long black. Thank you bartender.
JAKE: Beer and Coffee seem to work pretty well for me.
Person in History –
Lucy: Anne Frank
Jake: Chaz Bear
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get
Lucy: I have a bunch but I want another one real bad. I want to get a cookie one my forearm!
Jake: I want to get a jar of Vegemite on my leg and my dogs name on my chest.
.
.
Check out YUMA X below
FACEBOOK – WEBSITE – INSTAGRAM
SPOTIFY – APPLE MUSIC
.
.
YUMA X
drop new single & video
‘SECRET LOVER’
YUMA X –comprised of vocalist Lucy Washington and producer Jake Smith – want to write music that makes you feel good, more than anything else. And the timing couldn’t be anything but perfect.
Recently, the Sydney duo release their new single and video, ‘Secret Lover’.
Premiering the track on triple j’s Good Nights, ‘Secret Lover’ is a taste of what to expect in the year to come.
Written alongside Pawws – the alias for UK songwriter and musician Lucy Taylor (Dua Lipa, Friendly Fires), ‘Secret Lover’ channels a heavier influence in club-adjacent sounds while not drifting far from the comforting warmth that defined their earliest work.
Jake says “I remember the song had a very 80s feel to it on the day, and it had this fun, anthemic sing-along energy about it.The song has changed a bit since then, but I always remember that feeling even when I hear the song as it is now.”
Arriving alongside a video clip directed by Maddy King, ‘Secret Lover’ was filmed in Sydney and surrounding countryside.
Maddy says, “Filming the Secret Lover music video was one of the most rewarding artistic experiences I’ve been a part of!
From the very beginning it was super collaborative. I cast Lukas (Radovich) early in the process, and he came over to my apartment and we sat down and wrote the script together. We shot the studio scenes the day after the Mardi Gras parade which felt really perfect, the energy on set was magical. The following weekend, we stayed at a tiny Airbnb in the countryside to film the rest of the video. The cast and crew were all together in the tiny tin shack, which was amazing, we felt like a tight knit family. I am so grateful to bring the project to life. My hope is that whoever watches this will feel less alone and more free to be themselves. “
Yuma X have now garnered over 6 million global streams of their music which includes singles ‘What You Want’ ‘Chasing Patterns’, ‘Swimming Pool’, ‘Matchstick’ and their debut EP Home Recordings. They have supported acts such as G Flip, Boo Seeka, RÜFÜS and ODESZA and curated the All Our Friends live night. Championed by tastemakers such as triple j, FBi Radio, Radio Adelaide, Pilerats, Fashion Journal, Backyard Opera, and local and international playlists, Yuma X have spent years finding their strengths, learning how to showcase them at their confident best. Singles like ‘Secret Lover’ prove that Yuma X are ready to shine once again.
.
CLICK ON PIC TO VIEW NEWS
.
