Yarn is an exciting, experimental downtempo project from two of Hungary’s top producers, Ferenc Majercsik and Nándor Horváth. Combining elements of dub, breaks, hip hop beats and ambient soundscapes, the pair maintain variety and quality throughout their compositions.
Attention to detail is the first thing you notice, the drum hits perfectly crafted and arranged into unique cadences, the pads organic and haunting. At times uplifting, at times dark and pensive, the music keeps moving and evolving, adding layers over grooves and complex percussion. Shifting between genres to find a sound all their own, they can be both engaging and relaxing – taking listeners on long, strange trips.
They have released a full length album entitled Yarnia, as well as four EPs, and are releasing a double album in the upcoming weeks on Psylife Records. Lostinsound is proud to present this incredible, all-original 90-Minute Mix featuring unreleased material from the new album!
Sit back and let Yarn guide you through distant cultures majestic and surreal, patiently setting a deep, melodic tone for your evening.
This is the set we originally fell in love with from Ozora Festival 2013:
Where in Hungary are you from, what is it like there?
As Hungary is a very small country, we could have come from any point of it, all of which would almost be the same place… but, more exactly, we were both born in the middle of Hungary and have more or less lived there all our lives. There are many rivers in our neighborhood and plenty of picturesque scenes, so our attraction to nature is natural. We try to incorporate this into our music as well.
It is hard to define your genre and you are perhaps inventing your own as you experiment and search for different sounds. What do you call it, how do you describe it?
As you said, these are experiments and inventions, we also consider them as such. We grab moods and try to build that up with melodies of a similar tone. The majority of our music is created out of these attempts. Perhaps later we will write albums with a more homogeneous sound, but for the time being we like this colorful variety. When listening to one of our albums, the listener can go through a really long journey.
What do you want to achieve through your music?
We hope that as a composite of everyone else’s styles and energies, our music creates a separate world around itself and stimulates the thoughts and imaginations of others. Our aim is simple: to arouse good vibrations in listeners. If it works, then we want to intensify these vibrations through releases and performances. Of course, it would be great to travel a lot so that our message could get to many places and we could also use the experience gained this way when creating new music. Our aim in any case is to bring messages down from the ether and transmit them to their recipients.
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, and also, an old-timey story- a tale told by a sailor or grizzled traveler. What did you have in mind when taking the word as your name?
In our case, both meanings of the word ’yarn’ prevail. We tell a story through our music, a tale from a fantasy world. Continuity is provided by our musical soul, which always sounds different in different styles, but retains the common spark of inspiration that drives the story forward. Yarn is also that invisible thread which we follow through our work, which leads us on our way.
Your music is patient and mature. What has influenced you to make this type of stuff?
We’re still startled when we find ourselves in an exciting musical challenge, such as performing at a bigger festival or publishing a new record. In the beginning, we performed separately in different styles, finally deciding on chill-out. We only started to make chill-out at the birth of Yarn, though it is something we always enjoyed listening to.
Unfortunately, neither of us had the opportunity for a musical education. We have developed knowledge studying independently over the years.
You guys are excellent vocal processors and sample users. What software are you using and what tips do you have?
We have opted for cubase, from the beginning of Yarn it has helped with the evolution and refining of our music. We do not have any ‘tricks’ in creating our music. What we pay attention to is not to be similar to other performers in style, or sound, or classical elements.
Percussion is another strong suit. How do you approach drums and achieve the variety and realism that you do?
If you listen to some of our music, you’ll find that the drums will not create harmony, but at the same time, they are linked somehow. Perhaps by percussion. Sometimes we choose a 4/4 rhythm as the basis, sometimes broken beats depending on our mood. Hopefully, it is not these elements which will link together the flow of our music, but rather the soul or sparkle of the music itself.
Favorite synths for the atmospheres / pads you use? Leads, Bass?
We don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but if we should highlight some favorites, they would be: Lennar Sylenth, NI Massive, Rob Pappen synths and Zebra of course! They appear in almost all of our music, no matter which musical element is used – leads, pads, bass, etc…
It’s a difficult thing to do, which is why you’re musicians, but try to summarize what you’re trying to say with the latest album in words.
Let’s talk about our next record, which is being released at the end of the summer. The album is titled ‘Interconnected Visions’, which has a broad meaning, but this is the best way we can express the concept of the album.
It contains a lot of shorter audio-journeys through which one can visit various locations. We tried to achieve this via the sequence of individual tracks so that in the end a complete journey is experienced, pointing both inward and outward towards reality. It will be released by Psylife Records as a double record, with a lot of new songs and fresh material to play out. We have some new tricks up our sleeves.
What does “psychedelic” mean to you, what do people mean when they say “Mind Expansion”?
The expression ’psychedelic’ refers to certain feelings, moods, events, states. It is hard to limit it to a single meaning as it is something experienced differently by different people. The best you can do is to form your own ideas of the expression and fill them with as profound a meaning as possible.
There is a key frequency which needs to be tuned down from time to time, then the whole world becomes more detailed and easier to comprehend. It is hard to relax and reflect in the pace of the world we live in, hard to get weird.
What is the psychological and social importance of getting weird, and the events and communities that hold space to get weird in?
Listening to / making music always helps in letting loose, and achieving this state of clarity. Festivals, friends and family provide a safe environment to have these experiences in. We are unable to analyze it’s importance objectively, for we are talking about events and communities that we love very much and can only discuss in a biased way, but to us and many others, this container is very important.
In everyday relationships, one cannot expect the tolerance and social empathy experienced in spirited communities like these. All members of a community that conceptualize a positive way of living will lead a healthier life mentally and physically. It is essential to love and be loved, which almost every member of such a community practices and experiences.
Psylife.net
Soundcloud.com/psyliferecords
Facebook.com/YarnSounds