Yoav Criticizes Commercialism on 'Yellowbrite Smile'

Posted on Jul 29th 2010 4:00PM by Linda Laban
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If there's a message behind the engaging soufflé groove of Yoav's alt-pop nugget, 'Yellowbrite Smile,' it's one of spiritual disenfranchisement. A 'Yellowbrite Smile,' Yoav tells Spinner, is an empty one. "It's like a trademark, like the yellowed smile, like the smiley symbol," he says. "It's about commercialism, distraction by the media, that kind of thing."

The trippy visuals for the video captures the song's message simply by keeping the camera aimed squarely on the South African-raised Israeli singer-songwriter while digital effects subtly distort the urban landscape in the background. It's a juxtaposition of nature and manufacture similar to Yoav's organic/electronic approach to making music. His songs are, essentially, acoustic guitar singer-songwriter-based, but the background is built of samples that are distorted and looped into lush textural backdrops.

"I'm the ultimate one-man band," he says. "I use the guitar more like a DJ uses his deck. I create beats that are quite electronic, hip-hop inspired. I write acoustic pop songs that go over the top of that." Don't think for a second that this is chill-out stuff, he warns. "When you see it live, I can play big rooms and get the whole thing jumping. I have some intimate songs as well, but it's a stretch to call it acoustic music. But that is what it's produced on -- an acoustic guitar."

For his second album, 'A Foolproof Escape Plan,' which contains the catchy 'Yellowbrite Smile,' Yoav enlisted the help of drummer Joey Waronker to produce.

"Joey, he's not just a drummer. He's the drummer. Joey's such an amazing musician. He's a first-class producer and he got me out of my habits of perfectionism," Yoav says of the onetime Beck alumnus and son of notable A&R man Lenny Waronker. "He got me working really quickly and did a lot of things that were helpful in many ways. I felt very lucky. I would never have gotten a record together in that time."

Check out the 'Yellowbrite Smile' video below.

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