Yīn Yīn

About

" A trippy, retro, intergalactic ride through world grooves "

Of all the lines written by Oscar Wilde, one sticks out as being particularly romantic and poignant. “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Dutch band Yīn Yīn are certainly looking skyward. The Maastricht-based project founded by Kees Berkers and Yves Lennertz – they’re now a quartet, and Lennertz has since left – are, in their own words, a bunch of musical dreamers. Bonding over their attempts to organise DIY music events and parties in their staid hometown, they eventually decided to record a cassette – and chose Southern and Southeast Asian music as their muse.

The result is an intoxicating blend of psychedelic funk, disco, eccentric electro, and, as they put it themselves, “global retro vibes”. It’s certainly far out – there’s a fearlessness to their sonic adventures, but also a distinct style and swagger; the music just grooves. No wonder one music blog described them as “whisked up by the pure joy of their experimentation”. That line concerned their 2020 debut album, ‘The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers’ but last year’s LP ‘The Age Of Aquarius’ is even more expansive with samples, drum computers, and synthesisers intricately layered over real instruments.

“A simple, direct appeal to dance” says the record’s bio. And while it’s easy to lose yourself in the album’s cosmic transcendence, it’s grounded in serious appreciation for the gravity contained in that title – there’s a lot of spirituality, clever references, and deep reverence for otherworldly tropes. So yeah – come for the intergalactic party vibes, stay for the mind expansion and revelations; whatever’s going on up there in the stars, Yīn Yīn are tapping into it.