Once there was a young man named Jona Bechtolt. He was a member of The Blow for a while, but he also had a one-man electronic pop project called YACHT. Then he wasn’t a member of The Blow, but he still had his one-man electronic pop project called YACHT. Then his one-man electronic pop project YACHT became less of a one-man project, because Claire L. Evans joined him in the endeavor. In 2009, YACHT — a two-person electronic pop group and no longer a one-man electronic pop project — put out a record called See Mystery Lights (TMT Review). And that was the last we heard from them for some time. Now you know the complete history of YACHT.
Here’s the next part of the story: YACHT have a new record called Shangri-La coming out through DFA on June 21. And for the first taste of the record, the duo are offering the apocalyptic dance track “Dystopia,” which can be heard right here.
Before Shangri-La comes out, Bechtolt and Evans are hitting the road for a few weeks, starting later this month. They’ve released a promo video that provides some information and may drive you insane:
Joining them on various dates will be frequent collaborator Bobby Birdman (who produced the record with the band), Jeffrey Jerusalem, and Light Asylum. The last of those three will evidently be providing “spiritual warmup” to the shows. I have no idea what that means.
Shangri-La tracklist:
01. Utopia
02. Dystopia (The Earth Is on Fire)
03. I Walked Alone
04. Love in the Dark
05. One Step
06. Holy Roller
07. Beam Me Up
08. Paradise Engineering
09. Tripped & Fell in Love
10. Shangri-La
YACHT dates:
04.13.11 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo’s 365 Club #
04.15.11 - Indio, CA - Coachella
04.17.11 - Marfa, TX - Padre’s #
04.19.11 - Austin, TX - Emo’s #
04.20.11 - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald’s Downstairs ^
04.22.11 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade #
04.23.11 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle ^
04.24.11 - Richmond, VA - The National #
04.25.11 - Washington, DC - Black Cat * ^
04.26.11 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church * ^
04.27.11 - New York, NY - Webster Hall * #
04.29.11 - Providence, RI - The Met Cafe * #
04.31.11 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club *
05.01.11 - Montreal, QC - Cabaret Du Mile End * #
05.02.11 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace * ^
05.04.11 - Columbus, OH - Wexner Center * #
05.05.11 - Chicago, IL - Metro * #
05.06.11 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall * ^
05.07.11 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club * ^
05.09.11 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater * #
05.11.11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge * ^
05.12.11 - Seattle, WA - Neumo’s * ^
05.13.11 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre * ^
05.14.11 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom * # ^
* Light Asylum (spiritual warmup)
# Bobby Birdman
^ Jeffrey Jerusalem
• YACHT: http://www.teamyacht.com
• DFA: http://dfarecords.com
