By: Rachel Ellison Category: MUSIC Date: 15.May.2014

YACHT is like bacteria, multiplying, transforming, and moving in such unexpected ways. In 2008 the band doubled in size, and Claire Evans joined the over-toured, electronic, solo act previously comprised solely of Jona Bechtolt. In 2010, the band doubled again, adding longtime friends and collaborators, Bobby Birdman and Jeffrey Brodsky to their touring set. The
one, two, and four have taken their sounds from techno, to industrial pop, and back again, all under a moniker that stands for
“Young Americans Challenging High Technology”. Claire and Jona have written books, developed fragrances, released apps, and still find time to practice the only philosophy they both swear by: “radical self-empowerment”. I call them on a sunny Friday afternoon, a climate they have become fond of since their move from the rainy Portland, OR to Los Angeles two years ago. I catch them in their shared Silver Lake home just before a meeting, and their relationship status is quickly apparent (though not highly publicized). “I” only exists in the context of the early 2000s, beyond that “we” is the pronoun of choice.
I bond with them over our mutual origins (I too am from Portland), though it is clear that the city of angels has hopelessly seduced them. “We’ve never been happier in our whole lives,” says Jona, who finally decided to move here after six years of Claire’s pleas. “I was afraid I couldn’t cut it in a city this big.” But cut it they have, with an album devoted to it (Shangri-La) and several projects inspired by it.

It was the most unlikely of places – Marfa, Texas – that initially spurred Claire and Jona’s musical alliance. Though they had previously met in 2004 when they played the same gallery show, they decided to move to West Texas together in 2007, which inevitably turned into collaboration. If you’ve never heard of YACHT, you may ask: why Marfa? “They have this paranormal optical phenomenon called the Marfa mystery lights. It’s an unproven but totally quantifiable, viewable thing that you
can see if you go out there.” A quick youtube search shows me exactly what Claire refers to, and I watch the small, moving lights dispersed amongst a mountainous horizon. These inexplicable lights not only influenced their first album as a duo, but have continued to influence their artistic endeavors since. Though small differences manifest in idiosyncrasies throughout our conversation, the two are completely in synch. Clare jumps to answer my questions, speaking in a manner that is articulate, if not a bit pretentious. She attended Occidental College, which brought her to LA, and maintained a writing career before she jumped on board with YACHT. Jona, on the other hand, is a true Portlander, dropping out of high school to tour with his brother in a punk band. He is more soft-spoken and self-deprecating than his partner, readily communicating his fears and insufficiencies with me. When I ask them if their spiritual beliefs perfectly align, however, they both answer without hesitancy – “yes”. Along with their spirituality (they use the word 8 times in 25 minutes), Los Angeles is a driving force behind their music.

While many artists speak of Portland as a great beauty and creative oasis, Claire and Jona emphasize the rain and their un-productivity. They show no nostalgic fondness for a city that shaped their youth. Los Angeles, Claire says, “is an insane chaotic city where at any given moment, something fascinating is happening ”. It is this fascination that has spurred their latest projects. The two recently developed a free app, entitled “Five Every Day”, which gives a daily list of five LA happenings, from good eats to culture. Additionally, they have delved into the world of television, and are creating, writing, and producing a show for Amazon. “It is a scripted, episodic comedy show,” that will, Claire explains, “tell the world of music as we know it”. With both of these projects Claire reflects on their philosophy of self-empowerment. “It’s like you see a space in the world for something that you want to exist and you have to just trust yourself that you’re capable of making it happen.” As of late, it seems they are striving to create happiness. Initially, they saw their performance as paralleling a religious experience, but that didn’t last. “That felt unsustainable to be woo woo forever. Now we’re more about celebration and ecstatic experience,” Claire explains. Their most recent single is definitive of this. Set against a techno beat, “Plastic Soul” opens: “Hey, the world is old/but I am young and dumb and ride for free.”

In two years, though, Claire and Jona could tire of the palm trees and sunshine, and revert back to singing about hell and a burning planet. They could adopt two more members, or even shrink. Up until now I had only imagined someone in the vein of Justin Bieber coming out with a fragrance, so who is to say that YACHT won’t surprise us with their own dolls or lunchboxes donning their faces? Of one thing we can be certain though: it will be weird. “I think we’ll just keep doing stuff like that for the rest of our lives, “ Jona says of his app. “We’ll tackle the next weird thing that we do not know how to do.”