Saturday, February 5, 2011

James Yuill Announces US Release of "Movement in a Storm" on Moshi Moshi, Performs at SXSW 2011

London-based electronic musician James Yuill has announced the US release of his sophomore album, Movement in Storm via Moshi Moshi on February 22nd.  The followup to Yuill's acclaimed debut, Turning Down Water For Air, Yuill was inspired by the likes of Modeselektor and Apparat for Movement, which has a decidedly more electronic feel to it, yet still includes the decidedly delicate songs that he is known for.   

A man with a quasi-monastic lifestyle, Yuill is never happier than when he's making music, alone in his Dalston flat, entirely oblivious to the whims of the east London scene, or the rules and regulations of wider music culture. Here, in his spare bedroom studio, there's no contradiction between delivering a series of acclaimed remixes for other artists (We Have Band, Tilly & The Wall, Au Revoir Simone....), raving about Take That - "Gary Barlow is a genius" - or his teenage obsession with Nirvana. That's James Yuill's world. And he's happy in it.

Yuill's debut, Turning Down Water For Air, was a folk record quietly and modestly underpinned by electronics. It infiltrated clubland (most notably, the massive Prins Thomas re-edit of "This Sweet Love") almost by accident. Movement In A Storm is very different. Where Yuill constructs and develops strummed ideas on his acoustic guitar, it's the way he radically manipulates such outlines that make it a standout. Colored-in with great neon splashes of data, he upgrades, reboots and digitalizes the core of his latest output in a way that only enhances his melancholic tone, heightening the emotional impact immeasurably.  Certainly, it should make any journalist think twice before ever mentioning "folktronica" and James Yuill, in the same sentence, ever again. 

For a man who started out writing, playing, producing and releasing his own music from his bedroom HQ, Yuill has been getting out and about a bit lately. Since the release of his 2009 debut, he has toured the UK, Europe, Japan and in 2010 made forays into South America and Indonesia, where he played respective sold out shows with Hot Chipand The Temper Trap. He has also toured the US several times, and will be returning to the states for a number of performances at this year's SXSW '11 .  


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