Music Spotlight: Yoke Lore

// photo by Wes and Alex

Asymmetric Magazine: Congrats on your EP release! Tell us about Absolutes.
Yoke Lore: Thanks! Absolutes is an EP about the trouble of living in extremes. I often fall into the trap of looking for purity or demanding perfection. But the more I go on doing life, the more I realize that things are usually a mixture. People aren't usually all good or all bad, and I think that's pretty true with everything. And If we insist on viewing things as one-sided, we lose an entire dimension of information and, thus, experience. A life of absolutes is no life at all. 

AM: How does it compare to your previous work?
YL: I think Absolutes is the next step. In the words of Thomas Kuhn, I'm doing 'normal science'. I am following the road that gets extended a little bit every time I make a fan, or release a song, or play a show. I'm just writing, releasing, touring, and repeating, and it feels natural. So, I think Absolutes is a space and a time that I need to occupy in order to get to the next place, which I have actually been creating in the studio this week. It's a continuum–this music thing. It's a becoming.

If we insist on viewing things as one-sided, we lose an entire dimension of information and, thus, experience. A life of absolutes is no life at all. 

AM: How would you describe your sound?
YL: Gentle Grit. Heavy drums, heavy vocals, but with height. Deep levity.

AM: We love all your visuals, too! How does your artwork parallel your sound?
YL: I make it all usually. But even when I don't draw it out myself, there is an esoteric quality to the kind of artwork I want to represent the music and vice versa. I hope the artwork runs parallel to the music, but at the same time, I want it to stand on its own. Whether it's abstract or a specific subject, I draw not to create, but to chew something–something to put your hands to. A way to organize the shapes that minds take to make movement. I think I write for a similar reason. 

AM: What themes do you typically pursue through your music?
YL: I'm slightly embarrassed about this, but I am a huge theme in my music. I am a bit self-centered, or maybe I'm a bit overly aware of my own perception. Either way, I write a lot about how I see the world. I like to tackle my own fears. Making music assuages the harshness. I try to capture as much specificity about my feelings so that people can see themselves in me and in my stories. 

AM: What other musicians are currently inspiring you?
YL: Amen Dunes, Beat Happening, Labi Siffre

// photo by Wes and Alex

AM: Where is one place that you feel completely in touch with your creative self/music?
YL: In the woods in Maine 

AM: What can we expect to hear from you next?
YL: After Absolutes, I have a couple collaborations coming out. I don't think I'm allowed to tell with who yet, but look out! Then, you know, I keep rolling. I got new music that's almost done–we've got lots to do.

// listen to absolutes:

// Listen to more Yoke Lore on Spotify + SoundCloud.