Insomnia Music with YiN YiN

Music

Dutch band YĪN YĪN never set out with the intention to start a band, it's something that just happened. An experimental jam session back in 2017 marks the beginning of the project, which at the time involved guitarist Yves Lennertz and Kees Berkers soon expanded to welcome bassist Remy Scheren and keys player Robbert Verwijlen into the fold.

Crafting their own unique blend of funk, psych, disco and traditional Southeast Asian music, the band have become a seasoned live outfit playing a string of shows across the Netherlands and Europe, and have since put out 7"s with Bongo Joe Records and Paradise Vinyl Club, as well as their acclaimed debut LP on Les Disques Bongo Joe, which has just seen a release in the UK this month.

Here, guitar player Yves picks out his favourite sleepless selections…

I am Yves, the guitar player of YĪN YĪN, because of the Corona I've decided to do this on my own as it's super difficult for us all to get in contact with all the members at the moment.

"Since the Covid-19 period I sleep like a baby that doesn’t need a bottle in the middle of the night. I see so many stressed out people around, who cannot seem to bring any balance in their thoughts. I realized pretty fast that we cannot change the situation, a thought which has since kept me calm. First I was a little afraid like: ‘is this the end of our young career?’‚ or ‘is this the end of being a paid musician?‘ But I don’t think so, we did not do anything wrong, and will stay musicians until the end. I guess when we are on the road there is some kind of insomnia, you experience so much during the day, so much input you have to process. You go to bed late and have to wake up early, which sometimes can cause stress, but still, the thoughts you process during your sleep are wonderful… living in a day dream every day lets you forget to be responsible. Maybe it’s a sort of hypersomnia while being awake?"

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LISTEN

Pan Ron - I Want To Be Your Lover

I remember listening to this song for hours to figure out the bassline, when I took off my headphones it felt as if I had just woke up and felt confused.

Pan Ron - I Want To Be Your Lover

I remember listening to this song for hours to figure out the bassline, when I took off my headphones it felt as if I had just woke up and felt confused.
The Meters - Stormy

What a groove, it makes my heartbeat slower.
Rome Sithammarat - Sao New Look

Beautiful mantra – with toy box kind of sounds, which baby wouldn’t fall a sleep with this tune?
Rundfunk Tanzorchester Leipzig - Nuit Froide (Kalte Nacht)

I don’t really feel the cold night. I am always blown away by this arrangement and the dynamic, feels like an intense sleep cycle. While writing this the song is playing in the background – goosebumps…
Cymande - Changes

It brings up the kind of feeling I get with Stormy from The Meters. For me this song always had a Khruangbin vibe.
Khruangbin - White Gloves

I remember when I saw them for the first time in Berlin, I designed the poster for their Germany tour thats why I got in contact with them after the show. We had some beers and I asked mark (guitar player) if ‘White Gloves’ was about his cat and yes I was right hahaha. It was like 1am in the morning sitting outside on a very calm Berlin night.
Extra Golden - It's Not Easy

I discovered this song like half a year ago. I was listening to some of their songs before and they were more afro beat kind of stuff. So I ordered the record and played the whole thing for the first time last year around October (I was in a weird place back then). This song popped up in-between all these fast weird African songs… it was magic, helped dealing with shit. I’ve listened to it almost every day for two months.
Cannibal Holocaust Soundtrack 02 - Adulteress' Punishment

I watched the movie when I was around 15 years old… It had a big impact on me, I’d never seen anything like it before. The soundtrack is super confusing – but this song had the biggest impact. Sleeping wasn’t that easy for me. The sound of the space drum in that track is still weird and oppressive. It’s funny that these sounds are mostly used in disco dance tracks….