FUNK-SOUL AND RNB 7 PIECE ‘YUKA’ DROPS ‘DREAMSCAPE’ AND YOU CAN LISTEN TO IT HERE AND CHECK OUT OUR CHAT BELOW ALL ABOUT IT.

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What are your names? 
Claire Doyle – Vocals
James Taylor – Guitar
Patric McGroarty – Trumpet
Ben MacDonald – Tenor Saxophone
Todd Pentney – Keys
Scott McCannell – Bass
Santino de Villa – Drums

What is the band’s name?
YUKA

How did you come up with the band’s name?
I was teaching ESL long ago, and everyone was coming up with band names.  That one seemed to stick.

What is your genre of music?
Funk/Soul/R&B

Give us a little bio about you.
Though deeply entrenched in the classic soul sounds of Stax Records (Memphis) and Motown (Detroit), YUKA brings a fresh, contemporary twist to the genre with original repertoire and innovative arrangements of well-known funk and pop standards. 

Are you signed?
Independent

You released your new album ‘Dreamscape’, tell us more about the album.
Dreamscape is our new baby, forged in two different studios, captured on gritty reel-to-reel.  Lots of song collaborations, band insight that helped fine-tune sections and arrangements.  This our first full-length feature for Claire and she kills it.  I think we’re starting to identify with a sound, but maybe that will all change.  

What is the meaning behind the album?
Dreamscape.  No concept here, maybe some imagery from the title track could hint at some meaning.

Describe each track in two words.
Ruins – Laid-back Vibes
Lyin’ – Strutting Falsehoods
Women It’s Time – Feminists Funk
Outta Love – Soul Sermon
Untrue – Parlour Pre-amble
Grey Door – 70’s Crime
No One else – Light-hearted Soul
Change – Toothy Ballad
Shade – Sassy Funk
Dreamscape – Jazz Journey
Fence – Swampy Funk

What was the writing process like?
Some songs were fully-formed ideas before I brought them to the band and only required a little tweaking.  Other songs were more collaborative, and everyone put their stamp on them. Scott brought some tunes, Claire brought some lyrics, a definite team effort.

What was the recording process like?
Pretty straight ahead I would say.  We did rhythm section tracks live off the floor and ending up using Claire’s “ghost” vocals because they sounded so good.  Then we did a bunch of Overdubs to fill stuff out with some great guest artists.

Who did you work with on the album?
Eric Woolston, Yvo Moire, Johanna Mohammed, Chynna Lewis, RJ Sathithananithan, Anthony Rinaldi, and Juan Carlos Medrano all added some great musical contributions.

Listen to Dreamscape

Will we see a music video for any of the tracks?
We have two on YouTube right now!  Hopefully, another one coming soon.

Do you have any shows coming up? 
We’re playing 3030 in Toronto on November 29th.

What else can we expect in 2019?
More shows, more new songs, more t-shirt designs, some mugs?

Do you have any collaborations coming up with any upcoming artists?
Not at the moment, but definitely something we’d be into.  They could contact us on our Instagram or Facebook page.

Do you play any instruments?
Yes.

 

How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Swallowing sadness.

Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
More music.

When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
Sports, cooking, long sunset walks.

What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
Still waiting for that.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians, not about the industry and just as an artist?
Art is worthwhile.

When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget? 
amp/guitar/pedals/cables/pic

Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

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