With the music scene ‘going virtual,’ Salford’s genre-fluid duet Yaang have been busy honing their craft in preparation for exciting releases to come.
Davey Moore and Oliver Duffy, the vibrant twosome that make up YAANG, have just released their latest single Security Dave.
“Security Dave is the personification of the mindset I had to use when working as a security guard, I had to be a completely different person,” explained Davey.
“I had to tell alcohol fuelled sted head’s to be good boys while getting lectured about the lack of polish on my boots. I wasn’t very good at being a security guard, but it was interesting to watch people’s behaviour.”
Security Dave is complete with an innovative Street Fighter influenced video which follows the lyrics of the track. Harry Green and Malcolm George have helped Yaang with their unique creation.
Oliver says: “The video is probably the most ambitious thing we’ve done yet, we took our time with it and it’s amazing to have it out.”
Davey wrote the lyrics for the tune while skiving work in the bathroom of Belle Vue dog racing track. “Every shift I’d watch pensioners give away their pensions, parents ignore their children as they’re close to ripping each other’s heads off and the occasional ‘geezer’ deciding to run around the racetrack.”
Neither Davey or Oliver are originally from Salford, but they met studying music at the University and have both said the city has been a great influence on them as musicians.
“I’m a council house kid from Tunstall so Salford is like a home away from home.” Davey states, “there are so many characters here to take inspiration from. I like to focus on real people, real situations and the feeling associated with them.”
Oliver added, “coming from the middle of nowhere in Northamptonshire to live somewhere as influential as Salford has opened my mind culturally and creatively, there’s just infinitely more stuff going on.”
As the list of great artists in Salford seems to be endless, Yaang try to look out for their fellow bands in the area. “We’ve made some great friends gigging around Manchester and Salford, artists like Porij, Look Busy, Paryah, Leisure Theory and Twin Complex.
“So many more come to mind, Blanketman, Mealtime, Velvet Shakes, Julia Bardo, Loose Articles, All Girls Arson Club, Nile Marr, Yang Sweeps. We are lucky to be in an area where so many people are doing cool stuff.”
If Davey and Oliver could invest in Salford’s music scene, they would put money into renovating some of the beautiful industrial buildings that have been left dormant.
“They would make a killer venue, studio, creative space hybrid. Imagine that. Those buildings have so much history and so does the Salford music scene and I’d like to revive both.”
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in massive changes across the global music scene. Bands on major labels will have had an extensive help in managing these changes, whereas grassroots artists like Yaang have had to adapt themselves with help from their tightknit team.
Davey says: “It’s weird. Music is being made but we are missing gigs and social interaction. I can’t wait to get back on stage whenever that will be but right now it’s not possible or responsible.”
“We’re working on some virtual stuff, perhaps some DJ sets or something like that,” Oliver added. “I was on PVA’s zoom DJ set the other day and it was so much fun, definitely a different vibe to a live stream gig, you don’t lose as much energy and it’s just less formal, people need to just cut loose in the kitchen every now and again.”
Described as genre-fluid, Yaang use musical non-conformity to indulge in creative freedom, not letting themselves get boxed into a specific sound.
“All I’m saying is that if you consciously label yourself then you’re confining yourself to a genre that someone else decided the rules of,” says Oliver. “Genre is dead, do what you want.”
Yaang were chosen to play at Bluedot Festival in 2019 along with some of their heroes, including New Order and Kraftwerk. “I remember getting the email asking us to play and almost deleting it thinking it was a scam email. Soon as I realised it was real, I rang Davey and we just hyperventilated at each other.”
“We’ll never forget it, we had our rockstar moment playing on the same bill as our heroes and packing out the tent.”
In addition to Security Dave, the duet has promised us there are exciting things to come from the band in 2021, with their nuanced and mysterious style.
“We’re always working on the next thing and just trying to make each song and video better than the last. Next year should hopefully reflect that.”
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