“The thought of not doing this anymore became f*cking terrifying”: Why YONAKA are stronger than ever

Theresa Jarvis doesn’t exactly mince her words when she explains the mindset underpinning the next chapter of her band YONAKA.

“If this was to be the last thing we did, it needed to be the fucking best thing we’ve done,” she says. “And I really believe that it is.”

Now, don’t let that “last thing” part worry you unduly. For one, when K! catches up with Theresa – while she’s looking after her mum’s adorable dog, no less – the affable singer is brimming with excitement as her band prepares to unveil their explosive new single.

Released today, Problems is the first official taste of their yet-to-be-officially announced second album. Which is pretty crazy when you think about it, given that YONAKA have been going for over a decade. Hell, they released their debut, Don’t Wait ’Til Tomorrow, six years ago alone, and have issued a host of EPs, mixtapes and one-off singles since then but never an official follow-up… until now.

“We’ve been waiting for this,” Theresa nods. “It’s not like we didn’t want to do an album before because we did, it’s just that the timing was never right. But I’m actually so glad it never did because I don’t think we really had an album until now. The story wasn’t big enough. Divine timing is a massive thing for me – that idea that everything happens at the right time for the right reason. I’m so excited about this album – I’ve never been so proud.”

To that end, Problems delivers big time with the group – completed by George Edwards (guitar) and Alex Crosby (bass) – even pulling something of an instrumental Freaky Friday in the studio.

“George actually played the bass on this song,” Theresa reveals. “He was playing bass chords and it sounded weird but I really liked it, then Al picked up guitar for the chorus, so they both swapped instruments for a bit!”

But lurking behind this excitement about Problems is also, perhaps, a bit of relief. Here those aforementioned “last thing” words loom large. It turns out that YONAKA’s members had to really fight to pull themselves back from the brink to get here. There’s a lot to unpack, but fortunately Theresa is primed to chat.

“I’ve had, like, three coffees already this morning,” she grins, raring to go.

Let’s find out what’s been going on behind the scenes…

Going into making your second album, what questions were you all asking of yourselves as a band?
“We were on our own, we had no label, and we went through some rocky patches through the years. Lots of music was happening because we were like, ‘We need to make music,’ rather than doing it out of love. It got to a point where it was time for us to make a second album and I was like, ‘If this is the last thing we ever make, this needs to be the fucking best thing.’ I really approached it from that feeling, because you just never know what will happen. I wanted to make something incredible. And this is fucking brilliant, it’s the best we could have done. Throughout the years, there have been times when some of us won’t like something, and some of us would, and we would put it out. But I really, really love every single song on this new album. We all feel really connected to it.”

You mentioned again there about it possibly being “the last thing” you make… Were YONAKA close to breaking up at one point, and if so, what was required to turn that around to make this new record?
“We’ve been in a band for 10 years, and that’s a long time to be with anyone. You go through falling in and out of love with each other and being like, ‘I want to do this anymore. I don’t know if we’re all heading in the same direction anymore.’ We were actually doing a festival in Austria a few years ago and we spoke about that and it was weird, because obviously everyone thought, ‘We’re done, this is it.’ Then, the next day, just before we went onstage, we all felt a bit shit thinking about it. The thought of not doing this anymore became fucking terrifying. I didn’t want to let go. And we all felt like that – we were all like, ‘No, fuck that, we’re doing this!’ Then we went and had a great show and said we 100 per cent wanted to do this. It’s still a process, you can still have ups and downs, but everyone’s on the same page now.”

Do you even know who you are without this band?
“It is my life. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t going to stop. I was like, ‘I’m going full steam ahead’ (laughs).”

And YONAKA becomes a solo project!
“Yeah! Like, ‘Bye guys’ (laughs). But no, that wouldn’t work because we are a band. We all started this together, we’ll all end it together. But we are not ending this. We are stronger than ever now. And it’s so funny that it’s got to this position where we do feel this strength, because I could never have imagined it. You normally feel like you’re strongest at the beginning, and we weren’t. We’re all just learning and growing and now we’re in a place where we feel better than ever.”

Which brings us neatly to Problems. You’ve said it was the only song that could open up this new era of YONAKA – why is that specifically?
“Problems had to open up the album because this was the first song, when we wrote it, where we went, ‘Oh, this is what the album is going to be!’ It has that perfect balance of reeling you in at the beginning, when it’s just the bass and the vocal, and then hitting you with the chaos of the chorus. It felt like the perfect opener. On this new album, I’m in a position of power, I’m in control, and even though things are sometimes out of my control, I’m still leading the way in the narrative of the songs. And I’m experienced, I’m writing about love which I’ve only done one time before with YONAKA on a song called Guilty. In the past, I was so mentally unstable that the only thing I could focus on was how I felt, mentally. But I don’t want to talk about that anymore. There is one mental health song [on the new album], but apart from that, everything else is about living life and being in relationships and letting go, losing all those feelings and emotions. ”

Any idea why love is finally starting to flood into your lyrics after years of not really writing about it?
“It’s all from personal experience. It’s about how I’m feeling and it’s not all just love with a person that I’m in a relationship with. It’s friends. It’s platonic love as well. It’s losing someone that you loved. It’s being in that relationship and finding what works and what doesn’t work for you. And, ‘How is this gonna last?’ I love the line ‘love looks different for me and you’ so much because if you’re having a bad time in your relationship and you see someone else who’s literally falling head over heels, you’re just like, ‘Fuck off! I’m having a shit time!’ And the opposite can be true as well. You can see someone going through the roughest relationship and you feel so good and comfortable in yours. It’s just funny.”

You also mentioned the idea of feeling more empowered in your lyrics nowadays. What changed in you to feel that empowerment, is that just growing older, or were there specific things that happened in life?
“Both, actually. So, one is me growing into myself. I’m 33 now, and I feel like I’ve found myself now more than ever before. I was always trying before, I would wear clothes, but the clothes would wear me. I would dye my hair a million times, and nothing would quite fit me the way I most feel now. You have to fall in love with yourself. You have to feel comfortable. I’m not fully there at all, but I feel like I’m seeing myself in a different light. I was like, ‘If I just pull away all this stuff, what’s left? What is there?’ I started doing that musically as well. I don’t want to listen to loads of new songs and try to sound like other music, because that’s not me, and that’s not what I resonate with. If I sing something and say something from the heart, whether it’s ugly or beautiful, then it’s the realest thing, and that’s the best I can be. I would also say, from a mental position, I’ve done a lot of work on myself to feel like that doesn’t have to control my life as much as it used to. I’m in a whole new position now.”

You’re now signed to Distiller which means you’re officially an independent band. How are you finding that?
“Really good. We did everything ourselves before signing. Usually we’d sign and then we’d write the music, but this time, we recorded, mixed and mastered everything, a whole album, and then signed. So it feels like a really nice position to be in, because we were like, ‘This is it – hope you like it!’ We didn’t even show management what we were doing apart from Problems in the beginning. He was like, ‘I really like this,’ and we said, ‘That’s all we’re going to show you until we’re ready!’ If you show someone something, and it’s not finished, and you’re also still writing for the project, people’s opinions really get in my head. If I hear, ‘Oh, I like that, but I don’t really like that one,’ I’ll think it’s not that good. Especially when you’re creating, you’re very sensitive. I’m really, really proud of what we’ve done.”

Finally, what’s next for YONAKA beyond this single?
“Problems is just the beginning – we’ve got a big year ahead. We’ve got a tour in December with Don Broco! We might also have a spooky treat for you. We’ll also be seeing people in their areas next year. I just really can’t wait for everyone to hear the new music and to share it with everyone.”

Problems is out now via Distiller Records

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• YONAKA: “If I can share my experience and someone hears it and understands, that’s a big deal for me”