Yard Act respond to Elton John endorsement: “He’s an incredible songwriter”
"It could have been someone we weren’t actively fans of, which would have been awkward"
By Nick Reilly
Yard Act say they’re keen on an unlikely collaboration with Elton John, after the music icon praised the Leeds newcomers.
The post-punk outfit were praised by John in a recent interview with NME, when he said: “It’s that kind of talking with the music behind it – Channel Tres does that a little bit: he mixes hip-hop and talking with electronic music, and it’s a different ballgame…”
“I can’t do it, but I love it and I wonder how they do it. There’s a lot of that on the album.”
And in a new interview for Rolling Stone UK’s second issue, Yard Act say the love-in is very much a mutual affair.
“I’m just really glad it was someone whose music we all genuinely love. It could have been someone we weren’t actively fans of, which would have been awkward. But he’s just an incredible songwriter and I have a huge amount of respect for the time he spends listening to new music and chasing new talent,” said lead singer James Smith.
Offering their services for a team-up, Smith added: “I’ve said I want him to give Bernie Taupin a few weeks off so I can just do the lyrics for his next album. I’m hoping we get to meet him. I’m happy to put him on the guest list for any gig — put that in the article in the hope he reads it and knows he’s always welcome.”
It comes as they prepare to release debut album ‘The Overload’ in January 2022, which received a five star review in Rolling Stone UK’s latest issue.
Describing the album’s oft-surreal lyrics, Smith added: “I’ve always done it in my writing, juxtaposing the surreal with the mundane. But it’s tangible; it’s not abstract and it’s a good way of explaining where you are, but not predicting where you can go,” Smith explains.
“I don’t feel the need to just sell who I am explicitly as my style of writing. For me there has to be that element of keeping things vague enough that I’m not predicting where things will go.”
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