Breaking Through | 6 Questions with Yore

With collaboration being the lifeblood of multi-instrumentalist and producer Callum Brown's ethereal, shoegaze-y project, we spoke to him about his influences and the importance of community.

Posted: 2 October 2020 Words: Tom Curtis-Horsfall Photos: Liza Molnar

FFO: Slowdive, Lush, Ringo Deathstarr

Living in a collective warehouse space, you'd expect to absorb a mish-mash of perspectives and persons, given the revolving door policy of residing in such a place. That's exactly how the project of multi-instrumentalist and producer Callum Brown, Yore, functions.

A member of East London's Vicious Collective, stints in psych/krautrock bands Ulrika Spacek, Mint Field and FEWS helped shaped Brown's spectral soundscapes, with recent singles 'Bon Mot' and 'Shade' coveting a 90s, ethereal shoegaze-y aesthetic, embellished by guitar hooks that bite.

Collaboration serves as the project's lifeblood, with an all-star cast of East London's subversive underground artists featuring on Yore's eponymous debut album including Dream Wife's Rakel Leifsdottir, White Flower's Katie Drew, Green Man Festival's recent Green Man Rising winner Nuha Ruby Ra, and more.

Ahead of the album's release on 4th December, we spoke to Brown about his influences, trajectory, and the importance of community.

How long have you been writing under the Yore guise?

I started Yore around 2018 so I’d say the past two years, maybe a little longer.

Which music influences you, in terms of either specific artists or genres?

I think the people I collaborate with influence me the most, being able to work with artists I admire and the ideas they bring to the table. I draw influence from projects like Gorillaz because they have quite an open door policy with collaboration and musically/conceptually it’s tricky to define by genre - that’s something I try to incorporate with Yore.

You've been a part of East London's music scene for some years now. How has this shaped your trajectory as a musician?

Well in regards to playing in bands and with other musicians, my first drum teacher told me to 'throw as much shit at the wall & see what sticks’ so I guess unknowingly I adopted that ethos. Or I found some sticky shit… Either way you can learn so much from playing with other musicians, and having an openness to different styles of music - it all comes back to your pot and suddenly you find you have a lot more tools at your disposal when making your own music.

Speaking of East London's scene, you've collaborated with local musicians on almost every track on your upcoming album. How integral is collaboration to your creative process?

Collaboration is at the heart of this project, the people I collaborate with that help shape the music and pull it in different directions - the culmination of that process is makes Yore what it is. It also gives me a platform to make music with friends and artists I love, so that’s pretty idyllic for me.

What’s your favourite local venue, and how do you think local music communities can support each other during the current crisis?

The Shacklewell Arms in Dalston is my favourite local venue, I’ve seen countless great bands there and find it’s a great melting point for meeting like-minded people. I think the best way to support local music communities is by contributing donations to music venues, buying merchandise/music directly from artists and paying for streamed shows - as a music maker, I always value people that take the time to message me, share the music or support it in some way. Artists at my level just want to get their music out to the right ears so if you like what you hear it means a lot to us when you share it! Sometimes it’s just the little things that go a long way and help people to stay positive/inspired during these strange times.

What’s the biggest lesson you've learnt as a musician so far?

Serve the song: no matter how capable you are or how big your ego is, serve the song!