Rosemount Chats With Yomi Ship Ahead of ‘Feast Eternal’ Album Launch, June 28.

Hey there, Yomi Ship! Congrats on the release of your debut album ‘Feast Eternal’! We’re stoked to host the launch on Friday 28 June at Rosemount. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the album title and the concept of a “timeless feast”?

Hi Sinead! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat and for the warm welcome 🙂 The album name “Feast Eternal”  was inspired by Japanese folklore, where if you are to eat from the hearth of yomi (land of the dead) then you no longer gain access to the world of the living. The album explores the theme of being trapped in this alternate land and is portrayed through song names and music alike. It also loosely draws influence from an RPG/adventure game type element with the subtle hint being the 3 of us included in the front cover artwork. It’s all based on a loose concept though, open to interpretation as most of our work usually is.

You’ve just completed a national tour with prog legends COG. How was that?!

COG are always amazing, both to us and to their fans. The privilege of playing alongside your idols and the added bonus of them being completely humble and respectful is not lost upon us. We soaked up the experience of that tour completely. We also had the pleasure of befriending Brisbane outfit “Kodiak Empire” who I would say are best described as – complete lads. We made a heap of new fans and sold a lot of our merch on that tour but I think the best thing about it all is getting to be treated as VIP at BIG shows, as well as (usually) having the best seats in the house for COG. 

‘Feast Eternal’ features a range of beautifully complex and interesting musical dynamics, which you describe as “ambient passages to powerful prog rock sections”. How has your sound evolved since your inception in 2016?

To be honest, I don’t really listen to the old songs often but I know for a fact whatever we’re listening to at the time has a large hand in how our recordings sound. There’s a more structured approach when it comes to songwriting and I would like to think our technical ability/comfortability of playing together has depended over the years reflecting in each subsequent release. Whatever the inspiration is behind any of the recordings, it always ends up as a big mixing pot of all our ideas and then us putting some sort of structure behind the chaos. With “Feast Eternal” in particular, we explored obscure ways to build soundscapes while still maintaining space for the “big heavy riff”.

What can our audience expect from your live launch here at Rosemount Hotel? Are there any special surprises or elements unique to this performance?

It will be our first headline show in 3 years so we’re primed and ready to go! In the past, some of our shows have included either a specialized light show or visuals but rarely both. We will be incorporating both visual elements into our live show as well as a few other goodies to help get into the vibe of the night. Hint: we have some very special merch options to choose from…..

You’re soon heading to the UK to play at the Arctangent Festival. How do you feel about this international opportunity, and what are your expectations for the festival?

It’s something you dream of, being on the same bill as many of the world’s heavyweights in music. It’s also somewhat nerve-racking at the same time aha! We’ll definitely be looking to catch up with the crew from “Delta Sleep” and we’ll have to see who else we come across over the 3 days. We’re also doing a short tour through Europe to make the most of our international trip! So very thankful to “Plini” who is giving us the opportunity to tour with them in the lead up to Arctangent. The only expectation will be the one we set ourselves, to play the best that we can and to remember to enjoy the moment. If we can come away from our international trip without much haphazard then we’ll chalk it up to a win. 

With ‘Feast Eternal’ being your debut album, what message or experience do you hope listeners take away from it?

That it takes a lot of work to make an album! Have a clear direction in mind, especially on the logistical side of things ie; deadlines and marketing. We’ve been very lucky to have a great team behind us, it hasn’t just been 3 musicians from Perth that have made this album. We hope the listener is able to appreciate the effort that went into making it possible. I personally can’t help but get emotional during some sections……but maybe it’s because I had to endure the pain of some of those sections 😋 

You’ve got some great special guests on board for the launch – Gloam, Didion’s Bible, and Moya Moya – how did you choose these artists, and what do they bring to the night?

Gloam have really been cooking up some shoegazey goodness lately and we’re here for it. I think anyone that’s a fan of ours will like Gloam, if they haven’t already heard of them. Didion’s Bible have proven themself to be a premier Perth band and with all members of the band having dipped their toes in various other projects, our paths have crossed more often than not over the years so we’re happy to have them on board. Moya Moya are the wild card – in the best possible way! I feel like more people need to see this band, we enjoy a bit of wackiness and they’re very good at it. Definitely get down early to catch all of the acts, we’ve specially curated this night to include some of our fave artists at the moment

Finally, for those who are just discovering Yomi Ship through ‘Feast Eternal,’ what do you think they should know about your music and your journey as a band?

Our overall sound and songwriting skills matures between recordings. Each time we take something away whether a negative or positive and learn from it. We push each other with ideas and with suggestions of bands to check out. It’s been 8 years and we still enjoy making music together.  “Feast Eternal” captures the most recent era of the band but the process of writing new material has already begun………..

Yomi Ship launch ‘Feast Eternal’ at Rosemount Hotel on Friday June 28. Tickets are on sale now via Oztix. For more information & tickets, head to Rosemount’s event tab.

Interview by Rosemount Hotel Programming & Communications Manager, Sinead O’Hara.