Experimental pop duo - YOVA - have unveiled an innovative mix of their new single “Dreamcatchers”, as reconfigured by Annie Hogan & Regis.
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The second offering in a series of three unique interpretations of YOVA’s latest track “Dreamcatchers”, the Annie Hogan & Regis mix puts a haunting and meditative spin on the dream-like release.
With rippling instrumentals that create a prophetic aura atop the track’s warped and windswept imagery, YOVA describe the near 8-minute reworking as “Musique concrète / ambience at its most deeply immersive. Ever so slightly disturbing - then strangely becalming".
Regis has done 2 Peel sessions and is the originator of the Birmingham sound along with Surgeon. Karl O’Connor aka Regis is a renowned electronics artist and the sole label head of legendary imprint Downwards Records for over 30 years. He has remixed many artists including Marilyn Manson, Vince Clarke and Martin Gore. Mute Records Daniel Miller cited Regis as the reason he got back into djing. He has released several solo records and is currently working on his Berlin based band Eros with Boris Wilsdorf known for his work as Einesturzende Neubauten’s studio/live sound guy.
Composer, producer, pianist and dj Annie Hogan is probably best known for her early work with Marc Almond in the 1980’s, beginning with Marc and the Mambas and culminating with her co-producing the album The Stars We Are which included a no 1 hit single. Annie has collaborated with a variety of artists including Nick Cave, Budgie, Barry Adamson, Yello, Gavin Friday, Simon Fisher Turner and more recently Kid Congo Powers, Thomas Cohen and Regis. Hogan has released a series of solo albums on Regis’ Downwards label including a Greek film soundtrack and her new LP which came out last month.
Of the new YOVA remix Annie Hogan said: “The mix was assembled in my own Studio Blue as a direct response to the song's title 'Dreamcatcher', envisioning a sort of sonic 'magical mystical forest’. The compositional elements include Jova's vocal samples, marimba, lotus flute, castanets, piano and various bells immersed in field recordings made and manipulated by Regis in the jungle in St Lucia as well as recordings from the UK countryside in Gloucestershire and Cheshire.”
The original version of “Dreamcatchers landed earlier this Autumn as the first single and title-track of YOVA’s awaited second album (set for release in early 2024).
With a pared-back and sparse opening that spirals toward a haunting choral finale, the track is “intended to be a part immersive, timeless pop anthem and part mini-requiem for a modern world where societal pressures erode our imagination and catch our dreams.”
An ode to the internal battle that often accompanies the fear of straying away from your dreams, Jova adds: “Life is such that there are always reasons to stop following one’s dreams. There are hundreds of reasons to veer off one’s path, and someone will always be waiting to catch you in their net and give you their purpose. Sometimes the internal battle can be very loud and long, hence the inner voice calling to “make up your mind”
YOVA are Jova Radevska and Mark Vernon. With Vernon a seasoned veteran of the alternative music scene who has managed and recorded with John Cale and co-produced tracks on PJ Harvey’s debut album ‘Dry’, a chance encounter with Macedonian vocalist and songwriter Jova paved the way for their bewitching collaborative project.
Their debut album ‘Nine Lives’ was released in late 2021 to praise from the likes of Louder Than War, Electronic Sound and MOJO, with the latter hailing the album as “a beguiling debut from a duo of sonic adventurers” in their four star review. The band’s video for previous single “An Innocent Man” also scooped the Best Animation Music Video at the New York Animation Awards 2022.
With new single “Dreamcatchers” arriving as the first sampler from the band’s forthcoming album of the same name, expect more news from YOVA coming soon..