BBC Music, July 7, 2011

…none of [their] intellectualising really matters when you deliver an album that’s so fun, pop, and polished. Shangri-La is full of wilful abandonment, from cheap twists to knowing words: “The Earth, the Earth, the Earth is on fire / We don’t have no daughter, let the motherf***er burn” (Dystopia). But while all this plays out, the songwriting and production hold such a strong and stable role that the album never really loses its course. The drums are crisp and metronomic, the synths slug and peak against each other, and the hooks are so sharp they defy even the hardest of hearts. The title-track is so annoying it remains lodged in the mind for a week after listening. On Shangri-La YACHT have proven that no matter what the concept is, it always comes down to the music. →Read More

Los Angeles Times, June 20, 2011

YACHT has said that it recorded Shangri-La in a more professional setting than it did See Mystery Lights, and indeed the new album offers plenty of top-shelf headphone fodder. Check out, for instance, the delicious way an ascending backing-vocal part contrasts with a descending electric-piano riff near the end of “I Walked Alone.” Yet it’s not the exquisite crispness of YACHT’s bass lines that makes Shangri-La so appealing (though that certainly doesn’t hurt). Rather, it’s the band’s knack for giving weighty ideas the lighthearted gift of groove. →Read More

SPIN, June 2011

This mantra-happy Portland dance duo continually stress that they’re not posing as a cult. But the duo’s new album presents itself as a bid to inspire followers who then will go on to build a better world through the power of “self-actualization” and irresistible grooves. On Shangri-La, YACHT add sinewy live instrumentation to their previously chilly electro, and when frontwoman Claire Evans, possessed of Kim Gordon’s cool authority and Annie’s playfulness, espouses her utopian “belief system,” the bubblegum beats make it easy to buy into the philosophizing. →Read More

Les Inrockuptilbles, July 21, 2011

Dans le fond, Shangri-La s’inspire de concepts plus ou moins abscons et contestables (crise de l’utopie, paradis renouvelable…) et contient, selon les dires du groupe, une chanson “de combat postapocalyptique” – Dystopia (the Earth Is on Fire)… Dans sa forme, Shangri-La est surtout une folle entreprise à danser, à rire, à croire en demain. On pense souvent à la machine redoutable de James Murphy, mais une machine de Murphy rigolarde et psychédélique, avec des éléments de Yeasayer, des Rythmes Digitales, de Hot Chip, de Gonzales, de Blur, des Talking Heads ou de Metronomy dedans.

Moderne et passionnante (Love in the Dark), tribale et joueuse (Holy Roller), pop et chorale (Beam Me up), démente (Paradise Engineering) ou romantique (Shangri-La), la musique de YACHT est une drogue légale, un antidépresseur imparable, une leçon de songwriting savant appris chez Brian Eno. →Read More

Consequence of Sound, June 20, 2011

With Shangri-La, YACHT takes us away from this crumbling, radiation-leaking, bomb-launching reality on a fuck-all magical mystery tour of chimerical musical landscapes laden with beguiling beats and sparkling synthesizers that leave us dancing in the face of doom. →Read More

Tiny Mix Tapes, August 2011

Thematically, then this is clearly a concept album, but the concept itself is a little nebulous —- we deal with utopia (the eponymous Shangri-La) and dystopia, though contrary to possible expectations we’re spared the ubiquitous Spector of girl group revivals that the title might seem to promise. Modernity is present in oblique references to the ambitions and failures of the eco-scientific project in the industrial age (“Paradise Engineering”). Unlike the individual utopia of Walden and its communal echo, however, there is no sense of a Romantic rejection of technology per se, though the notes sounded in the direction of techne are clearly suspicious. In enunciating this complexity (not to say, at times, conceptual unintelligibility), we may see it as following in the tradition of negative liberty running from Kant and Hegel through Isaiah Berlin, extolling a utopia that is not utopian.→Read More

The New York Times, August 3, 2009 / CRITICS’ CHOICE; New CDs

Jona Bechtolt is the chief heretic behind YACHT and a remix specialist with a canny knack for concept. (The band’s name originated as an acronym for Young Americans Challenging High Technology.) His previous albums were solo projects, but here he teams up with Claire L. Evans, an artist and writer from his hometown, Portland, Ore. Their partnership works easily: on a starkly funky track called ”I’m in Love With a Ripper” Mr. Bechtolt sings the verse and Ms. Evans sings the chorus, along with a mock-confessional coda. (”I got told to marry a doctor,” it begins.) On ”Summer Song,” which rides a disco beat, their voices blend into an echoing, androgynous whole. →Read More

Pitchfork.com / August 5 2009 / BEST NEW MUSIC

Regardless of influence or intent…See Mystery Lights is a triumph. It’s a feel-good album for an era that could use a little happiness, a sweaty collection of heady, hedonistic tunes just in time for the hottest days of the year. And the best part is that one spin of this wily, sunny disc will be able to transport you back to summer vacation any day of the year. →Read More

Rolling Stone / July 9 2009 / ★★★½

For YACHT’s fourth album (and first for dance label DFA), the brainy duo — hot-shit remixer Jona Bechtolt and singer/science writer Claire Evans — holed up in a thrown-together studio in rural West Texas and ended up with what might be their breakthrough record. Both melodic and fashionably electro, See Mystery Lights runs precisely programmed digital ear candy through a Talking Heads-ish art-pop sensibility, tossing in congas, Afropop chords and loads of synth squiggles. Bechtolt and Evans get credit for truth in advertising: The throbbing singalong “Summer Song” will sound killer bumping from ad-hoc porch discos during the coming months.

Entertainment Weekly / August 5 2009 / A-

This super-arty Portland duo says its new album was inspired by the mysterious illuminations observable after dark over Marfa, Tex. But judging by the party starting indie-electro jams here, those nighttime lights might simply be the distant glimmer of a disco ball. See Mystery Lights’ ”The Afterlife” and ”Psychic City (Voodoo City)” both throb with humid jungle-boogie grooves, while ”I’m in Love With a Ripper” turns a sly T-Pain reference into a percolating future-soul workout reminiscent of Michael Jackson-era Quincy Jones. Brainy and block-rocking rarely coexist like this. →Read More

Nylon Magazine / January 15 2010 / BAND CRUSH

One part LCD Soundsystem-style disco-punk, one part C86 basement party, the Portland duo’s supercharged album is full of blissed-out anthems about resisting fear and living the hell out of life. But if See Mystery Lights sounds like a sermon, its warped-thump basslines and pitter-patter drum machines were only built for worship at the altar of the dance floor. →Read More

BBC Music / August 24 2009

Given its backing by DFA (a label distributed by EMI), See Mystery Lights will, for many, provide an introduction to the world of YACHT. On that basis, it’s a great starting point: accessible and enjoyable but lacking none of the individuality and ingenuity of Bechtolt’s previous work, it’s a record that’s engaging, inspiring and, most of all, an awful lot of fun.→Read More

Billboard Magazine / July 4 2009

The result of YACHT’s mystic recording process is a sophomore effort stuffed with dreamy pop tracks that sound like artifacts from another planet. “See Mystery Lights” thrives on unique song templates, from the gospel-infected opener, “Ring The Bell” to the gleeful strut of the single “Psychic City (Voodoo City).”

The Guardian / August 30 2009

High-minded zeal doesn’t prevent them making brilliant electro-pop. Laptop wizard Jona Bechtolt is joined by Claire L Evans, whose deadpan delivery of mantras such as the eight-minute “It’s Boring/You Can Live Anywhere You Want” proves as hypnotic as it is ecstatic. Their online manifesto insists they’re not a cult, but with sounds like these they wouldn’t be short of devotees.→Read More

Tinymixtapes.com / 2007

What a joy it is…to hear “So Post All ‘Em,” the first track off I Believe in You. Your Magic is Real. from YACHT (a.k.a. Jona Bechtolt, the producer-half of The Blow). Breezy guitar samples bounce alongside percussive handclaps and squirmy horns, all layered into a compact pop confection. →Read More

Stylus Magazine / May 15 2007

Jona Bechtolt is an amiable fellow, evident from the opening seconds of his solid second release from Marriage Records. The pitter-patter guitar loop of opener “So Post ‘Em All” is just the kind of delicacy one would expect from the robust beat-maker of the Blow’s fine 2006 release Paper Television: here is where YACHT strikes out with his most definitive and personal album, its ruminations, advice-givings, and shout-outs making the work one of the most cheerful, inclusive solo releases in the genre. →Read More

Exclaim Magazine / June 2007

It’s the dichotomy between different styles and the play between popular and independent culture that make I Believe in You one of the most interesting albums so far this year. YACHT is the full-time project of the Blow’s Jona Bechtolt and it’s here he plays more with production, dance and crossing the popular with the synth. The jolting rhythm and vocals of opening track “So Post ‘Em All” bring to mind the childlike tribal simplicity of Animal Collective but Bechtolt quickly changes pace with “See a Penny (Pick it Up),” which opens with an infectious bass line that could cosy up to anything Timbaland has recently touched. “We’re always Waiting” couples a familiar beat with a lo-fi synth to create the anti-office version of “My Humps.” The best ode to the anti-genre, however, is the closing track, in which Bechtolt turns Jim O’Rourke’s Bachrachian “Women of the World” into thrash metal. Magic. →Read More

Consequence of Sound / November 20 2011

The show was about the present, the parody of fate, of the fact that the passages of time, space, emotion, happiness, love, and music are not predestined but simply happen.

And there is a beauty to this, a beauty that is articulated in every gyration, lurch, stumble, and scream made by Evans. Their music has evolved since Bechtolt’s solo project in 2004, Super Warren MMIV, to this year’s Shangri-La, possibly one of the more original and influential compositions of the year. YACHT’s music is good, and it only gets better, but experiencing a live concert by the band is literally seeing its creators depict and revolutionize their music like it’s never been done in the past and will never occur again in the future. Every experience is unique, a particle of time — and that’s exactly how YACHT wants it.

If at the end of YACHT’s performance you feel energized, inspired, and ecstatic, then the band feels that they have accomplished their primary duty. But if you leave understanding something more, perhaps that we are all connected and conducive of one another, then through your life you begin to live and learn the philosophy of Evans and Bechtolt.→Read More

This is Fake DIY / July 26 2011

“You’re fit!” swoons a girl in a bra at the foot of the stage. She’s directing the compliment towards female vocalist Claire L. Evans but in truth it could just as easily have been for her counterpart Jona Bechtolt. This is a very attractive band. And not just in looks.

And as the sodden crowd depart the good ship YACHT there’s a buzz in the air – an enjoyment, a satisfaction and a loyalty which acts to confirm that after nearly ten years these Young Americans Challenging High Technology have well and truly found their niche and, in London at least, it’s plain sailing from here on in.→Read More

Los Angeles Times / August 30 2010

YACHT’s droll, artier opening take on ESG’s downtown punk-funk called the shot for the night — even a restless, ambitious genre such as electronica has a long history to cull from and make new again. →Read More

Pitchfork.com / March 21 2010

YACHT’s Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans fed off of their faithful’s energy, preening about like big time pop stars with synchronized dance moves and dramatic gestures. They were total naturals, elevating See Mystery Lights numbers like “It’s Boring/You Can Live Anywhere You Want”, “The Afterlife”, and “Summer Song” into pop spectacles. The duo’s stage banter was peppered with their trademark new agey musings; at one point, they asked how we were all holding up during SXSW, making the distinction between our “physical bodies” and our “spiritual selves.” The ecstatic crowd ate it all up. By the time “Psychic City” closed the set, the outdoor space felt at least 20 degrees warmer. →Read More

The Stranger / March 21 2010 / BEST SHOW

They walked on to Giorgio Moroder’s “The Chase,” then slowed the track down and launched into “Ring the Bell” then “It’s Boring/You Can Live Anywhere You Want,” which became a crowd-pleasing, pogo-inducing sing-along. “Summer Song” and “Psychic City (Voodoo City)” were obvious highlights, the latter a little premature for the oddly chilly weather but still breezy and bouncy and fun, the latter that undeniable bass groove and chant alternating with Claire L. Evans’ sweet verses. Towards the end of the set, they announced that since this was their last show at SXSW, there would need to be a ceremonial cutting of the wristbands—what would a YACHT show be without a ritual, after all? →Read More

SF Weekly / May 28 2010

When YACHT takes the stage, I realize everything I’ve heard about the band is true. Each detail of their visual presentation is thoughtful and dynamic. Bechtolt wears a white suit. Evans wears all black. He is light, she is dark. They are ying and yang; good and evil; black and white. Members of the opening band, Bobby Birdman, wear tuxedos and round out the band on guitar and drums. There is synchronized crowd-waving, PowerPoint, and audience Q&A, and the electric-pop duo is commanding and charismatic the entire time. They have us under their influence and they know it. →Read More

NPR.org / March 20 2010

I loved YACHT, and always find them to be funny and entertaining and good players. Their music is an irony-filled, disco-infused version of Talking Heads — sort of. And while the band’s theatrics may be an acquired taste, after seeing a number of bands that couldn’t give a damn about their audience, it was fun to see a group engaging those that came to see them. →Read More

NME / March 14 2008

Launching into the first track, Bechtolt went on a destructive rampage around the stage, literally climbing the walls to precariously stand on speaker stacks that overlooked the street. Leaping back to the stage, Bechtolt then started throwing mike and keyboard stands around, and then picked up a beer bottle lying on the floor.Throwing it against the drum kit, the bottle bounced off a cymbal and flew into the street, one storey below.

No injuries were reported.

→Read More…

“Evans is one of the most striking performers I’ve seen in a rock band.”
— Bob Boilen, All Songs Considered/NPR

“Claire Evans — possessed of Kim Gordon’s cool and Annie‘s playfulness.”
— SPIN

“Precisely programmed digital ear candy”
— Rolling Stone

“The most exciting avant-garde outfit to flourish since The Knife”
— NME

“They make you want to dance”
— The Guardian

“A blazing pop package… genius”
— Dazed and Confused

“Their music is artisanal cotton candy: one part Tom Tom Club, one part Yoko Ono”
— The New Yorker

“Dancing and thinking at the same time—that’s their thing”
— The Village Voice

“The energy they brought, the aerobic choreography, the propelling beats, and the catchy repetitive mantras were irresistible”
— Vanity Fair

“A more modern take on Suicide, Sonic Youth, Bush Tetras and ESG”
— Variety

“DFA’s weirdest band”
— CMJ

“Don’t miss the boat on YACHT”
— The FADER

“Being indie rock’s Timbaland ain’t easy”
— VIBE Magazine

ATTENTION! YACHT is shorthand for “Young Americans Challenging High Technology.” Being an acronym, YACHT is written with full capitalization. Just as “FBI” and “CIA” looks ridiculous without proper capitalization (Fbi, Cia), so Yachtis unacceptable, even if your style guide recommends otherwise.

To reiterate: YACHT is to be written in all capital letters in all instances. This applies to both print and digital features, articles, interviews, album and performance reviews, calendar listings, blog and journal entries, photo captions, tags, descriptions, and titles.

The word “yacht” out of this proper context refers to commodity fetishism and an advanced capitalist culture that YACHT has prided itself in avoiding since its conception.

JONA BECHTOLT Born in Madison, Wisconsin, on December, 2 1980. Son of Warren Bechtolt and Karen Sagen. Grew up in Astoria, Oregon. Dropped out of high school to play drums in punk bands; earned a GED credential from the Clatsop Community College in 1997.

Subjects of Interest: persisting in the eternal search for oblivion, achieving total self-consciousness, penetrating light years in a fraction of a second.

Above all things, Author Number One of YACHT. Originated (in 2002) the metaphysical and corporate management structures which have given YACHT years of sustained growth, conceptual force, and stable leadership.

Truncated C.V.

• 1980 Born
• 2002 Founded YACHT
• 2003 Performance, The Showering Dragons, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, TBA Festival
• 2006 Performance, Fine Print, MoMA PS1
• 2006 Performance, Craptops vs Laptops, Rhizome at the New Museum, New York
• 2006 Performance, We Love A Computer, The Kitchen, New York
• 2007 Tour, North America with LCD Soundsystem
• 2007 Tour, Australian & Europe with Architecture in Helsinki
• 2008 Tour, North America with Vampire Weekend
• 2008 Presentation, Pecha Kucha Night, Oslo, Norway
• 2009 Panelist, Free Culture: Creating Copyright and Copyright Creation, University of Oregon
• 2009 Commission, Marfa Ring, Rhizome at the New Museum
• 2009 Tour, North America with Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• 2010 Group Exhibition, Unspecific Objects, Thierry Goldberg Projects, New York
• 2010 Tour, Europe with LCD Soundsystem
• 2010 Performance, Hollywood Bowl, with The Chemical Brothers
• 2007-Present Remix Work for: Neon Indian, Phoenix, Kings of Leon, Wolfmother, Miami Horror, Kumisolo, RATATAT, Stereolab, Noah and the Whale, Architecture in Helsinki, The Superions, Mirah, The Blow, Tussle, Glasser, Lucky Dragons, Bobby Birdman.

CLAIRE L EVANS Born in Swindon, UK, on November 21 1984. Daughter of Colin and Rosine Evans. Attended elementary schools in the Paris banlieue and graduated Cum Laude from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, in 2006. Played in noise bands in the LA underground. Has since been a professional science writer and artist.

Truncated C.V.

• 1984 Born
• 2006 Graduated from Occidental College, Cum Laude
• 2006 Performance, Fine Print, MoMA PS1
• 2006 Performance, We Love A Computer, The Kitchen, New York
• 2007 Residency, Espy Foundation, Oysterville, WA
• 2007 Performance, The History of the Universe, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, TBA Festival
• 2008 Joined YACHT
• 2008 Tour, North America with Vampire Weekend
• 2009 Commission, Marfa Ring, Rhizome at the New Museum
• 2009 Screening, The History of the Universe in 60 Seconds, Brooklyn International Film Festival
• 2009 Panelist, Free Culture: Creating Copyright and Copyright Creation, University of Oregon
• 2009 Commission, Rhizome.org Writer’s Initiative
• 2009 Tour, North America with Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• 2010 Group Exhibition, After Image, School 33 Art Center, Baltimore
• 2010 Tour, Europe with LCD Soundsystem
• 2010 Screening, Six Easy Steps to Avert the Collapse of Civilization, The Long Now Foundation
• 2010 Group Exhibition, Engaging the False Mirror, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
• 2010 Panel/Discussion, Is There Life Out There?, BRAINWAVE, Rubin Museum of Art, New York
• 2010 Performance, Hollywood Bowl, with The Chemical Brothers
• 2005-Present Freelance Journalism for: Portlandia, SEED Magazine, Seattle-Post Intelligencer, io9.com, Rhizome.org, GOOD Magazine, Willamette Week, L.A. Alternative, Flaunt Magazine, The Fader, Venus Zine, Bitch Magazine, Imbibe Magazine, PDX Magazine.

Subjects of Interest: communicating the incommunicable, employing paradox, science fiction, desiring to know the importance or insignificance of existence.

Became a Permanent Member of YACHT in 2008 and provides a vigorous counterpart of Darkness to Bechtolt’s Light.

YACHT on Wikipedia

Learn about Bobby Birdman Learn about Jeffrey Jerusalem Learn about Katy Davidson

“YACHT IN THE USA”

Photo by Alin Dragulin

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SHANGRI-LA TOUR ADMAT

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LOGOS & TYPE

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“Utopian Vision”

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“Utopian Vision Alt. 1″

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“Utopian Vision Alt. 2″

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“Smiley Faces”

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“THE STRAIGHT GAZE”

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“SPIRITUAL RETREAT”

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