“Kings of sound” - this is what their fans call them. The Swiss group Yello is an outstanding figure in the world history of the development of electronic style new-wave. It appeared in the 67th year of the last century thanks to the composer Boris Blanc, who from the beginning simply recorded his own game (just do not laugh) on household items. As Lewis Carroll wrote, “the madmen of all are smarter”, which is very close to the truth, given that all geniuses are “a bit of that.”
Story
Once a talented guy met sound engineer Carlos Peron, who appreciated the uniqueness of Boris’s creative discoveries. Then, finally, their own recording studio was equipped. In 78th, friends went to San Francisco to get acquainted with The Residents, whose work was an example for them. Then they returned to their homeland, where they met with Dieter Mayer, the third member of the Yello group. The new acquaintance was a man with a rich past: he came from a family of great wealth; Dad married him to an aristocrat, and the guy ran away from home to live the way he wants. Having escaped from the “golden cage”, Dieter went to the journalists, after which he began to write children's books, besides he managed to work as a director and participate in the Swiss national golf team.
Debut
Mayer became the last cog in this trio design, and in the 80s, with the help of the American label Ralph, the world was presented with the first full-length album of the Yello group called Solid Pleasure! It contained pretty catchy tracks: Bostich, Eternal Legs and Night Flanger, and the comic Coast to Polka and Downtown Samba. The music clearly influenced by Jean-Michel Jarre, Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream.
A year later, Claro Que Si was released, which was technically more mature.
Even then, the Yello group established itself as masters of sept-art, sending listeners on a galactic journey through the sound universe. Inquisitive critics could not help but notice that the lyrics are teeming with all sorts of bright characters - fatal women, Interpol employees, desperate racers and other heroes of our time.
Popularity
The following vinyl, You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess, brought the group worldwide fame and was liked even by scrupulous and meticulous music critics. The songs of the band Yello Lost Again and I Love You took the top lines of the charts, and a word game against the background of electronic music immersed the audience in a special atmosphere. The number of fans grew exponentially, as the album sold well.
Change
The form was and remained the leader of the "Yellow", so it was he who dictated the conditions to the other members of the group. Carlos Peron was tired of being under constant pressure of someone else's authority, so he left the team. In the new Stella album, the music of the band Yello began to play with new colors, but not at all because the composition has changed somewhat. It just occurred to Blanca to record a CD featuring good old instruments and a female voice. The sound was quite sophisticated and at the same time lively and energetic. The percussionist Beat Ash and guitarist Chico Hublas added colors to the music of electronic engineers, and viscous, like honey, compositions proved to the world that Yello is not only a disco “tyts-tyts” for jerking limbs. Then came the album The New Mix in One Go 1980-1985, which included recycled hits from previous years.
One second
The new vinyl was recorded with Shirley Bassey and Billy Mackenzie (ex-Associates) and, according to authoritative critics, is the best offspring of the "Yellow" for all time of existence. Apparently, the musicians themselves were of the same opinion, so all subsequent work was based on the concept of One Second.
New trend
The subsequent 88th album, Flag, was an easy return to its roots, but various elements of the latest genres were added. Probably due to this, The Race song is firmly entrenched at the tops of world charts. In the title track of Tied Up, a guitar in the style of Santana sounds, against the background of which an explosive sound wave flavored with bongs is rampant. Vocal in many songs tells of sophisticated romance, giving way to a soulful play of black and white keys, and in some places one can hear the strumming of the Russian balalaika and the singing of Don Cossacks. In addition, at times, tunes of African peoples appeared in the compositions, which made the sound even more unique.
Good times
At the beginning of the new decade, musicians were actively working on creating soundtracks for the comedy "Nuns on the Run", so the fun songs from the film belong to the Yello group. Albums of these years sound in the standard and well-established format of "Yellow", and there are not enough new elements in them. At the same time, several vinyls with remixes were released and there were works on creating music for films.
Several unremarkable albums and new versions of old hits followed in the 2000s, as well as recordings with musicians such as Til Brenner, Heidi Happy, Dorothy Oberlinger and Beat Ash. The last album called Toy was released on September 30, 2016, and on October 28 a large-scale event took place - the group gave a live concert, for the first time in the history of Yello.