Yppah, yes it's happy spelled backwards, is Joe Corrales Jr. Born in Texas, but now based out of Long Beach, California, Corrales started his musical career playing in rock bands in high school before branching out into electronic music. Signed to the heralded label Ninja Tune, he released his first album as Yppah, You Are Beautiful At All Times, in 2006. He would go on to record three more albums for the label, with 2012's Eighty One giving him his biggest audience yet. Increased attention also came from movie and television placements for his work and it is music perfectly suited to soundtrack both film and TV.
Eighty One served as my introduction to Yppah's music. As a fan and follower of electronic music, especially good downtempo, I was immediately hooked. Although you can certainly compare some of Yppah's music to peers like Emancipator, Bonobo, Tycho and Pretty Lights, what sets him apart is his emphasis on live instrumentation and mixing other styles of music into his sound. Yes, most songs are grounded in heavy, hip-hop beats, vocals are often looped and sampled, there are layers of keyboards and synths, all the elements of good downtempo electronic music, but his early rock roots shine through with his extensive use of electric guitar, bass and, in many instances, live drumming.
Sunset In The Deep End marks a new beginning for Yppah. It's his fifth album overall, but first on new label Future Archive Recordings. Four years in the making, he pulled the album's ten songs from over 60 tracks and demos to coalesce into this brilliant whole. As much as I loved Eighty One, this new album sets a new high mark in Yppah's career. The production on this album is astounding, you can hear the care and time taken to create this art. It's one of those albums that I highly recommend you give a headphone listen to so you can experience the entire journey Yppah takes you on. The ten tracks of course are to be classified as electronic music, but also draw on Yppah's influences in rock and shoegaze, with a dreamy, psychedelia for good measure.
Shaunna Heckman provides ethereal vocals on album opener "Dreams Like You", a track with a shimmering piano motif, while Ali Coyle is featured on two tracks, the soothing "Autumn Phase" and "By Then It'll Be Too Late", a journey across psychedelic, rock and electronic genres. "Pieces" showcases Corrales on the guitar with chopped up vocal samples, it's one of my favorites here as is "Shadows Climb The Wall", a wintry, chillout track stunning in its dreamy mood and beauty. "Tree Ghost" is a pulsing wonder which ends with a fury of live drumming and beats while cinematic orchestral effects build around it. Needless to say, Sunset In The Deep End is a masterwork of electronic music, my favorite album from Yppah to date, and undoubtedly one of my favorite albums of 2020, just missing the number one spot.
Favorite tracks: "Shadows Climb The Wall", "Pieces", "Tree Ghost", "Shot Into The Sun"
Sunset In The Deep End was released February 7th, 2020 on Future Archive Recordings.
Purchase Sunset In The Deep End from the Yppah Bandcamp page
Purchase Sunset In The Deep End from Amazon.com
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