Profile: Wonders of the Yukon
Whilst their name might suggest otherwise, Wonders of the Yukon hail from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Their sound has been described as ‘folk-noir’ - according to the band, they “aim to combine the darker side of American culture with our Northern England sensibility”.
Andy Campbell and Dave Langdale met through their wives, who are old school friends. The duo bonded over “a shared sense of black humour and an ability to laugh at the futility of our midlife angst”, which manifests itself in their music as “guitars drenched in reverbs and tremolos, multi layered vocals, prominent melodies and harmonies”.
Interestingly, neither Dave or Andy have been singers in the past, but their voices are a perfect match for the atmospheric, soothing quality to their tracks.
As for the impact of Wakefield on their sound, Wonders of the Yukon told us that their songs “reflect the comfort and terror of midlife, and therefore the impact of the city on our everyday family life must play a part in that.” They describe Wakefield as a “small post-industrial city which very much lives in the shadows of much larger neighbours like Leeds and Sheffield. As such it lacks that pizzazz and vibrancy that bigger cities have and projects something of a melancholic vibe”, which permeates into their work. There is also a sense of escapism to their songs, which the band joke “might stem from us longing after more salubrious climes!”
Wonders of the Yukon’s influences are far-reaching - Dave cites the first band he saw live, These Animal Men, and Andy “Joy Division, New Order, Kraftwerk, Brian Eno and Iggy Pop”, as well as “a whole plethora of great 70s funk and soul music” from his days working in a record shop in his early 20s. The band’s inspiration is certainly not limited to music, though - “We’re both big fans of the Scandi-Noir genre — both books and TV and films. Jo Nesbo, Arne Dahl, Stieg Larsson, The Killing, The Bridge. And then there’s the movies from the ’70s; Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Kubrick, Apocalypse Now, The Shining, Man Who Fell to Earth.” Their diverse interests are reflected in their multi-faceted sound.
Their new track ‘Rachel’ is inspired in part by the current situation - “the spark really came from the sense of escapism that everyone seems to need at this time. The ultimate escapism would be leaving the planet. It got us thinking about if an alien landed on Earth at the moment what would it think seeing everyone walking around wearing masks? [...] We all feel a bit alienated from each other anyway and that feeling of alienation really made us think. You can read it as a simple love story, but the question to consider is who or what is the love interest. Temptress or township … everybody needs a Rachel.”
As for plans for the rest of the year, the band told us “We’ve got at least 2 further single releases planned for this year, probably in the early summer and Autumn. Both of these songs are recorded and good to go. We’re also going to be playing a live streaming gig during the summer to coincide with the next release. We’re playing this gig at Northern Guitars in Leeds. This is the first of what we hope will be a number of live performances over the remainder of the year once the country starts to open back up again. Also, it’s worth checking out our social media streams and YouTube page as we plan to record live acoustic versions of both our upcoming releases and back catalogue.”
Words: Rosie Crabbe