Jharis Yokley returns with "Miss You,” the thematic center of his upcoming debut LP Sometimes, Late At Night. As Jharis notes, the distorted/processed drums are an amazing dynamic touch. Yokley’s approach brings a huge surge of energy to the well-worn breakup record format. He reflects below.
“This is the song that inspired the whole album. I was very much still hung up on my ex at that time and wanted to make a song about being stuck in that place.”
“I built this song from the bass up. That bass line that you hear in the beginning was the very first thing that I played on my keyboard. I feel that it gives the track a dance feel that I love. As for the drums, originally this song had a four on the four feel but I messed around with reversing my drums and ended up with the beat you hear. The bass and distorted drums are the stars of the show to me.”
Jharis Yokley is known as a first call drummer, with a pocket full of gear endorsements and coveted touring gigs. Here, though, he steps out as a leader for the first time, and the results are 'dazzling' as per John Morrison's excellent writeup below.
Sometimes, Late At Night is new-generation music, boundaryless creative music - in the first 30 seconds a head-bobbing beat made up of stark hi-hats and electronic handclaps is suddently interrupted by a torrent of arhythmic blown out drums, which then tumbles back into a groove and leads into Jose James moody vocal take. All of this turbulence reflects the record's emotional core of loss and heartbreak (my first thought was that it was emo at heart, if not in genre), but also captures the cartoonish and playful energy that JY brings to his music. "Let Her Go" is a frenetic drum clinic, "Remedy" left turns from a pounding beat into a solo piano reverie - Japanese keyboard maestro BIGYUKI (A Tribe Called Quest, Yebba, Meshell Ndegeocello) provides a perfect foil: shifting synthesizers that mirror Jharis's manic energy and creative drive.
Sometimes, Late At Night will be released worldwide May 5, 2024.
