YouNoGoDie

Interview by Natalie Ktena
Photoshoot by Matthew Spalding



Derby boys YouNoGoDie have been on the scene for a while now but did you know that these Fela Kuti lovers are Peter Andre fans who can explain the death of Kurt Cobain? We found this out and more when we caught up with them last month…

So for those of us who don't know you, can you etch a bit of your story?
YNGD: Well, we met in late 2003 on a Derby music forum. Some of us already knew each other through school and stuff. Nav was in another band that have since turned into In Flight Programme, and Chris and Martin used to be in a band called Lacid who were more like Cable. We then got our record deal with Stressed Records. Phil (label owner) was looking for bands to put on the Stressed Records compilations that he puts out at the same time as we were trying to record an album.

Do you see yourselves as very much a Derby band?
YNGD: Yes definitely. We're all born and bred in Derby. We really love it, there's a real sense of community here. We're really good friends with tons of bands. But the scene has sort of taken a dive recently because promoters have stopped promoting certain nights.

Are you not going to sell up and move to London?
YNGD: No way are we moving to London. There is no need - we can do what we want to do with Derby as our centre. Fifteen years ago no one gave a fuck about Manchester, and then a few bands later it was all over the place. Really, it's all about the level you want your band to succeed on. It's about whether you care about a decent turn out at a gig or if you want to be on the main stage at Reading. As long as people enjoy themselves at our gigs we don't really care about all that shit. We're quite happy to be successful on the national underground as opposed to being mainstream. You have bands that go to London, follow all the record companies about and once they've been rejected by them all, change their name, their style of music, and start again. These are people trying to fool people. We're not trying to fool anyone, we're just trying to find people who like our kind of music.

Where does your name come from?
YNGD: Ah.. Fela Kuti. It's from a song by Fela Kuti - we're all big fans. People usually get confused and think that we're, like, some sort of heavy mental band when it's actually quite a peaceful name.

So is it like a homage to your influence then?
YNGD: No, we picked it more cos it's just a cool name. The band existed for six months without a name and then we had this gig and so had to pick a name really fast, so we just randomly read that and liked it.

What was recording your first album like?
YNGD: It was really stressful. It was all really DIY, 85% of it was recorded in Martin's basement (Martin runs his own recording company and has recorded for quite a few local bands. You can find him at www.myspace.com/mmmobilerecording) and about four tracks were laid down in studios. We all mixed and produced the album collectively.

So take us through some of the highlights of your album.
YNGD: Well, the first track is written about Martin's cat who got run over. It's a really sad track. Chris recorded that track perfectly in his first take. Then there's the track 'You No Go Die' which Phil Jupitus (Radio 6) played on his show. Everyone sort of likes this, but it's not very characteristic of us. It came from a bit of a jam. There's also 'First Home', which is one of our favourite to play live and it's this song that got us on the Stressed Records compilation. But they're all great tracks really!

How do you go about writing?
YNGD: Well, we all write together. Chris writes the odd song on his own, but generally someone brings an idea and then we all work together. Someone might come up with a riff, or someone else with a guitar line, a lyric, there's no one way of doing it. We don't really work mathematically, we just sort of jam around with an idea, see if it works.

Any crazy tour stories that you want to share from your recent tour in Holland?
YNGD: Erm… it's probably not a good idea for us to talk about it. If anyone wants to know then they need to come up to us and ask us at gigs because it's not really something you can print. We're not even sure that you'll have enough words! We did still find time to go to the beach though and a festival.

So Britain's Got Talent or Big Brother?
YNGD: They're both a bit shit really, aren't they?

Dragonflies Draw Flame or The Atoms?
YNGD: Dragonflies Draw Flame. The Atoms are good, but Dragonflies play more our kind of music.

What came first, the chicken or the egg?
YNGD: The dinosaur.

Kate Moss or Courtney Love?
YNGD: Kate Moss, she's a bit of a fucking rock star isn't she? Yeah, definitely her.

Who would be on a soundtrack to the movie of your lives and who would play you?
YNGD: The soundtrack would be by Cable if we could get them to reform. Nav would be played by Jack Nicholson, Baz we think by Vincent Gallo, Chris would be played by Cory Feldman, and Martin would be played by Ice Cube.

And finally, Peter Andre or Jordan?
YNGD: Peter Andre because he has nicer breasts than Jordan!


http://www.myspace.com/younogodie