Name: YASS
Members: Frank Otto, Markus Brengartner
Interviewee: Frank Otto
Nationality: German
Current release: YASS' new album Feel Safe is out June 6th 2025 via Crazysane.  
Shoutouts: Trans Am, Psychic Graveyard, Rider/Horse, A. Mochi

If you enjoyed this YASS interview and would like to know more about the band and their music, visit their official homepage. They are also on Instagram, and Facebook.



When the first time you noticed you were drawn to darker themes and moods in music, literature or the movies?

As a teenager watching David Lynch or listening to Trash Metal stuff.

“Darkness” is, of course, not strictly speaking a term related to sound. What constitutes darkness to you, especially in instrumental terms?

For me darkness is not a desirable place to be in. But it is a source of inspiration and creativity.

Most people associate darkness with death and sorrow, but quite often this is the source of many artists. To process those experiences or to escape. And quite often this leads to unique approaches and the urge to relieve mental troubles and to channel emotions.

My escape is music and creating electronic noises and sounds by hardware/software tools and instruments.

How would you describe the physical sensation and possible attraction of being exposed to darkness in music?

I am totally attracted to and fascinated by deep and dark atmospheric soundscapes, rhythms and noise. It is the source of my interest in music, combined with unique patterns and harmonics.

I can’t stand shallow mainstream music that has no purpose but to get lots of listeners and views.

Does your interest in darker musical themes extend into extra-musical fields such as fashion, or politics?

Concerning fashion, I personally love the colour black. But honestly, I am not interested in fashion at all.

As for politics, I prefer the bright and positive side.
 
Who/what are currently artists, labels or even genres which draw you in because of their darker approaches, aesthetics and sound(s)?  

There are many. Techno is quite a big genre as is several Noise stuff.

The last Johnny Cash recordings were also very impressive in terms of atmosphere and depth.

What were some of the first performances or releases when you became active in exploring truly dark places in your music yourself?

With my former band KURT we were playing with TODAY IS THE DAY in their AmRep times, that was really impressive.

Also when we were starting to work with and explore electro sounds through hardware and software we were drawn to those dark and atmospheric sounds, soundscapes, samples and pads.

I have had a hard time explaining that listening to death metal calms me down. When you're performing a piece with a darker energy, does it tend to fill you with the same energy or feeling – or are there “paradoxical” effects?

I enjoy dark energy. It calms me down and also keeps me focused.

Performing dark music calls for honesty and authenticity. Then it becomes truly moving.

Tell me, if applicable, about the concrete lyrical themes that you felt drawn to for Feel Safe.

I process and propose my personal problems, questioning things and troubles people might have.

I try to write in a way that allows the listener to have versatile approaches to them. So it shouldn’t be obvious if it’s concerning you, me, us etc.

When it comes to exploring darker themes, what's your approach to writing lyrics? What makes lyrics good in this regard?

I see it in the way that people are more productive when they are down or suffering, personally, politically or whatever. When they want or have to say something or have to get along with bad situations, when you have to get rid of things.

A lot of good art comes out when you are down and feel that you have to be productive to process your troubles.

Tell me about the creative process for Feel Safe, please.

We start digitally with ideas, samples and patterns. Then we put those together to make possible blueprints in Ableton. Then we try to use it as a playback in our rehearsal room. If it works out with drums, guitar and vocals, we reorganise and rearrange the ideas to a complete song.

Then we have to look for masking issues and sidechaining. Every instrument has to have its adequate spot. This is followed by processing. Then mixing and premastering.  After these first steps we add more ideas and samples when needed.

After playing the songs several times, when they still sound special, we try to finalise them. If not, we have to dump them - which is a shame, but necessary.

For Feel Safe, how did you realise your goals in terms of the production, including effects?

It was a long and exhausting journey that required lots of nerves, energy, effort, intuition and trial and error.

Exploring darker themes in the music often goes hand in hand with the accompanying artwork. Tell me a bit about this relating to your new release.

Concerning the artwork, we were grateful to work with Fabian Bremer of the band “Aua” who did a great job. He came up with some pretty convincing ideas.

[Read our Aua interview]

I would love to know a little about the feedback you've received from listeners or critics about what they thought some of your darker songs are about or the impact it had on them – have there been “misunderstandings” or did you perhaps even gain new “insights?”

This hasn't been the case.   

Sharing music on stage can change the way it is experienced, both for musicians the listeners. Can you talk about this a bit, especially in the light of darker themes?   

Well, we like to have a dark, gloomy atmosphere with less light than usual. We prefer to let the audience dive into the music rather than presenting some phony stage acting.

When I see musicians presenting dark and heavy music I mostly get bored after two minutes. I honestly don’t like this rock and metal stage acting but I love authentic acting in dark and heavy music.

I know, lots of people like to see a big show with lots of light and preconcerted stage acting, but for me this is not authentic but boring.

Throughout the history of art, there have been artists who did not want to exorcise their demons, afraid they might lose their creative spark. What's your take on that?

For sure the demons are creative sparks that make you creative and productive.

In my opinion, being creative is the best way to cope with yourself when you are down and desperate.