Experimental pop duo YOVA are back with an urgent and impending new single ‘Feel Your Fear’.
Letting loose a runaway freight train of jumpy guitar rhythms and primal percussive rumblings, the new single from the duo of Jova Radevska and Mark Vernon is one intended to heighten the senses and toy with what drives our fears and failings. As Jova explains:
“’Feel Your Fear’ is about the human’s fallible nature to form addictions in order to alleviate pain. We can do this with a person too: we can believe that their company will save us from the challenges we are facing and we cling to that, when in fact we haven’t addressed the real cause of those feelings. It is often our insecurity and un-dealt trauma that makes us cling to people/substances, addictions in general.”
Citing ESG, Gang of Four, King Sunny Adé, and early Talking Heads as being amongst the subliminal influences that played into the track, ‘Feel Your Fear’ sees YOVA deftly update their dynamic brand of alternative pop music with hints of garage rock, Afropop and funk to gripping effect.
Produced by Mark Vernon and arranged by Rob Ellis, the track was recorded between Dorset and London and also features Daniel O’Sullivan of Grumbling Fur on bass and features the legendary Terry Edwards (PJ Harvey) on saxophone. Intending to create an unshakeable feeling of restlessness, Jova Radevska’s airy vocals toe a fine line between playful and impending, while its haunting baritone sax, sinuous bass, and meticulously timed blasts of trumpet and organ all play their part in the unsettling fabric of ‘Feel Your Fear’. As Vernon adds:
“The sonic tapestry and rapid tempo of this track is written to convey a sense of heightened urgency: the impending sense of emotional claustrophobia and resulting fear is echoed in the narrative of Jova’s lyrics. A sense of one last rushed midnight dance before emotions inexorably spiral out of control and time literally gets swallowed up before our eyes.”