SHARES THE BRAND NEW SINGLE ‘CELEBRATE YOU GIRL’ – LISTEN HERE
MUCH MORE NEW MUSIC WILL FOLLOW IN THE COMING WEEKS
CELEBRATES RECORD STORE DAY WITH A SPECIAL EVENT AT BROADWICK SOHO
Photo by Brett Stanley
After the world-building intricacies of his satirical, high concept ‘HOTEL HEAVEN’ album, YELLOW DAYS goes back-to-basics with the brand new single ‘CELEBRATE YOU GIRL’. It’s the first in a succession of new tracks which will emerge on a regular basis in the coming weeks.
‘CELEBRATE YOU GIRL’ is a novocaine haze of sun-bleached soul, woozy psychedelia and ‘70s-tinged R&B – a soundtrack to those carefree summer days when you barely notice a glorious afternoon drifting into an equally laidback evening. While it feels like a natural evolution from the core sound of his acclaimed ‘A Day In A Yellow Beat’ album, lyrically it’s a leap away from that record’s existential millennial crisis themes. It’s a love song as pure as they come, with YELLOW DAYS’ surging falsetto exulting, “The love of my life, the only reason I survive.”
YELLOW DAYS, aka George Van den Broek, says, “‘CELEBRATE YOU GIRL’ is an ode to my newly-wed wife. We’ve been together since we were 16 and recently got married. I wanted to write a happy love song that says how proud I am of her. The woman she’s grown into after all these years of being together since we were kids. I’ve written her hundreds of love songs since the beginning of my career so I wanted to write a celebration love song. Something that feels like the happy feeling she makes me feel, the ease and joy she gives me. I’m proud of her and I love her! She’s my childhood sweetheart and now my wife!”
Written and produced solely by YELLOW DAYS, ‘CELEBRATE YOU GIRL’ was recorded in his studio in Mare Street in Hackney, as he embraced the creative freedom that helped make ‘HOTEL HEAVEN’ such a visionary experience.
Next up for YELLOW DAYS is a special ‘Friends’ Record Store Day event at Broadwick Soho on April 12th in association with Soho Radio. YELLOW DAYS will take to the rooftop at 5pm for a special one-off set featuring his friends and collaborators Lex Fransche, Laura Quinn, Al Finch & The Trousers and Peach Juice, plus Soho Radio DJs. Running from 3-10pm, the day will also see him launch his limited edition vinyl-only ‘Friends’ EP, which will be available exclusively at the event.
YELLOW DAYS is an artist you can never second guess. After breaking through as a teenager with the inventive, bedroom pop of his ‘Harmless Melodies’ EP, he expanded upon that early potential with his debut album ‘Is Everything Okay In Your World?’. ‘A Day In A Yellow Beat’ then went for maximalist ambition, an expansive 77-minute set that traversed genres and highlighted unforgettable collaborations with Mac DeMarco, Shirley Jones (of The Jones Girls), Bishop Nehru and trumpeter Nick Walters.
‘HOTEL HEAVEN’ subsequently saw YELLOW DAYS cement his status as an artist able to work entirely on his own terms. Earning immense critical acclaim (“A surreal, otherworldly concept album,” summarised NME, while Clash expanded, “Echoes of film and TV shows such as The Shining, The White Lotus and Twin Peaks make for compelling sonic input”), it was rapturously received at live shows too, included a sold-out London night at KOKO and two legs of North American touring. He subsequently revealed a grander vision for the album too, with ‘The Holiday Never Ends’ extended edition.
Expect whatever’s next from YELLOW DAYS to again defy expectations.