YVETTE YOUNG
“I CALL IT ‘CHASING MELODIES.’ THERE’S NO WAY TO GET COMFORTABLE, AND I LIKE THAT”
AS THE INSTRUMENTAL guitar maverick in Covet, Yvette Young takes a polyphonic, pianistic approach to her instrument. She employs alternate tunings, fingerpicking, two-handed tapping and plenty of effects to put an ethereal and ambient spin on progressive playing.
How did you approach your guitar work on Covet’s new record, Technicolor?
I occupy this zone in the progressive “shred” guitar world, but I feel like a phony there because I’ve been chasing melodies my whole life. So for this record, I wanted to focus on conveying emotions and telling stories with melodies. It’s definitely a more “wet” record, meaning that I’m using more effects on it. I’m toeing the line between being in this weird post-rock/shoegaze world and having one foot in the prog world, because of the odd-time meter stuff and the intricacy of the playing.
You’ve talked about taking a pianistic approach to the guitar, and indeed, you often play with two hands on the fretboard, much like you would lay your fingers on the keys of a piano.
I grew up playing piano and violin, so a lot of the way I think about melody is still polyphonic. On piano, you know, you’re splitting up a melody between two hands. Your left hand is often implying root
