Yonaka are back and kickstarting their summer by not only popping up at a number of festivals both in the UK and in Europe, but releasing a new EP, too. ‘Welcome To My House’ sees vocalist Theresa Jarvis invite listeners into her world as she gets up close and personal with different times in her life. Here, she runs us through the full release, from front to back.
B.T.T.Y.R.T
This song is about living in the moment. When we aren’t consumed by our past or worrying about our future, that is when we are truly living. I feel like so many moments have been missed from not being fully present, and you only realise how much this thing or persona was to you when it’s gone. I think it’s about taking the time to enjoy what’s in front of you and stop becoming the story of your past.
PANIC
This song is about me having a panic attack and what it feels like to have anxiety. When you’re having a panic attack, it’s really quite horrible; your whole body gets taken over and can feel like you are going to die, BUT I wanted the song to feel light and funny. I wanted to find the humour in some of the states I get myself into. In the song, I’m having an argument with myself because that’s what it constantly feels like. It’s like 2 people have the reins in your brain, overanalysing everything and going in opposite directions. It’s upbeat, so it feels in a rush, but it’s fun.
W.T.M.H
This song is an insight into who I am, or who at least I think I am, talking about my faults and the coping mechanisms I’ve learnt to deal with in life as I’ve grown up. I paint myself in a way that, although it could feel negative, I always allow myself a way out, and I shine a light on my tenderness, stillness and love in the middle eight. I talk about how these feelings/emotions and experiences I have are all just fleeting moments, all just gusts that will come and go, and nothing is forever. This song was really cathartic for me when writing it. I feel like we have no control over the circumstances we are born into, but we have all the control over who and what we choose to be now.
GIVE ME MY HALO
I felt stuck when I wrote this song like I was going nowhere like I had too much weight on my shoulders to fly. I wondered why, why me? What did it take to feel at one with myself to be able to drink up life? Why did I not feel at peace with myself? Why did I feel invisible? Why was my mind torturing me? So this song is about me searching for an answer, me willingly say do what you need to do but have me come out the other side ok.
I WANT MORE
It’s about wanting more. I talk about how daily routines get so very boring and, how I’ve had a taste for what life could be more often, how I would drink to escape the monotony. It’s that wanting to get more out of life which is there to be had. It’s about enjoying yourself more and not taking life too seriously. Having more fun.
I DON’T CARE
This song is about being around people who are shallow and think that the world revolves around them. And coming to terms with the fact that maybe these people aren’t your friends or people you want to associate yourself with. I feel like when you are young, you try to blend and morph into what people want you to be so you fit in, and when you grow a bit older, you realise you don’t have to do that, and you don’t care what they think. It’s about finding out who you are and not changing to meet people’s needs who you don’t really like anyway.
HANDS OFF MY MONEY
This song is an angry one. It’s about having people fuck with you too many times and being done with it. When you have been assertive and asked for things to be done, and they get overlooked. Standing up strong and saying this is what I want, and this is what I will get. I feel like my position as a woman was overlooked when asking for certain needs to be met, and this is a fuck you to them. ■
Taken from the July 2023 edition of Upset. Yonaka’s new EP, ‘Welcome To My House,’ is out now.
