Musical shape-shifters Y have burst out of Peckham with a wonderfully weird and wonky sound that sticks two fingers up to genre constraints and redefines the very concept of chaos. Their impossible-to-Google name materialised through happy accident, as vocalist/synth player Sophie Coppin recalls: “The [song] name ‘Why’ was coined before our band name Y. A midi keyboard voice I found sounded like it was saying ‘why’, so I jokingly suggested we just run with that, and the rest is history.”
The five-piece outfit – Adam Brennan (guitar/vocals), Sophie Coppin (vocals/synth), Dan GB (bass), Harry McHale (saxophone), and Fells (drums) – represent a fascinating convergence of London’s experimental music circles. Their collective musical heritage spans some of the capital’s most compelling projects, a fact Sophie illuminates: “Adam and Fells are in Fat White Family. Adam also has his band SCUD FM and plays in Pregoblin. Fells has his band, Children of the Pope. Dan is in Meatraffle and sometimes sessions/fills in for Decius and Warmsucher. Harry has his own band, Star City. I also have a sort of solo project called Wayword. It’s all very polyjamory, and there are a lot of crossovers, a lot of music being played.”
“We’ve all known each other for years,” she adds, “bumping into each other at gigs and stuff, friends in common. I think Harry and Adam actually met in the pound shop in Peckham, and Adam invited him to play in his jam band at the Windmill about 8 years ago.”
This rich musical cross-pollination infuses their new EP, out now on Hideous Mink Records. The release marries Japanese jazz fusion with Italo disco rhythms and Brazilian percussion — a natural evolution for such an internationally-minded collective. As Adam notes: “When you get five people together, who all have their own different influences, it helps create something a little bit different. Fells, our drummer, is Brazilian; Dan, our bass player, is Italian; and Harry, our saxophonist, grew up in Cyprus. I guess all these different cultures help keep things fresh.”
Sophie grins, “I grew up in Wandsworth, so there’s that exotic influence too…”
The EP’s creation showcases both necessity-driven ingenuity and raw spontaneity. Adam explains: “We’ve been sitting on it for a while, so it’s exciting to know people can finally hear it. Sophie and I wrote the bulk of it all at home a while back. We rehearsed the songs as often as we could afford to and got all the structures really solid with the group.”
Recorded in just four days at Dante Traynor’s Peckham studio, the sessions prioritised capturing live energy. “We recorded as much of it live in the room together as possible,” Adam reveals. “The vocals and everything were recorded in one or two takes; Everything was put down so fast. We went to town on overdubs afterwards, lots of percussion and I did a lot of guitar harmonies.”
Sophie offers a clear-eyed take on their pragmatic approach: “When you’re a ‘new’ band, unfortunately, everything is very budget-focused. We are always having to put our heads together, pull favours from friends and knock stuff out as quickly as possible to keep costs down. The experience with the EP showed me with the right people around you; you can achieve great things very quickly and without spending much dollar.”
As for how their songs come together, Adam explains: “The process usually starts with Sophie summoning me to sit with her and showing me an idea that she has. I’ll then take over musically with a basic bass line and start working on guitar parts. When we know we have something decent, we take it to the band and bash it out all together.
“‘Why’ is a largely instrumental song, which got fleshed out massively in the rehearsal room. ‘Hate’ is a kind of mock ballad written to Sophie’s favourite chord progression. Sophie had written ‘Ladies Who’ as an acoustic song. I reversed-engineered it and added loads of wonky parts.”
Sophie continues: “‘Marianne’ came about when I grew an obsession with Marianne Faithful’s ‘Why’d You Do It’. I had mentioned to Adam I’d love to write a song to a bassline like that one had. In response, he wrote the bass part to ‘Marianne’, which sounds nothing like the one I liked, but had the same reggae feel. I then wrote the lyrics surrounding the idea that Marianne had led us to this moment: an ode to her, if you will. She actually died on the same day we performed the song supporting Keg on tour, and it felt quite monumental for me. Music and lyrics are often like that, I guess – imaginary conversations with people we’ve never met and will never meet.
“The origins of each track were very different but the process of writing was all very similar. I feel like we would be able to write more together as a band, start to finish, if everyone wasn’t so busy all the time, but the way we operate in terms of song-building does work very well. It starts at home sounding cool and ends up in the rehearsal room, once everyone’s refined their parts, sounding amazing.”
The Windmill in Brixton stands as both laboratory and sanctuary for Y, a relationship that runs deeper than mere venue status. Sophie’s description captures its almost spiritual significance: “The Windmill is sort of like therapy. You enter a space where you feel there is no judgment. You feel like you can experiment with any kind of music and see how it feels to play live. The community there is mostly very welcoming to that. Actually, I’d say the Windmill is more like church. It’s irrelevant what people spectating think; you are protected by the walls of the Windmill, and The Windmill does not discriminate; it loves all of its children.”
London’s fertile musical ground continues to nurture new growth, as Sophie notes: “London’s always been a hub for great music; it comes with the territory. Live music is so accessible. There is a venue for everyone, and people from all over the world live here, bringing in different influences. It’s just the way of London to be churning out art. There is also terrible music in equal measure, which just makes the good stuff sound even better.”
Her crystal ball gazing takes an unexpected – and thrilling – turn: “I personally think metal is going to make a big comeback. Myself and Adam have half-joked for years about starting a metal band called Thorskin with Pregoblin’s frontman Alex Sebley at the helm. We’re talking leathers, the hair, the epic guitar solos, double drum kits, podiums and smoke cannons. There was a period of time when simplicity was cool, but I think we’re long overdue for a bit of drama now – bring back the flying guitarist!”
With their EP launch at the 100 Club set for 24th April, Y’s trajectory points firmly upward. Adam frames their mission with characteristic warmth: “Life can be so depressing at times; music and gigs are a nice bit of escapism. We want to have some fun before the whole planet burns. We want to meet you! All of you!”
Sophie adds the perfect punctuation mark: “Well, statistically speaking, probably not all of you. At least 75%, for sure.”
Y’s new EP ‘Why’ is out now.
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