Yellow Ostrich: No Longer (Not) Flying Solo
Since we last caught up with him in October, Yellow Ostrich’s Alex Schaaf has gained a label and two bandmates. Add to that the three EPs, two full-lengths and one 7” he’s released since the beginning of 2010, and it’s clear that the Wisconsin native’s fast and furious career is truly taking flight.
His album The Mistress—originally offered as a pay-what-you-will download on his Bandcamp page—was reissued on Barsuk last week. In addition to Schaaf’s initial recordings, it includes three bonus tracks that feature new group members Michael Tapper and Jon Natchez, formerly of Bishop Allen and Beirut, respectively.
The decision to bring on more musicians was one Schaaf has toyed with for a while now.
“When I started recording, I knew I could do a lot of vocal loops and stuff that I could do live by myself, which I always thought was kind of cool, making these big songs but doing it in a way that made it easy to do it by myself,” he says. “Before I moved to New York, I played a few shows in Wisconsin as Yellow Ostrich, but it was just solo, and that was cool, but it’s just a different kind of energy live where it seems more like a craft, like you’re cleverly bringing all these things together. I wanted more real-life happenings that are more in-the-moment.
“The more people I added, the less I would have to rely on a looper building loops, which hopefully means that the stuff gets more live and unpredictable, so I knew right away that I would want a drummer because that would free me up from having to do all this loop drum stuff. I wanted a side to it that wasn’t totally looped and controlled, and so I got Michael right away… It was really about the more people we could get, the less controlled it would have to be, so the bulk of a lot of the songs we’re not doing any looping. The looping stuff is cool, but we don’t want to be The Looping Band or this band where we have a schtick, so it just gives us a little more freedom to do more arrangements and things. And only having three people is nice because it’s already way bigger than when it’s just me, but it’s still pretty small, so it’s not getting out of control or becoming this huge thing.”
Take away the looping, and fans will have an opportunity to really experience the guts of The Mistress live. Behind Schaaf’s carefully layered vocals is a hint of grit—fuzzy guitar and pulsating drum beats.
“I knew I just wanted something raw and kind of tribal, where it’s not just soft guitar chords,” he says. “Kind of in-your-face. I think that’s the general aesthetic I was going for. It’s kind of abrasive. When you take something that’s kind of rough and abrasive and then add these cool vocal harmonies around it, I was kind of going for that juxtaposition, where it’d be like choir harmonies against this rough, jagged musical element.”