Yellow6

Yellow6 - Jon Atwood.

From 80’s Anarchist Punk Rock to Ambient soundscapes, Jon Atwood, of Yellow6 has a calibre that sets him apart from many of his musical peers.
Jon started out his musical career playing guitar for Anarcho Punk favourites Hagar The Womb, who supported among others Zounds and The Mob, also having close ties with Conflict. As far as we know, Jon left before Hagar’s two 12” recordings but cut his teeth as an early member of the band.

After leaving Hagar The Womb, Jon started recording material as a solo artist. Ambient Drone being one way to describe this new direction. Taking on board influences ranging from Windy And Carl, Labradford and Joy Division, Jon’s manifesto of sound was being written. Whilst these new recordings were starting to get released, Yellow6 were being described as Ambient, Shoegaze, Post Rock and Electronica but was much more than each of these genres in its originality. Early Independent interest came from Enraptured Records, Rocket Racer, Jonathon Whiskey Records and many other labels that were putting out quality music that transcended generic labels and were released on the basis of sheer love and passion.

To this date Yellow6 has an abundance of recorded material. 50+ releases which include 7 albums, 5 mini Lps, and appearances on over 18 compilation albums. This shows the sheer magnitude of Jon Atwood’s musical career. Each release bringing with it a distinct but original sound which leads the listener into an atmospheric landscape that is forever changing and always remains fresh.

Here we ask Jon some questions about his musical output...

So, tell us about how you got into music and playing music?
"I started listening to music properly in my early teens i guess, partly the stuff on Top of the Pops at the time (T.Rex, Sweet, Sparks, glam stuff) and some of my older sister's taste (Bowie's Aladdin Sane, Deep Purple, Rolling Stones etc.)... then one day her boyfriend turned up with a copy of God Save The Queen and it blew me away. I started picking up singles from the punk bands that made the charts (Adverts, Blondie etc.) and then discovered John Peel and the music world just opened up. Following on from the 'anyone can do it' feel of the time, i got a second hand acoustic guitar and learned a few chords and messed around with a school friend. we eventually graduated to buying electric instruments... he didn't get on with chords so was the bass player. we were crap. after that i started meeting other local punks (Vertical Hold, Cold War) and through them got into the anarcho punk scene in London."

In the second wave of punk, you played with Hagar the womb. Do you have any memories from around this scene and period?
"Despite some of the images associated with the scene (over serious, heavy politics, doom and gloom etc.), it was actually really good fun. There were loads of really good people involved in the scene and it was very social.   I guess it attracted people who were quite aware of the world around them / other people. The music was more varied than the usual view, at least at first. there were more 'crass clones' later on but, I suppose mirroring the first wave punk scene, a diverse collection of music and people.
the main memories i have are just of spending all my time going to gigs, meeting people at the A Centre, playing music etc.... and most of all meeting some really interesting people.
The HTW gigs were pretty chaotic but we got through them ok, with a surprising number of fans given how bad we were at the start. I also played in a band called Screaming Babies who were more Damned style punk... universally hated in the anarcho scene i think but great fun... "

How did the transition from Anarcho Punk to Ambient soundscapes come about?
"Over a long time i guess... between the punk bands and Yellow6 was nearly 15 years with bit of playing goth-rock (a bit 'All About Eve meets Banshees'), getting obsessed with the Velvets, and even a bit of folk. After i got to hear Bark Psychosis i realised there was more to playing than riffs and started exploring drones and soundscapes and that's where Y6 came from."

To some extent i don't see a huge gulf between anarcho punk and post rock - of course the obvious differences, but Crass and some of the other bands (Mob, Rudimentary Peni) were breaking the rules of normal song structure and sounds in the same way drone and post-rock and soundscapes do, just noisier."

Which bands have influenced you the most and why?
"I think there will be some surprises in my influences (and some not-so), but if i just give a short list of the bands most influential in my playing, it would include Sex Pistols, Devo, Residents, Theatre Of Hate, Bauhaus, God Machine, Bark Psychosis, Velvet underground, Stooges, Joy Division, Labradford, Azusa Plane, Low, Stars of the Lid, Swell Maps, Sonic Youth, Sophia, Booker T and the MG's, Motown, Portishead.... i could go on.

As for why, i think the reasons are the same for most of them - doing something a bit out of the ordinary but still using melody. i love a good tune, but i like it done a bit differently. "

Your influences are wide and I must say very varied, which of those bands past and present would you have most liked to have gigged with and why?
"I guess any of the bands in the list could be included, but i guess mostly i'd say Velvet underground, Sex Pistols, Joy Division - all because they have had such a huge impact on music in general and it would have been amazing to be part of that experience."

You record as a solo artist, do you think this has more benefits and freedom than recording with a band?
"It certainly has freedom as i can do what ever i feel like and whenever. if i feel inspired i can just start recording, rather than have to wait for a rehearsal and book a studio etc. Having said that, i've always loved playing with other people as i feel they inspire me to play things i normally wouldn't... it also gives a second opinion as it's easy to be self indulgent as a solo artist (tho i guess that's a definition of being a solo artist?) and it's also hard / impossible to be objective about your work."

What are the future plans for Yellow6, ie artists you may work with, gigs releases etc etc?
"At the moment things are in a state of flux... i have an album recorded with Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries (Fear Falls Burning) that will come out some time under the name 'iamstringsthatrembleunderabow' (an LP on Equation) and i am planning my 'traditional' merry6mas cdr of rarities/outtakes etc. for december, along with a very limited 10 cdr box set of all the merry6mas cd's from 1999-2008 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my first release.

i am also planning to do some recordings with a friend who is a classically trained violinist. she has written out some chord sequences which i will do something with and hopefully inspire her to add some violin...

i hope to do a few gigs, but find that hard work so not a lot definite - hopefully London, Leeds and a brief trip to Paris/Brussels are on the cards if it all comes together.

After that, who knows... i'm feeling it may be time for a change but not sure what yet... i'll probably just carry on as i have been!"

How are you finding the digital age, in terms of downloads and the lack of vinyl and CD releases. Is it a good medium or do you see a lot of bad points?
"I've always liked owning a physical object, maybe having grown up with punk and 7" singles in picture sleeves and coloured vinyl etc. the few times i've bought music downloads i felt a bit cheated as i've nothing to show for my money. Added to that the illegal downloads contributing in some way to declining sales it can seem a bit depressing. There are some bands making a stand with some specially packaged VD and vinyl releases. Overall i'm not a huge fan of downloads replacing owning an object, but i guess you have to keep up with the times!   There was plenty of opposition to CD when they first appeared, and there will likely be more changes too.
There is still a market for small run cd/vinyl and that's where indie will find it's niche i'm sure.   to some extent it's a bit of a reversion to pre-punk times when the major labels controlled (mass) markets and the indies struggeld for distro / promotion etc. it'll be very interesting to see where things go..."

How easy is it to get gigs with the type of music that you play?
"Not easy at all, at least not for me... i was reading something from the Musicians Union recently that said 'getting gigs is easy, unless you're rubbish or very uncommercial'. Their advice? Change your style to something more commercial or put up with it!
Having played shitty pub gigs to poeple who couldn't care less in some previous bands, i said i wouldn't do that when i started Y6. That means live appearances are more rare than i'd like, but at least to more open audiences."

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Cheers Jon!

Nicky