YOVA and The Werewolves of London
Underneath a blanket on a cold street, another body has turned up. A killer is stalking the streets of London. Meanwhile, a woman awakes on the banks of the River Thames, make-up smeared and disheveled. She treads barefoot on a withered copy of The London Evening News:
“Werewolf Of London” Strikes Again!
This is the story of ‘Hurt Like No Hurt’, the latest single from YOVA.
YOVA are Jova Radevska and Mark Vernon.
The London-based duo of YOVA are made up of multi-instrumentalist and producer Mark Vernon with vocalist and lyricist Jova Radevska. Vernon founded Firebrand Management in 1991, which over the years has represented PJ Harvey and John Cale, with former Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips a part of their current roster.
The Macedonian-born Jova Radevska released her debut album ‘Hourglass Diary’ in 2007 under the name Yova Radevska. Having released songs both in English and Macedonian, Jova also features on singles ‘Time Will Tell’ and ‘Butterfly’ by the Italian DJ Danny Darko. YOVA began teasing their collaboration on social media towards the end of 2018, resulting in the release of their debut single ‘Moondog’ in September 2019.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, YOVA would continue to release songs from their debut album as EPs, including follow-up single ‘Rain’, ‘An Innocent Man’ and ‘Where There Is Smoke’. The EPs would often include instrumental versions of the tracks and remixes by collaborators such as Vince Clarke (of Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure) and Ann Margaret Hogan (of Marc Almond’s Marc and The Mambas).
YOVA concluded 2021 by releasing their album ‘Nine Lives’ in November - the unique and intriguing record defying categorization or comparison. When recording, the duo often skewed using the popular software-generated instruments of recent years, instead opting for their natural and timeless originators.
The result is a sonically varied album that combines instruments such as Hammond organ with synthesizers and electric guitars (some from Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush musician David Rhodes) - YOVA working with top tier session musicians to craft the record.
There are spots of pedal steel by B.J. Cole (who has worked with everyone from Procol Harum to Cat Stevens, R.E.M., Bjӧrk and David Gilmour). Baritone saxophone is by Nick Cave and Madness musician Terry Edwards, with strings from violin powerhouse Anna Phoebe and drums from John Cale, Anna Calvi and Bat For Lashes drummer Alex Thomas. Drummer Rob Ellis also writes the album’s gorgeous string arrangements, whose production work with Blue Violet we previously wrote about. Other curious instruments employed across the record’s nine tracks include the science fiction-esque ondes Martenot, the mandolin-sounding zither-like Marxophone and the Medieval trombone precursor, the sackbut.
YOVA especially have an affinity for releasing accompanying visuals to their songs, having put out ten music videos since 2019, each one distinctive, especially their latest for ‘Hurt Like No Hurt’.
‘Hurt Like No Hurt’ is the first new music from YOVA post-Nine Lives, having been released back in October. A repetitive magnetic drum machine is accompanied by rolling bass from Daniel O’Sullivan shortly before Jova Radevska enters the room with a small plea, ‘Don’t go, I need you around…’ Jova describes this song as about relationship ghosting, of making up and breaking up and all that occurs before the relationship’s final end.
Melodic bass and keyboard impart the air of mystery to the track, the chord progression itself composed to quietly unsettle the listener. The chorus ramps up the tension, Jova’s lyric a realisation of the unhealthy nature of the relationship; ‘He Hurt Like No Hurt's ever felt before, what was I to do with this love for you?’
Gone is the hi-hat sizzle of the drum machine, replaced by an acoustic kit played by arranger Rob Ellis (who also contributes keyboards to the track). The natural sound of the kit is without frills, putting the listener into the room in which it was recorded, yet it easily transitions back to its machined counterpart as if the two were one instrument.
Mark Vernon adds layers of urgent strumming guitar, their fuzziness increasing with each successive chorus. The break particularly highlights the interplay between Vernon and Ellis, a stunted guitar riff and drum tussle building up into the song’s last chorus, ensuring its grip on the listener to the very end. With YOVA’s musical partnership firmly cemented, ‘Hurt Like No Hurt’ is a sample of the duo’s forthcoming second album, set to be even better than the first.
‘I could never sail back to you…’
Meanwhile, under the cover of darkness, a werewolf has found a taste for blood. The thrilling music video for ‘Hurt Like No Hurt’ was directed by Thomas James Linton and Philip Reinking. The multiple day shoot necessitated a whole team to apply the cast’s make-up and special effects, with stunt doubles employed for the video’s gruesome fight scenes.
Set in the duo’s birthplace of London, they’ve turned the clock back to the 1920’s as Jova witnesses a murder, stalking the killer herself with skills not unlike those of the murderer. In the video’s last moments, a familiar looking bartender is spared by Jova’s character to tell the tale…
Though the single for ‘Hurt Like No Hurt’ was released in October, YOVA have just put out their new EP for the track, which includes an instrumental version of the song and a recording of the ‘Nine Lives’ single ‘Rain’ in session. A stripped-back arrangement from the album version, Alex Thomas accompanies Mark Vernon and Jova Radevska on acoustic guitar.
The original album version of ‘Rain’ is well matched in tone with ‘Hurt Like No Hurt’, venturing into an eerie side of YOVA’s sound. The remixes by Vince Clarke and Ghost provide more insight too, but each version of the song retains what makes this track a vital single from their debut album, YOVA’s melody and chord structure a recurring asset of their work.
With their debut live performance occurring at The Slaughtered Lamb in February 2022, the duo have since played Dalston’s Servant Jazz Quarters with follow-up gigs at The Troubadour later in the year. YOVA will return to The Troubadour in London on the 25th of January, with special guests TJ Owusu and Leo Walrus. Tickets are available on TicketWeb here.
Continue reading for our Q&A with Mark Vernon and Jova Radevska. We ask about the writing origins of ‘Hurt Like No Hurt’, plus the duo enlighten us on the making of the song’s music video. Mark tells us about the advantage of using real instruments in the studio, while Jova speaks about the effect their music has had on their live audiences. All this and more below!
1. I saw that you wrote some of your earlier material in a cottage, is that where 'Hurt Like No Hurt' was written? How did that song begin?
Mark Vernon: Yes - that’s right and the rickety garden shed doubles as a studio/Yova Music HQ.
With HLNH I came up with the basic music backing and chord structure on electric guitar. I wanted to create a foundation which was both raw and high energy on one level and cinematic and expansive on the other for Jova.
Jova Radevska: We had several revisions of this structurally but we chose the present one as it was the best. Lyrically this was written in London.
2. The music video is a whole other piece of art in itself, who came up with the concept of the werewolves in London and setting it in the 1920's?
Mark: The directors Philip Reinking and Tom Linton.
They’re both big fans of 1960s/early 70’s Hammer, F.W Murnau/1920’s horror, and of course John Landis’ ‘American Werewolf in London’!
Jova: We initially had a double take at the storyboard but decided to go for this version as we wanted to try something different & not play it safe.
3. You've already created a superb visual body of work in your music videos, what's been your favourite of these to make and why?
Mark: Filming ‘Where There Is Smoke’ and ‘Haunted’ both on the same shoot in mid-winter.
This was filmed in and around a freezing 16th century shepherd’s cottage deep in the Lake District just before Lockdown with director Mark Arrigo.
The discomfort, the early starts, the spartan accommodation with lack of any sanitation and heating, plus extreme weather conditions presented an unexpected frisson and timelessness to proceedings.
Mark seems to have a similar approach and work ethic akin to directors like Werner Herzog and Alejandro Iñárittu in that he pushed us to our physical and mental limits to realise his visual narrative. It was an exhausting but ultimately rewarding and life-affirming experience.
‘Haunted’ was literally filmed in one take. No edits. Jova in a Victorian dress walking backwards over frozen rocky ground while temperatures started to plummet to minus 6 before darkness fell.
The extraordinary landscape of Eskdale and its mysterious wintery light was the uncredited star of these vids.
Jova: “Where There is Smoke” & “Haunted” were definitely a memory to take for the reasons Mark mentioned.
“Hurt Like No Hurt” involved me lying down by the River Thames in Greenwich and whilst filming scenes every time an Uber boat passed there was an avalanche/waves reaching the river shore and covering me with river water. This happened quite a few times while filming scenes until we witnessed what was causing it. Ultimately we got the shots without the river getting in the way!
4. A part of this bundle includes the release of 'Rain' in session, how many takes did it require to get 'the one'? Were there any funny moments in getting there?
Mark: If memory serves we ran three takes for this and chose our favourite.
During one of these takes a string on my tenor guitar decided to helpfully break mid take. A perennial risk of the live studio ritual!
Jova: Yes, we chose the best one out of the few takes.
5. Vince Clarke also put a completely different spin on 'Rain', how did you react when you first heard his remix of that song?
Mark: Vince agreeing to do this in the first place was amazing in itself. His complete re-imagining of the track is as radical as it is playful. So it was a case of ‘expect the unexpected’ and being delightfully surprised in a good way from first listen onwards. A true genius.
Jova: I instantly took to it, loved his interpretation. It was an honour having him do a remix for us. I grew up watching his songs on Macedonian TV.
6. There are remixes for several YOVA songs now, how did Ann Margaret Hogan get involved with remixing 'Where There Is Smoke'?
Mark: Our manager is a big fan of Anni, from her work with Marc Almond and especially Marc & The Mambas.
After hearing ‘Where There Is Smoke’, he immediately suggested something different by reworking the track with Anni playing classical piano. Her beautiful and delicately played version speaks for itself.
Jova: Indeed a very different and “not afraid to be daring” interpretation of our song, it was very well received also.
7. It's great to see an artist releasing instrumental versions of their tracks as you've done here, is there a possibility of putting out a cappella versions too?
Mark: Now you’ve mentioned it - this possibility now exists. Watch this space!
Jova: I personally haven't come across musicians releasing a cappella versions of their songs to be honest. I am sure some exist so definitely something to think about.
8. You released your debut album 'Nine Lives' in 2021, a particular favourite of ours from that is 'Togetherness'. Would you tell us more about the writing and recording of that track?
Mark: From a music perspective ‘Togetherness’ pays homage to and is influenced by the sounds of the 60’s - in particular Serge Gainsbourg’s album ‘Melody Nelson’, Bacharach era Dionne Warwick and the sparse soul of Nina Simone.
Also having a lifelong love of film music from that era. So in this instance John Barry’s influence slips in there.
The song was composed on guitar at HQ, then Rob wrote the string and Hammond organ arrangements in Dorset. When he recorded the drums at Alex Thomas’s studio he played the very snare drum Air used on their recording of ‘The Virgin Suicides’ OST. So French vibes subliminally pervade on this track.
Anna Phoebe played violin, Nick Holland from the Balanescu Quartet - cello, and Dave Orchant trumpet right at the end.
Jova: “Togetherness” was lyrically written and then completely re-written with a different theme in mind, however the sentiment stayed the same… Hardship, sadness, empowerment, acceptance.
9. It's refreshing to see instruments like a Hammond Organ in your working environment. What's the advantage of using classic instruments like that over MIDI-driven sounds in your work?
Mark: If the real instruments are to hand in the recording process they’re better for getting sonic authenticity. They seem to emit different audio frequencies to the ‘fake’ or sampled sounds achieved from digital MIDI ‘plug-in’s (useful though they are for live work). So we always try to keep the instrumentation real if possible.
10. Much of the work you've done has been accompanied by Rob Ellis, what do you like most about the arrangements Rob creates?
Mark: Another genius. The complete unpredictability and imagination he conjures up when in his arrangements and instrumentation. Rob will never choose the obvious or most anodyne and comfortable route. So in this regard he brings unexpected, challenging and beautiful ideas that illuminate the songs. This paves the way for the sometimes unorthodox use and juxtaposition of instruments in his arrangements like the ondes Martenot, sackbut, modular piano, musical box, and glockenspiel.
Jova: We adore Rob Ellis’s work. He captures the vibe perfectly. His interpretation of “An Innocent Man” with the inclusion of the musical box is genius.
11. You've played a few shows since lockdown ended at venues like The Slaughtered Lamb and Servant Jazz Quarters, what has the audience response been like at these gigs?
Mark: Both enthusiastic and very attentive. Some fans have travelled from as far afield as Germany and the USA to see us. People seem to keep returning to see us which is reassuring! There are one or two delicate and very sparse moments in our live set and when these silences occur you can often hear a pin drop.
Jova: The Slaughtered Lamb was really special, we had BJ Cole join us on pedal steel guitar onstage (he also played on some of our songs on the album).
One audience member cried during one of our performances. I had to do a double take and wondered whether it was the effect of our melancholy song or something else! He later admitted it was the song…
12. You've got a gig at The Troubadour coming up, is there likely to be a YOVA tour at some point?
Mark: We hope so. Certainly more dates will be in the offing.
Jova: That would be awesome!
13. You've already played some new material live, is more of that going to be released in 2023?
Mark: Several new singles and a new album is written and on its way.
We’ve recently been recording with most of the ‘Nine Lives’ crew: Rob, Daniel O’Sullivan, Terry Edwards, and Alex Thomas. Also for the next album James Sedwards who plays guitar with Thurston Moore features.
Jova: Yes, our new album we are finalising will be released in 2023. Watch this space…
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The music of YOVA is available to download and stream on their Bandcamp page here.
Purchase tickets to see YOVA at The Troubadour on the 25th of January via TicketWeb.
For more information about YOVA, visit their official website.
Follow YOVA on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @yovamusic.
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