YOVA “Feel Your Fear”

Experimental pop duo – YOVA – are back with an urgent and impending new single: “Feel Your Fear”.

Letting loose a runaway freight train of jumpy guitar rhythms and primal percussive rumblings, the new single from the duo of Jova Radevska and Mark Vernon is one intended to heighten the senses and toy with what drives our fears and failings. As Jova explains:

“”Feel Your Fear” is about the human’s fallible nature to form addictions in order to alleviate pain. We can do this with a person too: we can believe that their company will save us from the challenges we are facing and we cling to that, when in fact we haven’t addressed the real cause of those feelings. It is often our insecurity and un-dealt trauma that makes us cling to people/substances, addictions in general.”

Citing ESG, Gang of Four, King Sunny Adé, and early Talking Heads as being amongst the subliminal influences that played into the track, “Feel Your Fear” sees YOVA deftly update their dynamic brand of alternative pop music with hints of garage rock, Afropop and funk to gripping effect.

Produced by Mark Vernon and arranged by Rob Ellis, the track was recorded between Dorset and London and also features Daniel O’Sullivan of Grumbling Fur on bass and features the legendary Terry Edwards (PJ Harvey) on saxophone. Intending to create an unshakeable feeling of restlessness, Jova Radevska’s airy vocals toe a fine line between playful and impending, while its haunting baritone sax, sinuous bass, and meticulously timed blasts of trumpet and organ all play their part in the unsettling fabric of “Feel Your Fear”. As Vernon adds:

“The sonic tapestry and rapid tempo of this track is written to convey a sense of heightened urgency: the impending sense of emotional claustrophobia and resulting fear is echoed in the narrative of Jova’s lyrics. A sense of one last rushed midnight dance before emotions inexorably spiral out of control and time literally gets swallowed up before our eyes.”

YOVA are Jova Radevska and Mark Vernon. With Vernon a seasoned veteran of the alternative music scene — having managed and recorded with John Cale and co-produced tracks on PJ Harvey’s debut album ‘Dry’ — a chance encounter with Macedonian vocalist and songwriter Jova would pave the way for their bewitching collaborative project.

Their debut album ‘Nine Lives’ received praise from the likes of** Louder Than War**,** Electronic Sound and MOJO**, with the latter hailing the album as “a beguiling debut from a duo of sonic adventurers” in their ⅘ star review.

The band’s video for previous single “An Innocent Man” scooped the Best Animation Music Video at the New York Animation Awards, and the band released their ‘Hurt Like No Hurt’ digital bundle earlier this year.

With “Feel Your Fear” arriving as a compelling and contemplative new offering of experimental rock-tinted pop, YOVA are also  currently putting the finishing touches to their second album due for release in the coming months.

-Official bio