Y On New Single, Unexpected Influences, And Questioning Everything

Emily Whitchurch

I’m a recent politics graduate and freelance journalist based between the Midlands and London!

We chat with London experimental band Y about their debut EP, unexpected influences and new single ‘Skipper‘

With a name like Y, it’s no surprise that south London’s genre-defying quintet are one of the most intriguing, unconventional and truly experimental bands out there at the moment. Following a big year of gigs, singles and an EP, it was my turn to ask the band’s founding members, Adam and Sophie, some questions.

For anyone who hasn’t heard your music before, how would you describe your sound in three words?

Adam: Lyrics, chords, melody

Sophie: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

You’ve been praised as one of the UK’s most fearless new bands – how do you continue pushing the boundaries when creating new music?

Adam: To be as honest as we can, not worrying about the expectations of anyone. Create the music we would want to listen to ourselves. Try not to directly copy any band or genre; just throw it all in the blender and set it to maximum.

Can you tell us about the themes behind ‘Skipper‘ and how the track came to fruition?

Adam: Skipper was based around an idea Sophie had, she set the tone and rallied me to the cause. It’s a repulsive tale of the trust fund beneficiary.

Sophie: I’ve seen with my own eyes how money can buy you everything but talent.

‘Skipper’ features fun, frenzied instrumentals but there also lies a deeper message in the lyrics about class divide and hierarchy – how do you strike a balance between playfulness and sincerity in your music?

Adam: I think that’s a case of keeping it realistic, everything needs to be one part humour to every measure of earnest. It’s just the way we roll, we don’t over think any of it but we aren’t mindless either. We don’t ever want to patronise anyone.

Sophie: All of my favourite lyricists have an impeccable ability to balance smirking humour and striking, sickening truth in their music. It just makes it truly human. I genuinely think it’s still the thing AI bots can’t quite grasp when making music and hopefully never will.

Are there any influences, musical or otherwise, that shaped your sound which listeners might not expect from you?

Adam: Punk bands like The Damned, The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks etc. Metal; all the obvious stuff like Black Sabbath, Motörhead. More mind bending stuff like Captain Beefheart, Mr Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3.

All the Jazz greats. I really like the guitarist Grant Green, Jazz fusion stuff like John Mclaughlin, Japanese Jazz fusion like Casiopea, especially their first record and ‘Mint Jams‘, the great live one. Masayoshi Takanaka is one of the greatest guitarists. Funk, Sly and Family Stone, George Clinton, various film sound tracks, a lot of 80s bands, especially The Cure. We have far too many musical influences to mention them all, obviously massively inspired by Film, Art, Sport, etc but keeping it purely musical today.

Sophie: My guilty pleasure is show tunes.

Your debut EP ‘Y‘ was released in April and received a lot of positive feedback. What was it like to see that early support, and did it influence your feelings going into the release of ‘Skipper‘?

Adam: It was a lovely feeling to have so many people getting behind us and enjoy what we are doing. ‘Skipper‘ is a little window into our future.

Sophie: Yeah, I guess ‘Skipper’ was a bigger push into the sound we’re enjoying making together at the moment and the positive reaction to our first EP spurred us on.

You recently performed at Third Man Records in London and Left Of The Dial Festival in Rotterdam – how did you prepare your live set for two very different venues?

Adam: We treat every gig and audience with the exact same level of respect. We have high standards when it comes to sounding as good as we can live. We need to make ourselves buzz off the sound and enjoy it. If you aren’t giving it everything you can, then why should the audience? Every gig is important.

Sophie: We don’t really prepare per se. But we often opt for high protein, vegan for Harry and then a few drinks to follow before we hit the stage.

With the band name Y and the latest single questioning social hierarchy, what else are you questioning at the moment?

Adam: Question everything! Everyone thinks they have the answers when they haven’t even understood the question. We are deep into the age of the internet and there is no going back, for better or for worse. No one knows what’s real anymore.

Sophie: Who’s going to win the World Cup?

What are you most looking forward to for 2026?

Adam: Releasing new music, reaching new territories musically and physically. We should be getting over to Europe a bit more. Life is short and we are raring to go. Full steam ahead!

Listen to ‘Skipper’ here: