“Thank you” doesn’t cut it — but thank you, @youngfriend for letting me crawl into the pulsing, vulnerable chamber of your sound. It was a real chaotic privilege, a joyride through your brain’s melodic back alleys. And letting me mix that - tinker with that? That’s trust. That’s art. That’s rock n’ roll. That’s communion. Happy release day!
This song needs no introduction. We all know it—it’s in our blood as Canadians. 🇨🇦 Whether you’re a musician in an indie band emulating its spirit, or a fan watching from the galley, it’s part of us - biblical.
@samrobertsband had some kind of divine rock ‘n’ roll fever dream—that “Brother Down” needs a UK version. Like the song itself has unfinished business across the pond, itching to pace cobblestone alleys and chain-smoke in a trench coat.
Well, originally I’m from Manchester, that rain-slick cathedral of sound. So I had to be involved. It was fate, dressed in a cagoule and shaking some maracas.
So we got to work, giving it a second soul—dousing that track in post-industrial shimmer right there in Montreal, a city that knows a thing or two about that itself.
Big thanks to the fellas for bringing me in and giving me a culinary tour of Little Italy.
✌️ ❤️
I’m a big @thelemontwigs fan, so this week on @impossiblewayoflife podcast was a real thrill 🎸
If you haven’t done a line and dove headfirst into this rock n’ roll curiosity swap meet of a thing me and @mrjohnnypayne have been doing, there are 400 episodes out and about now, and this might be a nice place to start.
Podcast Alert 🚨 Episode 403 - Arthur (Feat. Brian D’Addario of The Lemon Twigs)
Brian D’Addario, walking and talking with us from some postcard-perfect New York park, isn’t just someone who talks about baroque pop—he lives it, breathes it, probably dreams it in four-part harmonies. Naturally, he’s also the perfect guest for a rambling, freewheeling deep dive into Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), the Kinks’ sweeping, underrated epic of crumbling empires and lost dreams—an album so rich in melancholy and melody I half expected it to start raining tea.
We also chat with Brian about his latest single, which lands with a well-timed, Dylanesque delivery—a knowing nod to the great songbook of rock ‘n’ roll history. It’s all very New York, very timeless, and as the golden-hour sun cuts through the trees, the whole thing feels like our own little When Harry Met Sally moment—if Sally had a Rickenbacker and Harry could name every chord progression on Village Green.
Thank you, Brian, for your Kinksy musical illuminations—we hope you managed to recover that song you accidentally recorded over just before the pod. Ah, the dangers of tape.
Peace and Love
Last year, I had the damn good fortune of mixing on Dawson Gool’s Bark Mulch—a record that’s less an album and more a collection of memories pressed onto tape. These are delicate, nostalgia-soaked songs, written by Dawson and produced to eerie perfection by him and @semi.athletic .
I keep coming back to it. Over and over. It’s the kind of record that syncs up with the world in unexpected ways—rainy beach walks, slow-burning sunsets, those moments when you let yourself sink just deep enough to find something less cynical, a softer way of being in the world. The ecstatic truth of human connection, woven through small moments that add up to a shared collection of memories—yeah, it’s in here.
Find it wherever you find music.
Thanks again, Dawson.
I had a good year last year - I got make some seriously good music, with some major players, and I got to mix some rippin’ records - and to be honest, it’s my favourite thing to do.
I’m upping my music business acumen score in 2024 with a shiny new website, complete with a lil’ Lefty Stratocaster as an arrow (I play a black one, but I went with sunburst here - more classic).
Take a look around and you’ll find links to the various work I have done over the last couple of years, whether in a songwriting, production, or mixing capacity.
And don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you feel like a good mix from me, could benefit your songs, your band, your life.
Link in bio
much love
JY
p.s - thanks for letting me wear your hat @tre__michael
Mixing the newest @samrobertsband L.P, was truly one of the highlights of my year - really digging this pretty special video to go along with the song “Projection,” by @kevinselection
Good Vibes. All Around. Go check it out🎸
It’s been a week since @yukonblonde released our 6th L.P “Shuggie.”
Feel proud and somewhat fortunate that through our music, we have been able to create a creative space, where we can write, engineer, record and produce our own music, entirely from the ground up.
Also fortunate that when I mix these albums, I get to road test all manner of new sonic ideas, effects, theories and systems, nerdy stuff that maybe only I can hear??? But it’s met with zero resistance.
Cheers to “Shuggie” and the fellas!
When I first came to Canada, hitchhiking through North America with my friend Mugger, we came across an artist called @samrobertsband
“We Were Born In A Flame” had just come out, and we took it back to England with us in our Grand Tour Treasure Chest - our secret Canadian Indie Rock Record.
A strange world, and how nice it can be when things come full circle. “I Dream of You” by Sam Roberts is out now, and mixed by me. Cheers Sam!
🎥 @joyeria.sounds
A couple of weeks ago, I started a podcast with Birthday Boy @mrjohnnypayne , called “An Impossible Way Of Life,” riffin’ ‘bout classic rock albums. New Episodes every Sunday and Wednesday. This Episode is Brian Wilson’s Sandpit masterpiece “Pet Sounds,” with special guest, meme master @vomcruise .
Link in bio!
“In Love Again” out now. I took a really deep dive on it, went in a Stereolab kinda Avant Pop direction with this mix. Big Spring Reverb on the snare, Dark plate on the vocals, with a big ping pong psychedelic delay. Phasers on guitars, phasers on drums hehe - and by the end everything is just panning and going bonkers. I took risks I don’t normally, mostly ‘cause Jeff and Graham kept pushing me to go further. It’s interesting, ‘cause it’s one of my favourite mixes precisely because it’s messy, almost like throwing paint at a wall. Anyway. Enjoy.
