Band Meeting with YOVA

We catch up with YOVA who are Jova Radevska & Mark Vernon

Back in the good old days record shops have departments – Rock/Country/Dance/Pop etc – as the shop owner, where am I going to put your albums? 

Mark: Ideally there’d be a ‘YOVA music‘ department in your store. Or we’d be racked in every department!  In all honesty I really don’t think we are that easily pigeonholed. Personally I would settle with ‘Soul’ as we’d be in good company. ‘Cinematic Pop’ is sometimes mentioned but equally we don’t consciously consider writing within the restrictions of any musical genre. It is simply YOVA music. So to whoever is the shop owner: we’d leave this entirely up to you.

Jova: This is a bit tricky, as YOVA have pop, pop/rock, alternative & country numbers, however to summarise, it just may end up in the pop section.

Since coming the the UK Jova, it looks like a pretty meteoric path to where you are today (Donny Darko – Omar Basaad, having songs picked for a movie and now working together with Mark Vernon as YOVA)
Does it feel meteoric?

Jova: It feels like pages of different books to be honest, each with their own story/experience that has made me show up for YOVA as I am today.
I was a child performer that did TV appearances and to this day one can still hear my voice on Macedonian National Radio.

I read somewhere YOVA being described as an ‘analogue duo’  – what’s your interpretation of that?

Mark: Essentially we use analogue not digital instrumentation. We like to incorporate less orthodox analogue and exotic ‘real’ instruments such as the Marxophone, the ondes- Martenot, the kalimba, and the Moog. But we are by no means anti-electronica.

Jova: I suppose it’s referring to the fact that predominantly there is use of live instruments on all of YOVA’s songs., instead of electronic / programmed sounds.

How do the songs emerge? Are they written by one and arranged by the other? How does the duo work this sort of thing?

Mark: Typically I write the chords and music and arrange the instrumentation. Jova writes the lyrics and top line melody.
However the process remains fluid.

Jova: Predominantly I write the melody & lyrics and Mark does the instrumentation. However it has happened that we have mixed the elements a bit on the rare occasion.

Beer, Cider or Kumbacha? This sort of thing is important in Totnes, we need to know.

Mark: In my case the Totnes Brewing Company looks interesting. But anything non-corporate that’s made/ brewed locally to Totnes.

Jova: Ha ha, I’m Macedonian & don’t drink alcohol, I’d rather sip on water to keep those vocal chords pristine.

It’s great that you’re coming to Things Happen Here for such an intimate gig, Is there a connection with the west country?

Mark: In my case I used to play in a West Country based group with John Parish (PJ Harvey) and Rob Ellis (also PJH, Marianne Faithfull/ Anna Calvi) back in the early 80’s round the West Country. We were called The Headless Horseman. I played a wheezy old 1960’s Vox Continental organ (the type used by Ray Manzarek of The Doors). My old friend Rob who is still West Country based has played on and arranged some of the YOVA tracks and plays on both our albums. Some of this music was written in a little village called Winfrith Newburgh near Lulworth in Dorset. Also I recall playing a few very ‘lively’ Miners Benefit gigs in 1984 with a splinter group in places like Bridgwater, including one supporting Billy Bragg.
And of course Polly Harvey who I managed as PJH in her early career comes from Corscombe in Dorset. We recorded her first single ‘Dress’ which I co-produced along with ‘Happy and Bleeding’ (off her debut album ‘Dry’) with Head at The Icehouse in Yeovil.

Jova: My sister lives in Cornwall where I often visit & Devon is pretty close.

Jova, your early website is lovely but was last updated in 2017. My friend’s sister knows something about websites and she’s cheap – Is that of any interest?

Jova: That is very true, the only reason I haven’t updated it is because I haven’t come round to doing it. In any case would be good to have your sister’s number when I am ready. In the meantime YOVA has recently updated their website: www.yovamusic.com 🙂

If the first album ‘Nine Lives‘ was “a trip to a sonic adventure park” how would you describe the ‘Dreamcatchers’ album?

Jova: I’ll let Mark answer this one, he is very good with words.

Mark: ‘Dreamcatchers’ is s trip beyond the sonic adventure park into a parallel universe that exists on a completely different aural plane.

I highly recommend Pizzalogica right next to THH… what are you having? Margherita , Pepperoni or Napoletana?

Jova: Thank you for the recommendation!
Something Vegan with mushrooms, olives & artichokes if possible.

Mark: I’ll take a lead from Jova – but preferably with plenty of added olives for that all important vitamin E and antioxidant fix!

YOVA are playing at Things Happen Here on October 12th Tickets available here: