Credit Tanner Deutsch
Following recent single Winona, Toward A Never Ending New Beginning is set to solidify Yoke Lore as an indie pioneer. Combining electronic beats with subtle instrumentation, each song on Toward A Never Ending New Beginning is sonically diverse and thoughtfully crafted, taking listeners on a journey of self-discovery along with Yoke Lore. He sees his upcoming album and the Yoke Lore project as one that fosters connection and community – “My voice and my history and my banjo and my body are the building materials for my boat that can fit everyone.”
The I-Ching, often translated as The Book of Change, is an ancient Chinese divination text that maps out 64 transitions that you could possibly be going through at any time, reflected in the form of hexagrams. Galvin views his debut record Toward a Never Ending New Beginning, as being guided by the principles of the I-Ching. It is a meditation on all the little changes Galvin has gone through in his life: from celebrations to moments of sadness to moments of stillness. All of it is connected, all of it is related.
You’re releasing your debut album this month! What can we expect from your album sound-wise? Any sonic and lyrical novelties or departures from the past?
There is my past self in these songs. Songs like shape and fight are older and feel like they encompass my history in them but there are songs like Holy Havoc that feel like a future me. I think the song is right where I am. I’m not sure about novelties but these are songs that feel like they take on my complete history and identity. I want these songs to give hints of pine and wet dirt. I want them to burn green and blue and give the listener a glow. They are my therapeutic process. The outdoor truths to my inner workings.
Do you have a favorite song on the album?
Softly
What is the story behind the title? What does it mean to you?
It’s a challenge to myself and the listener. How can you make a dawn out of every day. How can you find a beginning in each ending? Can you find a little heaven in every hell? It’s also prescriptive. The hint is to keep moving. The trick is in the dance. Zen mind beginner’s mind.
Who are some of the artists that inspired your creativity growing up?
Bad Brains, James Taylor, Ben Kweller, Sun Ra, The Roches, Allen Menken, Rancid, Nas
You’ve toured with many great acts. Any favorites from the list and why?
Mt. Joy was a super wild time. I’ve never toured with virtuosos before. Every show is a masterclass in musicianship.
What do you think is the most important element you need to pursue and make it into the music industry today?
Persistence.
Self discovery and community seem to be big themes throughout the singles from this album. Can you expand on this?
Not really. I mean I can explain what it means to me but I’m still figuring out how those ideas relate to music on the fundamental levels that I experience them in. I think music was an essential step in the evolution of human beings. To make music is to align yourself with nature and to rise above it at the same time. Humans are mockingbirds. We sing to reflect the majesty of natural forces like love and the ocean. Another huge part of human evolution was building communities. Banding together helped us survive. Music is a binding agent. It connects and holds together. Much like a yoke. I’m still figuring out how I as an artist fit into the larger frameworks of human evolution and our place in the natural order of things. But i think the reflection of nature in music, and the way we use that to connect to one another is one of its most valuable tools we as humans have.
Anything you’d like for your fans to take away from this record?
Yes and no. Firstly I want every listener to do what they will with this. Music and art in general are for people to make themselves out of. It’s not for me to tell them how to use it. Artists get into trouble like that. My music is an offering. That would be like if I gave an unhoused person on the street $5 and then told them they had to go buy a milkshake with the money. It kind of negates the offering altogether if there’s a directive on how to use it. I can offer what it means to me, but I wouldn’t want to hem in someone’s explorations with my boundaries. But if I had a wish for people with regard to what they did with this album, I would want them to try and see themselves in it.
