The Musical Styling of Post-Rock: Yndi Halda

Yndi Halda, the name may turn you off at a first glance but once you know what instruments the members James Vella, Jack Lambert, Daniel Neal, Brendan Grieve, and Oliver Newton play, you will think twice about what these young gents are all about. The instruments range from Guitar, Glockenspeil, Piano, Lapsteel, Banjo, Organ, Drums, Violin, Bass and Tamborine. You don't see these instruments being used by mainstream artists these days. These gentlemen hail from Canterbury, UK, They formed Yndi Halda in 2001 while most members were still in school. Former bassist Daniel Lovegrove was only considered a member during the recording of "Enjoy Eternal Bliss" in the summer of 2005.

They began recording three tracks that appeared on the intial self-release of "Enjoy Eternal Bliss", which was finished the later part of 2005. Even though they self-released their own album, Yndi Halda still kept up their spritis and continued to trug through the negative comments on their Myspace page. They gained attention by their distinctive, colorful hand-made covers. Their first album releases are compared to bands like Mogwai, Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Their fanbase gained a strong following from their self-released EP despite limited exposure on their live gigs.They signed with European record label Big Scary Monsters and Burnt Toast Vinyl in North America in 2006. Their release of "Enjoy Eternal Bliss" followed in 2007. The album featured a fourth song previously unavailable on the self-released edition. Despite still being labeled an EP, the four song version runs more than an hour long. The band was voted "Ones to watch in '07" by Rock Sound magazine in the UK, who awared their self-released EP "Enjoy Eternal Bliss" a near perfect hit in their February 2007 magazine.

Their song "We Flood Empty Lakes" was featured on a recent FuelTV commercial. New material has risen from live materlal since the last half of 2007, which was suggested a dramatic change in direction from the band. Previously they have been strictly instrumental and electronic, this new material a notable shift to acoustic instruments like acoustic guitar, organ and double bass with more vocal songwriting. Accorrding to their Myspace page two new songs will be titled "La Lumiere Lit" and "This Very Fight". Whether these songs will be featured on thier forthcoming album is yet to be determined.

Members:

James Vella (guitars, glockenspiel, lapsteel, banjo, piano, casiotone, vocals)

Jack Lambert (guitars)

Daniel Neal (violin)

Brendan Grieve (bass)

Oliver Newton (drums and percussion)The Lunchtime Sardine Club is band member Oliver Newton's side-project. No plans have been made to release any material yet. Tracks can be downloaded from the band's Myspace page.

External Links:

* [http://www.yndihalda.com Official Site]
* [http://www.last.fm/music/Yndi+Halda Last.fm page]
* [http://www.myspace.com/yndihalda Official MySpace page]
* [http://www.mountain7.co.uk/m_blog/index.php?/archives/166-Yndi-Halda-Interview.html Band Interview]
* [http://durham21.co.uk/archive/archive.asp?ID=3484 Review of 'Enjoy Eternal Bliss' by Paul Tourle]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjrVTXzUL3A Fuel TV Commercial]
* [http://www.thesilentballet.com/dnn/Home/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/367/ItemID/1759/Default.aspx Interview with Yndi Halda on their first American tour] by Tom Butcher, [http://www.thesilentballet.com The Silent Ballet]