Yello
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Yello is a popular Swiss electronica band made up of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank. They are probably most well-known for their single "Oh Yeah" which featured a rich mix of electronic music and vocals manipulation. The song became famous after being featured in the American movies Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Secret of My Success.
Yello was originally formed by Boris Blank and Carlos Peron, often referred to as the band's third unknown member, in the late 1970s. Dieter Meier, a millionaire playboy with a very versatile career, was brought in when the two founders realised that they needed a singer. Meier and Blank joined forces in 1979 to release a single called "I.T. Splash." The LP Solid Pleasure was released the following year, featuring the hit dance single "Bostich." It wasn't until 1983 that they received substantial media attention, with the release of "I Love You" and "Lost Again." Peron left the band in 1983 to start a solo career.
Yello takes great pride in their original sound which is mainly characterised by weird samples, a heavy reliance on rhythm and Dieter Meier's dark voice. Every track on a Yello album has been created by the band from scratch. Every instrument has been sampled and engineered by Boris Blank, who over the years has built up an original sample library of over 100,000 named and categorized sounds.
Yello's music is by its fans often described as very visual, creating dramatic movie-like visions in their minds. This characteristic has made Yello popular in the TV, advertisement and movie industries. The single "Oh Yeah" alone has been featured in numerous TV commercials, been the soundtrack for American Football on US TV and included in at least five different Hollywood movies, while another top single, "The Race" has been heavily used by Eurosport. Yello also created the soundtrack for the British comedy film Nuns on the Run and the American movie The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. They also recorded a version of Jingle Bells for the film The Santa Clause.
Meier is also a filmmaker, having written and directed the films Jetzt und Alles and Lightmaker as well as most of Yello's music videos. He's also directed videos for Alphaville ("Big In Japan") and Trio ("Da Da Da").
Released albums
- Solid Pleasure (1980)
- Claro Que Si (1981)
- You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess (1983)
- Stella (1985)
- 1980-1985 The New Mix in One Go (remix)(1986)
- One Second (1987)
- Flag (1988)
- Baby (1991)
- Essential Yello (compilation)(1992)
- Zebra (1994)
- Pocket Universe (1997)
- Eccentrix (remix)(1999)
- Motion Picture (1999)
- The Eye (2003)
External links
- Official site (http://www.yello.ch/)
- YELLOzone (http://www.totalobscurity.com/yello/)de:Yello