memotone

Biography

“Blending a passion for experimental classical music with a clear understanding of bass music, Yate’s vision is quite strikingly unique,” Boomkat 2012

Memotone is a multi-instrumentalist and producer. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources, his sound is made up of layered instrumentation over the top of field recordings, conversation, atmospheres and programming all tied up with live acoustic drums and binaural percussion, often using an MPC 1000 for live edits. Also showing a keen interest in sound-scape and textural experimentation.

Memotone mainly works in his bedroom studio, but also has a live performance to offer. His show is a captivating blend of live instrumentation including piano, keyboard, clarinet, trumpet, zither, guitar, bass, drums, glockenspiel, organ, melodica and toy instruments looped on a Boss RC-50 loop pedal with live audio effected from a Kaoss Pad 3 and samples triggered from an MPC 1000. When playing, William Yates is switching from instrument to instrument, from pads to keys and from pedal to pedal and sometimes all together. “There are many more restrictions in live music, especially when performing on your own but it does bring something different to the music altogether that may be lost in a studio environment. When I play live I try and make it so every sound you hear you can see me create or trigger (when samples are involved.) I never use a laptop on stage and want to keep it that way. I think it’s much more interesting for the crowd and as a performer.”