Biography
David Ivar, who once led the folky French group Herman Düne, channels his vision through the eclectic pop project Black Yaya. By the end of 2012 he concluded that Herman Düne had reached its limit and that a more autonomous path was necessary. Influences ranging from Bob Dylan and John Lennon to the art of Hieronymus Bosch and Marcel Duchamp, films such as Night of the Hunter and The Killing, writers including Daphne du Maurier and Raymond Chandler, and his own dreams and visions prompted him to pursue a more stylized songwriting approach. Black Yaya surfaced unofficially through the tour-only release Gimme a Gun/September Songs, while Ivar simultaneously scored Olivier Lambert and Thomas Salva’s film Chasing Bonnie & Clyde. The project’s first official statement came in September 2013 with the Paint a Smile on Me EP, issued on Yuksek’s Partyfine label and containing his own remixes. Ivar moved to Los Angeles to lay down the self-titled debut album, performing and tracking every part himself aside from backing vocals supplied by his partner Mayon. The Flying a Rocket single offered the first preview in January 2015, and the album followed that March.
Singles
