YĪN YĪN

The Dutch quartet YĪN YĪN crafts a cosmic, danceable blend of funk, disco, psychedelia, and Southeast Asian traditions. Maastricht served as the formation site in 2017, when the group first operated under the name Lady Boys with Yves Lennertz covering guitar, bass, phin, synthesizer, and vocals, Kees Berkers handling drums, percussion, and synthesizer, Remy Scheren on bass guitar, and Robbert Verwijlen supplying organ and synthesizer. A cassette called Pingpxng appeared in 2018 under the original name, after which they adopted YĪN YĪN and issued the debut single “Dion Ysiusk” on Les Disques Bongo Joe. Their surf-influenced first album, The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers, surfaced in October 2019, drawing a substantial audience that included admirers of Khruangbin and L’Éclair. “Haw Phin,” composed during the COVID-19 lockdown, followed as a 2020 single. Once live shows resumed, the band prepared its sophomore effort, resulting in The Age of Aquarius, a disco-heavy and more mystical, party-friendly release shaped by the Yuga Cycle in Hindu cosmology and delivered by Glitterbeat in 2022. After Lennertz exited, Erik Bandt joined on guitar. YĪN YĪN tracked its third album, Mount Matsu, inside a self-owned studio in the Belgian countryside, where Stax soul and Japanese city pop entered the mix, before the record emerged in January 2024.