Biography

Black Yaya is the eclectic pop project of David Ivar, formerly leader of the folky French act Herman Düne. Late in 2012, Ivar realized that Herman Düne had run its course and that he needed to make music in a different, more independent way. Inspired by the music of Bob Dylan and John Lennon, 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, Ivar took his songwriting in a more stylized direction. The project made its unofficial recorded debut with the tour-only release Gimme a Gun/September Songs; meanwhile, Ivar also worked on the music for Olivier Lambert and Thomas Salva's film Chasing Bonnie & Clyde. Black Yaya's official debut arrived in September 2013 with the Paint a Smile on Me EP, which was released on Yuksek's Partyfine label and also included remixes by him. Ivar decamped to Los Angeles to record Black Yaya's self-titled first album, playing and recording all the parts on his own (with the exception of backing vocals by his partner, Mayon). The first taste of the album arrived in January 2015 with the Flying a Rocket single, and Black Yaya was released that March. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi