Twinset
Author: Shaun Chait
While this interview is taking place, they are approached by a local venue owner asking them to play yet another gig. When I comment to drummer Paul Hoskin and organist Christopher Yeabsley that it must be a nice position to be in, they tell me they have recently had to turn down paid residencies. If you are thinking this must be part of a Tui ad (yeah, right), then you obviously don't live in Wellington, where Twinset play more than the Hurricanes do.
The threesome that make up Twinset (the other third is sax/flute player Daniel Yeabsley, Christopher's twin – which the band name plays on) met on the Wellington Polytechnic Jazz course five or so years ago. While jazz is one description of what the band plays, it is a pretty loose one, not really doing the music justice. In fact Christopher sees it as a term to almost sidestep.
"I try and avoid using the word jazz because of the connotations it has for a lot of people," he explains. The guys say that Twinset use jazz instrumentation and improvisation, but not as they are often thought of or regarded. Other influences include instrumental R&B, funk, and artists like Booker T and the MGs.
"We make use of a lot of breakbeats and improvise and take solos over grooves," Paul expands. "We take a lot out of black music from the '60s and '70s soul jazz, without being either."
Which fits them nicely into Wellington's cafe/lounge/jazz scene. Christopher and Paul say they don't have much contact with the jazz scene, aligning themselves more closely with the roots goings on of artists like The Black Seeds and TrinityRoots. The guys attended jazz school with members of TrinityRoots, and recently provided a version on The Black Seeds' 'Pushed' remix album.
"We identify more with the roots bands, and I think we reflect that scene unconsciously," Paul begins. "There's a lot of dubby stuff and skanking going down."
He acknowledges Twinset's place in the jazz scene too though. "Within the jazz scene, there's two elements – the alternative, experimental, and the working jazz scene. We kinda bridge the gap."
Twinset started in 1997 as The Spider-men, gaining a residency at local club Tatau playing from 1am – 4am every Friday night.
"That gave us the direction for the rest of our time together," Paul begins. "It's difficult to connect with an audience without a vocalist – you've really gotta sweat."
The band then moved onto The Matterhorn. "There it was a bit more chilled. We went from playing rock'n'roll instrumentals with jazz instrumentation into something more relaxed. We had to play quietly, and were more worried about tunes instead of grooves."
