Late last year, Jason Navarrete and Jitta were introduced while collaborating for a commissioned musical project.
The agreement was simple, the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter/animator duo was to create music and release it under the highering brand's moniker, "Yellow Trash Can."
What happened next would arrive like a furtive stroke of luck. After the company ran off with their contract unfulfilled, the Portland duo managed to take the 'Yellow Trash Can (YTC)' title for themselves, regained the rights to the music they produced, and swan-dove into the music industry spotlight with "Populated."
This year their musical expanses proceed, developing their craft and working with budding Artists as a production house: making ideas come to life through sound, animation, and anything multimedia.
Their freshest single "Alone," flourishes in the same states as their previous release, appearing half-inebriated, thoroughly melancholic, and undoubtedly fleshy, like a combo of elegists communicating with their inner despairs: "Came in this world alone, I'd probably die with you, No place nowhere to go."
Though YTC sound subdued and exposed in their lyrics, it's not unlikely that you'd suddenly have the urge to immerse yourself in the moody vibes the duo distribute, drawing semblance to the variety of drippy bonniness that Post Malone has maintained.
The top-line here is sung with a soft-nurtured timbre that chaperones the heavy-hearted anecdotes about love and loss undeviatingly towards your heart, creating a saucy experience that urges you to suspend yourself within the YTC's buzzing sonics. It's a track that traverses between Hip-hop, R&B, and trap, utilizing punchy drums, scattering hi-hats, indie-winking guitars, and melodious vocal harmonies that work in tandem to super-charge the atmospheres surrounding you.
Yellow Trash Can infuse "Alone" with an infectious new-age aesthetic, never shying away from moody instrumentals and exposed narratives that fester within doom-and-gloom.
In lieu of kitsch or carbonated clichés, these Portland household names perpetually succeed in delivering music that sticks like adhesive, despite the emotional topic. Their latest single is a testament to the know-how and love this duo has for their craft, and it's exciting to see what they'll come up with next.
What were some of the emotions you found yourselves channeling into for "Alone," and how do they compare to the ones you utilized for 'Populated'?
Channeling the emotions for Alone was super easy, as it's just something Jitta and I always feel. One of the reasons we get along is that we are very similar, we have a problem with viewing us in the rest of the world. Definitely hyper-focused on depression, somber loneliness, feeling as if there really isn't anyone else out there that can relate to you, from the get-go until your current age.
How did the inception of 'Alone' happen? Was this a song about a personal life experience that you felt others might relate to?
The beat for alone started off with the guitar! Jason was noodling around and randomly started playing the riff, so we immediately recorded it. Finished the beat aside from the bass. Jitta laid the 808's down a few days later and we had the finished beat. I (Jason) honestly hated this beat, I felt the guitar and bass were too conflicting because of the minor/major discrepancy. We wrote most of it on the ride to the studio that day, and then the rest after a spliff in the parking lot.
Can you run us through your songwriting process and how a melody or MIDI note translates into your final polished products? How do you go from melody and rhythm to a finished track like 'Alone?'
Melody definitely came from the guitar, as well as the rhythm. It's what we started with, guitar. After guitar, we added drums and eventually the 808's. We rarely use any samples and all instruments/melodies/sounds come from us exclusively. It's definitely a challenge to turn the lyrics and feel of a song into something cohesive, but Alone for sure stood out and overcame that challenge.
If you could give your audience a few words that would act as the prologue to the experience behind "Alone," and the upcoming music and video you have lined up for this year, what would you say?
Alone was a song we wanted to get out of the way. It's by no means our best music. It's something we knew out of the original batch of songs we made, that people really liked, (except Jason lol) so we wanted to make sure we put it out. We just produced track #8 on Blocboy JB's new album "Fatboy". C heck out our song Carlton! Blocboy is shooting a video for it, which is exciting and should be on the upcoming radar. For the rest of the year, we have 2 more singles, one more video, and a few more production placements. Our goal is to finish out 2020 with finishing our introduction to the world as artists, a band, and producers, to launch 2021 with a lot more of our own music.
What has been keeping you inspired in 2020?
2020 has been a rough one, for everyone, and inspiration has been HARD. Shuffling between the new "norm", health issues not related to covid, and being 1000 miles apart, it's quite hard to function as a band. Jitta is based in LA and Jason is out in Portland, having only seen each other twice this year, it's been quite the journey. But we've successfully finished 30+ songs, and who knows how many beats. A lot of inspiration has been fueled by the artists we are collaborating with, such as Chad Tepper, ILoveMakonnen, Myke Bogan, Keith Canva$, 808 Mafia's Purps, CraigyF, Blocboy JB, and many many more.
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