Jona Bechtolt

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Jona Bechtolt

Background information
Also known as YACHT
Born December 2, 1980 (1980-12-02) (age 27)
Origin Portland, Oregon, United States
Genre(s) Indie rock
Years active Since 2003 (as YACHT)
Label(s) States Rights Records, Marriage Records
Website www.teamyacht.com

Jona Bechtolt (born December 2, 1980) is an electronic musician and multimedia artist based in Portland, Oregon, United States. He is a former member of The Blow, and has released solo records under the name YACHT since 2003. Nearly all of his recordings have been distributed by States Rights Records.

Contents

[edit] Background

Bechtolt was born in Astoria, Oregon. Bechtolt began playing music as a teenager.[1] He dropped out of high school to play drums in his brother's touring punk band.[1] He started working with electronics in the late 1990s.[1]

[edit] YACHT

In January 2006, YACHT was commissioned for two performances for the New York based art and technology platform Rhizome, as part of their "Crap-tops vs Laptops" show. In February 2006, he performed at the Museum of Modern Art's P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center[1] and produced an hour-long internet radio program with Clear Cut Press; a Northwest-based publisher of new literary work. In October 2006, he performed at The Kitchen in New York as well as the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, France.

In 2007, YACHT released I Believe in You. Your Magic Is Real on his label Marriage Records. It was simultaneously released in Europe, Japan, Australia and China. For the release party, Bechtolt performed a concert on an actual yacht[2] on the Willamette River in Portland. During 2007, Bechtolt performed more than 200 concerts on six different continents. I Believe in You, Your Magic is Real was named album of the week by UK record store chain Rough Trade.

His live performances include dancing to the music that he has created[3] as well as elaborate PowerPoint presentations. He documents his professional and sometimes personal life via video, text, and images on his archival blog.

[edit] Other projects

In 2003, Bechtotl was commissioned to create a full length audio/visual electronic pop opera by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA).[1] He performed with his group The Badger King with bandmate M. Ritchey (a Wolf Colonel and Dear Nora alumnus who went on to record alone as Manta, and then Mantar).

In 2006, Bechtolt collaborated with Khaela Maricich as half of the pop group The Blow to release Paper Television. Bechtolt toured extensively with The Blow, providing beats and backup vocals until quitting the band in 2007 in order to focus on his work in YACHT.

In 2007, Bechtolt collaborated with Aaron Flint Jamison to create Flickrblockrs, a limited edition satire-based pair of glasses that make a subjects' eyes unrecognizable in photographs. In 2008, Bechtolt and long-time partner/collaborator Claire L. Evans created "Airmail" which is an accessory laptop sleeve for Apple's MacBook Air.

Bechtolt's sound production has also been featured on various television commercials. Bechtolt has collaborated with many other artists, including Devendra Banhart, Bobby Birdman, Little Wings, The Microphones and Mirah.[1] He is a co-founder of the Portland-based popular blogging web community Urban Honking as well as the producer, editor, cameraman and a writer of The Ultimate Blogger.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Solo (as YACHT)

[edit] Appearances

  • The Badger King, The Lighthouse, The Giant (2001, This Heart Plays Records)
  • The Badger King, Tongue & Tooth EP (2002, States Rights Records)[4]
  • The Badger King, Break Up (2003, States Rights Records)[4]
  • Little Wings, Magic Wand (2004, K Records)
  • The Blow, Poor Aim: Love Songs (2004, States Rights Records/Slender Means Society/K Records)[4]
  • Various Artists, Own Zone (2004, States Rights Records)[4]
  • Devendra Banhart, Cripple Crow (2005, XL Recordings)
  • Mantar, Classic Battles (2005, Marriage Records)
  • Various Artists, Bro Zone (2005, States Rights Records)
  • Bobby Birdman, Giraffes and Jackals (2006, States Rights Records)[4]
  • The Blow, Paper Television (2006, K Records)
  • David Shrigley, Worried Noodles (2007, Tomlab)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Jona Bechtolt at Allmusic
  2. ^ Photos: YACHT on Yacht (Portland, OR; 05/05/07). Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  3. ^ Yacht destroys the stage at NME SXSW show. NME News (March 14, 2008).
  4. ^ a b c d e e-store on States Rights Records web site. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
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[edit] External links

[edit] Press