The nature-inspired band Yuuf stopped by KALW to chat with Marcus Rosario about their current North American tour and their latest work, Mount Sava. Their members offer a candid look at the artistry and camaraderie driving their evolving sound, touching on everything from spontaneous studio sessions and the "happy accidents" of live recording, to the duality of aesthetic themes found across their releases.
MARCUS: Welcome to KALW, guys. I'm joined by the band Yuuf. They're in town for one night performing in San Francisco, and I was able to catch up with them. How are you guys doing?
HUGO: Yeah, good. Oh yeah.
ANTHONY: Good.
HUGO: Yes.
MARCUS: Hey.
ANTHONY: What a beautiful thing.
MARCUS: Can you all go around and introduce yourselves and say what you play in the band?
ANDRIN: Hello, my name is Andrin. I am from Switzerland, and I play percussion and handpan in Yuuf. Yay.
ANTHONY: Hello, I'm Anthony, and I play bass in Yuuf.
HUGO: Hello there. My name is Hugo. I am French, but I grew up in London, and I play guitar in Yuuf.
OLIVER: Hello, my name is Oliver, and I play drums.
MARCUS: And you guys put out a new record. Congrats. We've been playing it on KALW.
ANDRIN: Thank you.
ANTHONY: Thank you.
MARCUS: And you're touring it right now. What cities have you gone to, and how's the tour been so far?
ANTHONY: So far, it's been really incredible. To be honest, this is our first time in North America, and we are blown away. You guys are the biggest of sweethearts. We started in Toronto, then went to Denver, then New York, and now we are here in San Francisco. Some of you might be thinking that's a lot of flying, and you'd be absolutely right. It is a lot of flying.
MARCUS: So for anyone new to Yuuf, how would you describe your music and your sound without using any genres or labels? What would you describe it as?
ANDRIN: Nature-inspired.
ANTHONY: Probably like sun streaks. I imagine like sun streaks or loads of sunbeams. Yeah, and clouds and stuff.
ANDRIN: Groove.
ANTHONY: Groove. I think if there was an ideal situation to listen to our music, it would probably be when you're taking a good long walk in one of your beautiful mountains or parks in this country. I think that's probably the right mood.
HUGO: Yeah, I mean just nature elements. But it's kind of been said a few times. I also like adding to the parks and the mountains by the sea or by a lake. That works too.
MARCUS: And what's the origin story of the band? How did you come together, and how did this band come to exist?
HUGO: We originally all met at university, but we didn't play together back then. Some of us played in bands as session musicians, but the four of us never actually got to play together. The band started during COVID with Ollie on drums and myself on guitar. We never took it seriously at first because Ollie was supposed to go back and become a lawyer in Denmark and quit music, but that didn't happen. We always knew we wanted Anthony on bass. It felt good, but we were like, okay, let's spice it up a bit. Ollie suggested bringing in Andrin on handpan. We came up with the first song we ever released together as the four of us, “Silky Spring” that day. I think we all knew it was pretty special at that moment.
ANTHONY: I'm still not sure how I feel about having Andrin in the band because he's too good. That's the truth. This guy can play any instrument. We were in a music shop in New York the other day, and he just picked up every single flute of every origin, shape, and size. It was quite frustrating to be honest because he could play all of them immediately.
ANDRIN: If you had a guitar in the studio, I could completely prove you wrong.
MARCUS: That sounds amazing, to just be able to pick up anything. How does the ideation process happen when it comes to new music or new ideas?
HUGO: We each really contribute our fair share on every song. I wouldn't say there is a leader when it comes to songwriting. It can start from anywhere. Sometimes Anthony will bring a bassline, sometimes we're jamming in a room and then Andrin comes up with an idea that becomes a song. Ollie will be like, “Hey, I listened to this Tony Allen group. Let's jam on this.” There is no real leader. Often someone is jamming, and another member of the band spots a good moment. One of us might bring something into the studio, and we workshop it together. It's really 25 percent each. That’s how I see it.
ANTHONY: We are in an interesting space for songwriting because we play instrumental music, but not improvised jazz. We write full parts and journeys for each song. There aren't many bands that do that, so we are in our own little pocket.
MARCUS: You mentioned Tony Allen. Who are some of your inspirations beyond nature? What do you consume that informs your music?
ANDRIN: One that comes to mind is Ariwo. Maybe also Dario Moya on guitar. Lately we've been exploring North African rhythms, especially for me as a rhythmic player. That has fascinated me for a long time.
ANTHONY: I love ambient, experimental, and shoegaze music, which influences our production, especially overdubs. For songwriting, I love José González. He's incredible, as a songwriter and for harmony. And then also I love, I keep mentioning this everywhere I go, but I love the Allman Brothers as well, just because I think they're just a good vibe.
HUGO: For the Mount Sava record, one of my biggest inspirations was Francisco Tárrega, a classical guitarist from Spain in the late 19th century. Through him, I also listened to Albéniz, the piano equivalent. All of Albéniz's pieces are known as guitar pieces. I also drew inspiration from Ennio Morricone, especially his spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood.
ANTHONY: I think our inspirations are always moving. From our three EPs to Mount Sava, we push each other to explore new music constantly. We share a monthly playlist on all platforms with four new songs we like. Recently, we had a big period of listening to, Peruvian music because Hugo brought it in and then everyone was like, oh my god, this is such a beautiful culture in life. And, and that continual push I think is also, hopefully what's gonna keep us inspired.
MARCUS: Going back to Mount Sava, I read it has a desert theme. What brought that about, and what significance does it represent? Also, what’s next for your music?
ANDRIN: The desert theme emerged naturally from the music itself. While writing Mount Sava and our previous EP, Alma’s Cove, we noticed dualities in some pieces, opposites but still related. That became the theme. Colors like red and sandy yellow appeared naturally, and sonic textures found themselves into the compositions. We were led by music and intuition, not a pre-made concept. As for what's next, we are letting the work from this year breathe. We'll tour with it, and the new year will bring what it brings.
MARCUS: Were there any interesting moments or happy accidents while recording this record?
ANTHONY: “Mesa Mesa,” our first single, came from Hugo’s riff and my love for harmonic minor. That song set the feeling for the record and snowballed from there.
HUGO: We do a lot of long jams, recording on voice memos for 20 minutes or more, then listen back to find moments to develop.
HUGO: Unlike Alma’s Cove, which we recorded in six full days, Mount Sava was made in short sessions between gigs or admin. We’d get in the studio, put a few microphones up, and just go. Happy accidents happen that way, but we aim to make the record as quickly as possible without rushing.
ANTHONY: We record live, so each take is authentic. If we did more in-the-box production with clicks, there might be fewer accidents.
MARCUS: How has that process translated to performing live?
ANDRIN: The pieces sound very close to the record. We don’t change them much because we already play them live while recording. The desert or tropical aesthetics are expressed visually on stage with outfits or occasional backdrops.
HUGO: Some songs have been in our live set for over a year, so audience feedback informs studio refinements. Others, like “Calima,” were studio-written first. Performing live gives them life and energy, sometimes with little differences each show.
MARCUS: What's next after this tour? What’s 2026 looking like?
HUGO: More gigs, more writing, recording, and maybe releasing if we’re lucky.
MARCUS: Where can people find you online?
ANDRIN: Instagram: @yuuf.official, website: www.yuufband.com. We have a mailing list, TikTok, YouTube, Bandcamp, and more.
MARCUS: Is there anything else you want to share with the Bay Area?
HUGO: We do our best to respond to everyone on social media, by mail, or at shows. Come say hi; we love meeting people.
ANTHONY: And the food here is amazing.
ANTHONY: San Francisco is beautiful. Thank you for having us.
MARCUS: Thank you so much for coming by KALW.
HUGO: Thank you.
ANTHONY: Thank you for having us. You’re amazing.
