YACHT is Jona Bechtolt, a young man I first met when he was on tour with The Badger King in 2002. He's lent his considerable talents to many bands and projects, and with YACHT he proves he can create that same magic as a soloist too. In all his endeavours (even with the hardest rocking, most danceable beats), Jona imbues his work with a dreamy quality that makes him seem like he's floating between our world and an enchanted musical wonderland. I used the Internet as a conduit to visit Jona there.

Travel seems to be an integral part of your musical career - you tour a lot, and you've come through Toronto at least half a dozen times with various bands. If you imagined YACHT as a kind of journey, what kind of journey would it be, and why? I think that I do imagine YACHT as a journey almost all of the time. I use music as an excuse to travel around the world and meet amazing people like you, Kat. It's been an ever-changing and growing journey for me both musically and personally. I feel like this journey isn't going to end anytime soon and it's only going to get more elaborate, magical and more personal. It's hard to interact with people when all I have is a computer. This journey is about "bossing" that. You know, like when you boss Super Mario.

I typed "YACHT" into the Internet Movie Database. While there are no films titled YACHT, the closest match was an Argentinean film from 1949 titled The Yacht Isabel Arrived this Afternoon. If you imagined YACHT as a film, what would it look like/be about, and why? These are nice questions. I edit all of the music I make with a computer, visually, so sometimes I associate songs, or parts of songs, with waves because of the song's actual waveforms. Then there's all of the things I'm thinking about while making the songs. My favorite way to make songs right now is to use a small recording of something memorable happening and limiting myself to only using the sound in that moment. For instance, for something as mellow as hanging out with someone I love, finding the cough or creak in the chair to make the beat is really fun.
I guess the YACHT film would look like a castle and be all about a magical school where young wizards go to learn to harness their powers.

The first time I saw you perform, it was with The Badger King, which was at that time working on a rock opera about eels. If YACHT was to create a "concept album magnum opus," what themes or subjects would you explore? I'm sort of in the middle of a similar project. There will be some sort of visual counterpart, maybe not an entire film like the TBK opera, but something in that vein. The theme is going to be centered around a magical school where young wizards go to learn to harness their powers. The main character's name is Henry Pitter.

Yachts are often considered to be a mode of transportation reserved only for the rich leisure class. If YACHT's music could be described as a mode of transportation, what would it be, and why? Hover-board. No, no... velocipede.

Finally, a practical question - tell me what's coming up for YACHT. You've got a 10" LP/CD/DVD coming out soon, but you've also been very busy recording and collaborating with other musicians. Where would you like to take YACHT next, not just on tour, but also musically? I'd like to learn more about melody. I know beat well, but melody I don't know so well. I feel like I could learn from Meredith Monk, Hildegard of Bingen and Marianna Ritchey. I'm always trying to challenge myself and learn more magic. I'm in the middle of making a new YACHT full-length, a YACHT split 12" with Lucky Dragons (all Nirvana songs), a new Blow full-length, some tracks for the new Bobby Birdman album, and playing drums for the new Devendra Banhart album. I want to take YACHT on tour in Mexico, Hawaii, Egypt and Japan in 2005 or 2006.

BY KAT GLIGORIJEVIC