In Search Of Tone: Ihor Pryshliak Of Somali Yacht Club

Somali Yacht Club is another rabbit hole discovery of mine. The delayed intro of Vero was all I needed to explore as much of the band as possible. With Two albums out since 2016, there was plenty to dive into. From the spacey swirls of Loom on the album The Sun to the heaviness of Blood Leaves A Trail on the album The Sea, the sonic exploration is endless.

Ihor Pryshliak / Somali Yacht Club - Photo by Kirai Gigs
Ihor Pryshliak / Somali Yacht Club – Photo by Kirai Gigs

Ihor Pryshliak is the man behind the guitar and microphone and was kind enough to answer my crazy questions. He offered up some valuable information that I will definitely be applying and I’m super thankful for his input.

I have really been into delay and reverb while playing for some time now and I feel you have perfected those effects. Songs like Hydrophobia, Vero and 84 Days are a few examples of how you mastered that sound. What pedals are you currently using to get these sounds? What makes up the rest of your pedalboard?

For The Sea LP I’m using TC Electronic Flashback Х4 in combination with Strymon Big Sky. As for our next album I’ve added one more additional MXR Carbon Copy delay pedal to get those weird glitchy effects. Most of the time I’m using it as a short delay on almost every riff.

For the last 7+ years I’ve been using my bellowed Orange 30 Rocker amp…

While I love the delay/reverb you use I’m also a big fan of your overall tone. I love the distortion on Up In The Sky for example. What amps are you using, and do you use the gain from the amp or a clean tone?

That’s a great question. For the last 7+ years I’ve been using my bellowed Orange 30 Rocker amp. This head has a pretty dull clean sound which makes it a perfect candidate to combine it with my Black Arts Pharaoh fuzz pedal. Usually I’m switching to dirty channel on extra heavy and noise riffs e.g. ending of Vero.

Ihor Pryshliak / Somali Yacht Club
Ihor Pryshliak / Somali Yacht Club – Prepping his Nash Guitars Telecaster

Do you have an arsenal of guitars to choose from or do you have one or two that are your go to guitars? Also, what kind of pickups do you prefer?

No, unfortunately only my Nash Guitars Telecaster with Lollar pickups.

Do you have a guitar, amp or pedal that you have had for a long time and will never part with?

I think my guitar is something special, I can play almost every music style with it, so I don’t think I would ever sell it.

I think my guitar is something special…

I typically discuss riffs and how they are created in these interviews, but with your music I feel it’s less riff oriented and more of an atmosphere you create. What is your writing process like when creating these outstanding songs?

As I’m still learning how to play my guitar (for the last 16 years), it is still a fun process. So, usually I don’t write anything for some time, let’s say 2 weeks, then I just pick up my guitar and here it goes – magic 🙂

There’s endless amounts of music and only a handful of notes and chords. How do you create unique sounding music without repeating yourself or others?

Usually, I’m trying to keep it as simple as possible but with some little details here and there. I do really love the idea I’ve borrowed from jazz that your basic chords are the extended one. So, that’s my starting point – septa chord, then we’ll see where it leads us. Also, I don’t listen to stoner music a lot these days, so I’m not really sure that we are not repeating the others 🙂

Ihor Pryshliak / Somali Yacht Club - Photo by Kommodore Johnsen
Ihor Pryshliak / Somali Yacht Club – Photo by Kommodore Johnsen

When I play guitar I’ll write some riffs and think it’s cool only to listen back and change my mind. I’ll often get discouraged and stop playing for sometime. How do you deal with off days and get inspired to play again?

I don’t 🙂 I just play no matter how I feel. Inspiration is a tricky bastard, if you’re gonna wait for it, it may never come so I just play.

Do you have any practice routines or warm-ups that you do on a daily basis?

Not really. There are a few warms-ups I’ve got from Petrucci Guitar Lessons and a few of my own, but nothing special. For the last several months I’ve tried to learn the intro sweep from Animals As Leaders CAFO, but holy fuck that’s hard.

For the last several months I’ve tried to learn the intro sweep from Animals As Leaders CAFO, but holy fuck that’s hard…

I bounce between favorite songs in the Somali Yacht Club discography, but currently Hydrophobia has been on repeat. Is there a song or part of a song your particularly proud of?

To be honest, I like all of them. We’ve always tried to add something special. Probably one of my favourites is the jazzy part from Vero.

What songs are you currently listening to these days?

Depends on the mood. At this moment the latest Fear Factory LP. The intro riff from the first song is something special. Also, HVOB 2019 LP, track Eraser is on repeat 🙂

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions. I really appreciate it. Is there anything else you would like to add?

Stay healthy.

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Interviewed by: Josh Schneider