Ralf Christensen in conversation with music supervisor Aminé Ramer
"Yacht Rock Is Like a Yacht: Well-Built and Often Luxurious. Super-produced, extremely well-sounding, masterfully played." This is how Ralf Christensen describes HBO's new documentary Yacht Rock: A Documentary, which portrays the genre’s unexpected comeback.
But Yacht Rock was not the genre’s original name. In Denmark, it was known as West Coast rock, though it was difficult to categorize. The genre played a major role in shaping the Hi-Fi sound of the ’70s, with artists such as Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers—especially Michael McDonald—Toto, and Kenny Loggins. The music is characterized by finesse, virtuosity, and a level of audio quality that remains in a league of its own. Its unique blend of rock, soul, and funk continues to inspire new generations of influential musicians like Thundercat and Questlove—despite the fact that the genre fell out of favor in the wake of ’80s and ’90s machine-pop, hip-hop, and grunge.
The term Yacht Rock originally emerged as a joke in the podcast scene of the 2000s, where the style was playfully mocked. But interest in the music quickly spread, and today, several Yacht Rock cover bands exist—such as Yachtly Crew. The music has been welcomed back—though the term Yacht Rock as a genre label does not exactly delight its original creators. Donald Fagen of Steely Dan bluntly expresses his opinion on the matter in the documentary: "Go fuck yourself!"
The documentary has also been warmly received in Denmark, and many have likely revisited their record collections to rediscover the iconic recordings. That’s why it’s a great pleasure to welcome a conversation between music supervisor Aminé Ramer, who curated the documentary’s soundtrack, and Ralf Christensen from Information.
Participants: Ralf Christensen, music editor, Dagbladet Information // Aminé Ramer, music supervisor, States of Sound
This session is part of the theme block Let's Talk Sync.
The session will be conducted in English.
Presented by Promus and SPOT+.
