When You Am I recorded their second album ‘Hi Fi Way’ never in their wildest dreams did they suspect it would be a number one album. ‘Sound As Ever’, the debut album, peaked at number 61 but then came a string of three number one records in a row.
After ‘Sound As Ever’ went nowhere, there were no expectations for ‘Hi Fi Way’. Andy Kent tells Noise11, “I don’t think the environment was really there for a band like us to win ARIAs or have number one records. It wasn’t a thing. 18 months prior to this record being made no-one would have bet their house on it. The evolution of music and the changes in the market, the grunge shift happened, and we were right there. You get swept up in it and all of a sudden record companies and radio and everybody is interested in it. It was pretty quick. We were head down, bum up working hard. All of a sudden something was happening and it was beyond us just touring and working hard and enjoying ourselves.
Lee Ronaldo of Sonic Youth produced the first two album and an early E.P.. “He was a lovely guy, very knowledgeable, very calm,” Andy says. “We thought of him as a very clever uncle that we were just lucky enough to have. This guy was in Sonic Youth but yet you become good friends with him and make records. We were lucky that he came on board originally and it worked. When we were touring through the US with Soundgarden, maybe 40 or 45 dates, normally you would come home and pike out for a week and see your friends and family. Maybe start taking about a record and getting together at some point. We felt we should get on with it and he said just come to New York. His simple casual guidance really fit what we were doing. No-one said you can’t do that. Record labels and management were like “okay”. We said this is what Lee and us want to do and we just went and did it”.
Watch the Noise11 interview with You Am I’s Andy Kent:
You Am I the ‘Hi Fi Way’ and ‘Hourly Daily’ albums back to back with the Double Down tour starting 3 April 2025 in Canberra.
https://www.teamwrktouring.com/tours/you-am-i
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