[8][9][7] Yassou is inspired by artists including: Radiohead, Kanye West, Efterklang, Phantogram, Lykke Li, and Sufjan Stevens.
Jackson describes, "we would spend hours after practice just listening to whole albums, geeking out on the time signatures, melodies and the sounds.
"[2] The name Yassou Benedict comes from a high school friend who was struggling with adolescent psychosis and who was living with the band when they formed in 2010.
Directed and produced by rock musician Steve Durand, the video was "shot in three hours at an abandoned school in Upstate New York, using a skateboard, handheld camera, [and] a few tracks".
They took one car, one trailer, and their Great Dane and drove across the U.S.[13][5] They met Aguirre in San Francisco and he joined the band in February 2012.
[14][8] The EP featured former Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins' bassist Melissa Auf der Maur on two tracks and contained three music video singles: Critics called "In Fits In Dreams" "dramatic and willful".
[21] In November 2013, Yassou toured the west coast and Jackson and Hoy relocated their studio from San Francisco to Mill Valley, CA.
The 8-month project was a collaboration between Yassou and four bay area directors: Gary Yost, Amy Harrity, Peter McCollough and George Daly.
[25][26][27] There was no physical or digital release, causing critics to name the Video EP "unconventional", "consumer-friendly", and "redefining the album".
[26][28][29][30] In regards to the unconventional release, "the band decided it was time to break away from the monotony of the music industry and prove that they, and other artists in their position, do not need major labels, big budgets, high end studios and a huge production team to create powerful and inspiring material.
[32] It was directed and produced by Mill Valley-based filmmaker and photographer Gary Yost and featured the synchronized swimming/dance company Aqualillies.
In June 2016, Yassou opened for The National at MASS MoCA at a benefit for their alma mater Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School.
The band was accompanied by the Louisville Orchestra and included Hoy performing on stage as both observer and participant with the ballerinas and with scenic effects by contemporary visual artist Letitia Quesenberry.
[39] The piece was co-composed by Jackson and Muller and was choreographed and directed by Louisville Ballet's Artistic and Executive Director Robert Curran.
The piece is a "physically dynamic and demanding exploration of how those feelings of nostalgia affect human connection — how we process our relationships, past and future" and received good reviews.
[vague] Yassou has played with: The National, Melissa Auf der Maur, Louisville Orchestra, Buke and Gase, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, Lena Fayre, Willis Earl Beal, and Michael McDonald.
[7][24] Furthermore, the band members have been described as having a dissimilar taste in music, with early influences ranging from Lykke Li to Aphex Twin to Mastodon.
[27] The band references darkness in many interviews and as key to their musical inspiration, with Hoy describing her aesthetic as "minimal and emotional".