Scroll down to find out more about these topics:
01) Happy 2014 & Looking back on 2013
02) New Album Audio Previews, what’s to come in 2014
03) Our Free Download X-Mass/New Years Present for your
01) HAPPY 2014
First of all, a happy new year to everyone out there! Thanks to all of you for your support in the last year, it’s always heart warming to read and hear your comments!
2013 has both been a rough and wonderful ride at the same time. We released our Future Past EP (http://www.alfa-matrix.com/shop_comments.php?id=2373_0_8_0_C) on Alfa Matrix records, with lovely reviews to read, great remixers on the line-up (Dizkodude, Amarta Project, Frenchfire and more to name a few), and were able to work with Kyoko Baertsoen on the track “Our Common Future“. We were also asked to open for Praga Khan’s 25-year anniversary concert at a sold out Ancienne Belgique. Remixes in 2013 were for Junksista, Ghost & Writer, Helalyn Flowers, Cynical Existence, and more…
In 2014 we will release the last music video of the Future Past EP, “Our Common Future ft. Kyoko Baertsoen”.
02) NEW ALBUM PREVIEWS
In the last months I’ve been focusing on getting music videos out for the Future Past EP, and slowly started to write new material - mainly demos and rough structures. These are now being finalized and new guest vocalists are joining the line up as well.
Below are some previews for you already, follow the links to hear the preview, read the lyrics and backstory of the song. And, feel free to leave your comments!
Before I forget, here’s a previously unreleased remix of the track “Paused” by Amarta Project, which we’re now putting online as a free download for XMASS/NEW YEAR 2014! DOWNLOAD LINK: https://soundcloud.com/psyaviah/free-xmass-gift-2013-paused - go to the soundcloud page & hit the download button under the music player!
In the “Behind The Song”-series we talk about the writing process, the technical side, the ideas behind the lyrics, and much more… Today we tackle the track “Letting Go” and the accompanying music video made by Emily Weeks. The track is taken from the 2013 Psy’Aviah EP “Future Past“.
Behind “Letting Go”, the music and the video…
With this track, we wanted to make a kind of electronic ballad, influenced by both triphop and EBM. From our perspective we think the EBM influences can mostly be found in the typical bassline, and a more triphop approach is used with the drums and crackles (as percussion elements). The lyrics themselve deal with “moving on”, literally “breaking up with the past” as the chorus part describes. To dive deeper yourself, read the lyrics below…!
A story that begged for visualisation…
From the moment I started working on the lyrics & music, I quickly knew I had to reinvite animator & director Emily Weeks to make an animated music video, with a story based on our lyrics. This time though we asked her to limit the decors and color usage, to make the video a bit grimmer in contrast to the “On My Own” music video she procuded for us. ”I really liked Psy’Aviah’s idea to restrict the color palette of the video to black, white, and a little bit of red, which corresponds to the aesthetics that the band has established for themselves, and also works excellently in the context of this story.” - says Emily Weeks, and she adds:
Powell & Pressburger’s “Black Narcissus”
“The story grew really out of films and artists that I enjoy, as well as my own emotions and memories. Starting from Yves’s initial concepts for the film, I then looked at a lot of reference and the story was shaped from there. I find references to be formative in the creation of my work, as these are works that are important in film history and are very effective at what they do. Therefore, a lot can by learned from them. Some of the inspirations included German Expressionist films, Egon Schiele, and classic films from the 50s and 60s about nuns, such as Powell and Pressburger’s “Black Narcissus” and Zinneman’s “The Nun’s Story”. I found Catholicism to hold a wealth of inspirational material. It is so full of symbolism and metaphor, which I exploited. I am drawn to non-linear storytelling and surrealism, as I think this way of approching filmmaking has the potential to reveal more than linear narrative or extreme (self)consciousness.”
The black and white minimalist look…
Dogville (Lars von Trier)
The music video has a distinct minimalist look in decors and color use. I hinted Emily Weeks at some movies where I saw minimalism could focus attention more on the story and on certain parts of the animation/”dialogue”… For me this was in particular the film “Dogville” by Lars von Trier - where the scene is in fact nothing more than a black & white canvas where the actors perform their part. No props, no buildings, nothing… It’s extreme, but it puts a lot of focus on the story.
Emily Weeks explains: “The look was driven by Psy’Aviah’s suggestions and by their music, especially the content of this particular song about living with painful memories and a traumatic past. I think the visual elements of the video work well with the sounds and themes of the music. I love old black and white cinema, and the restricted palette let me very much be inspired by films from German Expressionism like “Metropolis”, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, and “Vampyr”, for example.
Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer)
The monochromatic palette brings shot composition and sculpturalism of forms to the forefront, which I enjoy playing with. As in German Expressionist greats, I wanted any decors or backgrounds to reflect the psychological state of the characters. The statues play an important thematic role in this film.”
“We wanted to make the look thus stark in order to focus more intently on the story and the naked emotions of it. In reducing the backgrounds, I was able to focus more on the animation, which I think made it stronger and more expressive. The minimalism can also tie into themes of death and isolation, or an emptiness of the soul.”, adds Emily Weeks.
Valerie’s hair
Valerie’s hair (concept sketch), Emily Weeks
One example of the german expressionist influence in “Letting Go” that I want to highlight is something Emily Weeks already hinted at: “I wanted any decors or backgrounds to reflect the psychological state of the characters“. The most noteable appearance of that is I think Valerie’s hair, which mirrors her progression and devastation as a character in the story, and it reflects the deterioration and eventual dormancy or death of her psyche.
“I really liked Psy’Aviah’s idea to restrict the color palette of the video to black, white, and a little bit of red, which corresponds to the aesthetics that the band has established for themselves, and also works excellently in the context of this story. Valerie’s hair is one of the few red items in the scheme of the film. Red in the film always signifies some kind of emotion or vitality-I’ll let the viewers work that out for themselves. I am drawn to the idea of cutting one’s hair as an act of mourning or an expression of deep loss. The metaphor of dying in the eyes of the world when becoming a nun is played out in the cutting of her hair and the subsequent loss of all color in the palette of the film.“, Emily Weeks adds.
Software used in “Letting Go”…
“All of the animation and drawings in the video are digitally hand-drawn in Photoshop. The added textures (watercolor paintings and splotches, paper, etcetera) I scanned in and composited with the digital lines in order to try to achieve the look of the traditional media that I used during character design.”
“Overall I’m still experimenting and using many different techniques in my animation practice. I prefer hand-drawn techniques and traditional media as much as possible. This particular video used mostly digital technology, and I mainly use Adobe Creative Suite, which includes Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere, etc. My workflow takes me through many programs in conjunction in order to acheive the final film.However, I do not view the software as important to the work itself. Creativity, vision, and the ability to express something specific are most important.”
“The intersection of digital and analog techonologies is always an interesting question for me. I try to use digital as seldom as possible, but digital is an important part of my process. I think, no matter whether the media I use is mostly digital or traditional, I’m always looking for a handmade quality; there is such a thing as digital handmade.”
Listen to the track & watch the music video
Lyrics
she wants the cage she lives in to vanish
clean out her closet and break through the walls
that stop her from dreaming, that make it impossible to live her life
she wants to clean the mess inside her head
clear old dusty boxes with memories
of stories she wanted forgotten, but never really could
facts, eveidence, figures, clues and hints
tangible evidence of a crime at hand
bruises, injuries, black eyes and tears
tangible evidence of a painful past
break up with the past, leave it all behind it’s easier said then done break up with the past, leave it all behind i know, it’s easier said then done
if only the days would move a little faste
sleep would last just a little bit longer
and being awake and conscious, wouldn’t have to be so endless
come let waves erase all the past
let them wash it away and bury
everything that once was, ’cause some things are meant to be forgotten
facts, eveidence, figures, clues and hints
tangible evidence of a crime at hand
bruises, injuries, black eyes and tears
tangible evidence of a painful past
break up with the past, leave it all behind it’s easier said then done break up with the past, leave it all behind i know, it’s easier said then done
Since we’re making music 10 years of music - we have a contest running at the moment, deadline is 07/07/2013 - and three people are eligible to win 3 of our releases, we’ll ship them! Read more about it at http://www.psyaviah.com/2013/06/shareyourpsyaviahstory/
Experimentation is on our DNA! - [10 Years Psy'Aviah ~#experimentation is at the heart of our philosophy.. If I had to give one example, besides musical examples, it would be the#UrbanSharing-project we launched 2 years ago.. Simply put: “Take a brown envelope, or brown box, decorate it with words/colors/etc.. Embed a ‘gift’ (in this case ‘t was one of our cds) Place it in the middle of the city, and see what happens”.. Through the help of #fans and enthousiasts we managed to get those packaged not only in belgium, but also Netherlands, United States, Mexico, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, etc.. It was a nice experiment & adventure for us and for those who participated, and ofcourse for those who found or were staring at one - deciding to pick it up or not. We recieved e-mails & reactions from “lucky finders”, explaining what went through them, explaining how they found it, and eventually why they picked it up. Always ending with “thx for this gift”, because it’s rarely you get something trylu for free ofcourse… Over the course of the #experiment we interviewed some people, among of themPatrick Janssens (then mayor of antwerp), but also Ikrame Kastit, Vanessa Sue Smith, Bert Gabriels, Carlos Dyckmans, street interviews, and many more people.. Here’s a video playlist on youtube with all our videos bundled on the subject [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBs2fmGl3yk&list=PL06913B888D2B7E11&shuffle=681 ].
Bad luck? Try taking the best out of a situation gone wrong - [10 Years Psy'Aviah ~ #Iduna in Drachten(Netherlands), with Schwarzblut and NG-Pro, we had to replace our then lead singer and lead guitarists.. Luckily though we could count on Geert de Wilde of IC 434 for vocals, Ben Van de Cruys on guitars and Lis Van den Akker of Misery for female vocals.. Out of both collaborations grew a track/remix/cover version later on: “Tired”, but then performed by then now defunct Misery [ listen athttps://soundcloud.com/psyaviah/tired-misery-rendition?in=psyaviah%2Fsets%2Ffull-length-previews-from-2 ] and “Anger Mangement”, but then performed by IC 434 [ listen athttp://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=Psy'Aviah+Anger+Management+(IC+434+Re-take) ]! So, it’s how you percieve bad planning & bad luck ;) - I thought it turned out just fine!
In the “Behind The Song”-series we talk about the writing process, the technical side, the ideas behind the lyrics, and much more… Today we tackle the track “Our Common Future” which features vocalist Kyoko Baertsoen (known from her work with Hooverphonic, Lunascape and more recently Buscemi). The track is taken from the 2013 Psy’Aviah EP “Future Past“.
Behind “Our Common Future”
The track’s lyrics are dual, in the way that they deal with the world on a global scale, and the world in your every day life. Mutual respect for each other is the core theme, in both environmental issues as communication between humans. If we do not succeed in working together, listening to each other, living with each other, then our common future will not result in “survival for us all”, but in “destruction for us all”. It’s a quite simple message, and I don’t think it needs any further explenation, but do read the lyrics below…!
The vocal part…
For as long as I’ve known the band Lunascape (I discovered them during a late-night talksshow “De Laatste Show”) I wanted to work with Kyoko Baertsoen one day. Why? Simply because her voice is very distinct, warm and emotional. A perfect fit for the track. And because I was moving with to a more triphop / synthpop way for the “Future Past” EP I thought it was the perfect time to contact her. I wrote some demos and we sent ideas back and forth through the internet, ultimately resulting in the track “Our Common Future”. Kyoko can do harmonies like no other, she did some dubbings on the verses, and especially on the chorus parts that made those sections stand out even more. (PS: Fun fact: Kyoko recorded the vocal parts in her pyjamas… :-)!)
For the techies…
The bassline is procuded out of a KORG MS-20 synth, dubbed with a very clean subbass from NI Massive. Our main guitarist Ben Van de Cruys wrote the guitar parts for the track, the only thing I changed was adding a filter and a huge delay on them using NI FM8 as an effect processor, to get a mix between a normal delay and a reverse delay. This to get a more dubby flow on the whole track, and especially on the verse parts. The biggest pads come straight from ReFX Nexus and NI Massive.
When constructing the chorus I felt it was a bit empty. I was experimenting with adding guitars, but that made it a bit too full and cluttered. The solution came when I repeated a vocal part, listen below to hear the A/B difference…
Another subtle addition were the fills, or walkup passages, (read up about the term here if you’re not familiar with it). I used different sounds to construct a fill that would fit with the already dubby track, and endup up layering two ragga snares with a huge delay. Under those I added short hihats, with a phaser, delay and subtle variation in both amplitude and pitch. If I would have used snares in stead of those short hats it would have been too overwhelming. But, before ending up with this, I experimented with leaving out an eigth of the music (leaving only her vocals) as a transition into the next section, even a reverse crash.. But they all felt a bit dull and more importantly they didn’t fit with the feel of the dubby track. The fill now is subtle, but leaving it out would be signigicant. Anyway, listen to the example below:
The section between the verses and the chorus is one where I first only had a synth playing 2 notes, again with massive delays on there.. It felt a bit empty, and more importantly when the chorus kicked in it would’ve been too overwhelming. The next step I took was adding a pad to support the synth part. In the original version I also added Ben’s guitars, making them reappear in this section made the track feel like a whole more, and added to the dubby feel… Below you can kind of hear the step-by-step process:
Listen to the track
Via Spotify:
Via Soundcloud:
Lyrics
We’ve got a common future, we’ve got a common goal
Survival of the fittest, or survival for us all?
We have a common problem, we have global trouble
Sustainable future, or destruction for us all?
We are all on the same boat here,
We are all on the same…
We are all on the same boat here, We are all on the same world here…
We’ve got a common future, we’ve got a common goal
Survival of the fittest, or survival for us all?
Our views trouble our sight, blind for each other’s eyes
Our views trouble our sight, blind for each other…
In the “Behind The Song”-series we talk about the writing process, the ideas behind the lyrics, and much more… Today we tackle the track “Look Beyond”, taken from the 2013 EP “Future Past”.
Behind “Look Beyond”
“Look Beyond” explores the “Black and White” thinking present in much of todays society. Some of that thinking is, in my opinion at least, due to the fact we as humans try to defend (sometimes to the impossible, or into absurdity) our own views & believes. Examples are everywhere: politics, the anti-scientific movement (but even some scientist themselves fall into the trap), vendetta’s, taboos, homeopathy, and the list can go on and on and on… But I think you get the point: the black and white thinking is leading us nowehere, it’s important to sometimes look over the edge (hence “Look Beyond”), and discover what’s happening over there.. The truth is out there, but in my opinion it’s grey instead being black or white…
Lyrically the song enumerates a couple of “opposites”, if you can call it that way (blacks vs whites), e.g.: “There’s truth in lies”, or “Order in chaos”, or “Danger in a safe place”… Each of them represents the fact that if you’re in that situation, or moment, don’t be afraid to “Look Beyond”, be skeptical, open your mind towards other possibilities. Even if, after investigation, they lead to nothing at first, one has the knowledge & experience now.
Other lines are more personal, or less political if you will… “Good in jesus christ” is one important for me, one I need to remember myself to from time to time.. I’m atheist, I don’t believe in a god, multiple gods, or whatever.. But the values portrayed by certain religions are valuable, and why should I be blind for them.. Still, it’s not always easy to put aside prejudices (because we all have those) and have the courage to open ourselves to the good sides of certain things we’re opposed to at first.
So, that’s roughly the idea behind the track, you can read the full lyrics below and make your own interpretations ;).
For the techies…
In this track I used a lot of ethereal pads VS harsh electronic synths, this to get a contrast and make it a kind of hard hitting track while keeping some soft & mysterious pads working to enhance the “atmosphere”…
Most of the acid synthesiers you hear were created with NI FM8, as was the bassline. For those lush/mysterious pads I relied on a mixture of NI Massive and a long forgotten synth, and by some regarded as crap, the ReFX Vanguard. It did the job, it’s good at moving pads that need a certain amount of thickness, if layered with other synths/pads.
The difficulty of choosing these ambient pads and textures with a more electro-industrial/acid influenced track was: the mixing.. Honestly I feel I could’ve done better, but at the time I probably heard it x1000 times, and just couldn’t decide anylonger.. Hearing it back now, after the excellent mastering treatment at the IC 434 studio by Geert de Wilde, I feel quite happy how it turned out though!
Listen to the track
Lyrics
There’s truth in lies, order in chaos
A story behind those eyes
Danger in a safe place, lessons in mistakes
Beauty behind a face
Colors in black and white, loneliness in a crowded heart
Good in jesus christ
With love comes greed,
A difference in what we want, a difference in what we need
Look beyond your narrow mind,
Open eyes, see the light, realise the other side…
Poverty among the rich, demons democracy
Ideas through a glitch
Thunder in clear skies, tears of joy and grieves
Battles through compromise
Beauty in agony, controversial positives
With love comes greed,
A difference in what we want, a difference in what we need
In the “Behind The Song”-series we talk about the writing process, the ideas behind the lyrics, and much more… Today we tackle the track “Circles”, taken from the 2013 EP “Future Past”.
Behind “Circles”
We’ve all met someone we thought we could help with advice, with helping them overcome difficulties, or get out of nasty situations. Or we’ve even thought we could change someone… “Circles” is all about this, and more… It’s about someone who’se in the process of taking distance from another person. Meanwhile reflecting on what he/she has done for that person, but in his/her eyes didn’t work out, because, after all the efforts, the person is still running in “Circles”… This process is portrayed in the music video as well.
The original track was written as a piano-based version, as +/- 40% of our tracks start out, and then converted into a more synth-pop / ambient-dub version. The repetitive piano hits (in the “stripped” aka piano-based version) are a metaphor for a “circle”. In the synthpop-version, we did this a bit differently: arpeggios there mimic a “circular” movement in the chorus and further after the second chorus…
For the techies…
Some of the synths and/or romplers we used here were NI Massive (bassline, pads), ReFX Nexus (piano), and probably some more…
The distinct ambient fx sound in the beginning and end of the track was used by sampling a noise through a vocodor (Prosoniq’s Orange Vocodor) based on the root note of the track. Listen below for an example. I must add that I absolutely love to use the Orange Vocodor on beats or noise samples… I did this before on the track “Attract/Reject” from the 2010 album “Eclectric“.
For the background “pad”/”string” that runs through the entire song (both “stripped” version, as the normal version), I used something I often do, and that is to create a basic pad playing the chords (or in this case it was an arpeggio note sequence) and then ran it through a reverb, but only allowing the wet signal to come through. This way you get a more “distant” feeling. The sound is more mysterious, spacious… Listen below on the soundcloud player for an example.
A big part of the beat is processed in the same way as the pad.. First making a loop with hats/snares/kick and then bouncing it to a file. Then, just like the “pad”/”string”, it went through a reverb with only the wet signal on. On top of this I added the real beat, bassline, some other percussion elements, additional synths and ofcourse the vocals.
Listen to the track
Lyrics
I helped her pick up the pieces,
I showed her a way out…
Hell I even took some of her beatings,
and brought her back to the earth
She’s running in circles now, time and time again making the same mistakes
I guess it’s true when they say that people never change
ooh, what to do with you?
But I’m done cleaning her mess,
And i’m done playing her maid…
It’s time and time again, she is never going to change
She’s running in circles now, time and time again making the same mistakes
I guess it’s true when they say that people never change
