(Photo by Gwenny Cooman of GNY Photography) On the recent “Bittersweet” album, the Belgian act Psy’Aviah revisited two of their biggest hit songs: “Tired” and “Ok”. Alfa Matrix now releases a new video clip and extended EP for the classic Psy’Aviah track, “OK”.

Originally released back in 2011, the new 2022 version features new vocal melodies sung by Huong Su with additional guitars and carrying violins by Irina Markevich turning the song into a more triphop / indie pop tune.

Yves Schelpe explains the meaning behind the track: “‘Ok’ questions the depth of that social question we use at almost every human encounter asking mechanically ‘how are you?’, expecting ‘Ok’ as automatic answer without really paying attention nor trying to find out what truth really lurks behind this or considering being empathic… ‘Everything is going Ok’ being nothing but a window-dressing expression, some kind of emotional mask.”

The essence of the tongue-in-cheek message of this song was translated into a slow-motion video clip, the result of Yves Schelpe’s collaboration with actress Gwendolin Harissa Van Jole and Gwenny Cooman of GNY Photography.

On the EP you get the new version of “Ok” with no less than 12 bonus remixes from all kinds of music genres from industrial-electro to pure club trance, to synthpop & Italo-disco inspired versions, to ambient and even old school jungle breakbeats. “It is a reflection of listening to other influences as well – so it ties nicely into the narrative of “Ok” and listening further…” explains Yves Schelpe.

You can download the EP right now from Bandcamp with other platforms to follow in the next weeks.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

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Out now is Psy’aviah’s “Can We Make It Rhyme”, a 10-track EP featuring Mari Kattman on vocals. The release is right now available via Bandcamp exclusively.

“Can We Make It Rhyme” is taken from the band’s very recent “Bittersweet” album. As an exclusive B-side, Mari Kattman and Yves Schelpe chose to cover their Soft Cell favorite song “Monoculture”. This 10-track EP features remixes that offer a wide electronic spectrum, two trance dance-driven anthems by Omniks and Karl Roque, whilst the ‘retro club’ edit of “Monoculture” and the Assemblage 23 remix of “Can We Make It Rhyme” will be more for the synthpop dancefloor. The versions of 13th Angel and Jen Draven then again focus more on the song’s core soundpallet.

You can check out the full EP right below and download it from Bandcamp.

Yves Schelpe interviewed Mari Kattman for this release, you can read their conversation right below.

YS: ‘Can We Make It Rhyme’, can you tell your perspective on it when you had the demo and lyrics in your hands? And in what way did it convince you to say, yes I want to collaborate on this song?

MARI: I think the main thing that really made me want to participate in the track, was the meaning of the song that you provided to me. It’s always an honor to try and help make an artist’s vision come into focus, but even better when there is a great meaning behind the music. You also had a friend participating in the demo vocal reel and I loved his vocal style and the way he was reaching for the notes. It was a little different than I was used to but it really inspired me to want to take it to the next level, so I saw it as a challenge.

YS: I remember brainstorming about the music video for this one, and I thought, I need the emotions of Mari on screen for this one. Of course, budget wise, I can’t fly you over, or I can’t come to the US… But how do you feel the music video turned out with these ‘tritone’ colours? As it were your original recordings of yourself performing the song that triggered me making the music video in this colour a lot more, and make it moody, atmospherical, and leave it with an ‘open ending’…

MARI: I was really shocked that you were able to pull off an entire music video concept JUST from the red and blue lights I used to record my part. On top of having the lighting on hand, I thought maybe it was a cool analogy, red and blue together make one of the most beautiful colors of all. So “Can we make it rhyme” seemed like the blending of two different parts harmoniously. I think it was really clever that you moved my takes to the TV and smartphone shots. I also think its insanely cool that you could hire a company to make a music video that was so on point and beautifully shot. It seemed like a lot of planning and work so props to them and however many times they had to listen to the original track while filming.

YS: I knew you since the work of Day Twelve, which I even remixed for… I loved your voice instantly, and then I guess the first track we worked on was ‘Sacrifices’ and ‘Our Common End’. What are your memories on those, and what drew you in to collaborating with me on these tracks?

MARI: Honestly, back during that time, 2012 or so, I was just learning to record myself properly. In my surrounding area, I worked with a lot of musicians growing up who ended up finding other paths in life and abandoned their music projects. I was really having a dry spell finding committed people to work with. I knew I had to build myself on my own, with no help, which was really intimidating. So I started building this portfolio of work and just reaching out to people that I admired to see if they would be interested in working with me. I can’t remember how we connected. I was working with Aesthetische on a few tracks for their album Hybridcore and I think through the Alfa Matrix channels that’s how we started talking.

It was such a breath of fresh air to work with you on those songs and really feel what it’s like to work with other people who have committed their lives to their art and have a firm vision for the things they want to see culminate song by song. I never really had the privilege of that before in my life and I look back fondly on those times and being able to hear my voice placed in a space where it was valued and produced appropriately.

YS: You’ve been growing every year, collaborating with a lot of people – up to the point you were producing your own songs which I so love (e.g. the eat EP). Up to the point now that you are now signed on COP Int. – a huge deal, and something I was waiting for – when will she be signed somewhere as I love your productions! Can you tell us how that went, and how this feels for you?

MARI: Yeah, I mean, I think I have worked with nearly all of my heroes at this point (except for you Peter Heppner!) it’s an incredible place to be when you have broken bread with people who you intensely respect and look up to as far as work ethic and artistry. I feel really honored for the time I have gotten to spend learning from those experiences. There is really something about stepping into another person’s world and having to fit to their working style. None of the collaborators I have ever worked with, work the same and to be versatile because of that is a gift for me.

Signing with COP for my solo music is SUCH a new experience for me. I’ve worked with a lot of record labels in the past but I have never officially been on one alone. I love the fact that these releases are all me, for good or bad, if you hate it there really isn’t anyone to blame but me, but if you LOVE it, well then i’m doing my job. It’s sort of strange to think that I would ever get to this point, it’s a long way to come from 2012 in my room, figuring out how to connect an interface to a microphone and cueing up a DAW. It holds a lot of importance for me and I am so happy to have the support backing this next release up.

YS: Diving a bit deeper into the song ‘OBJECTIFIED’, I love it so much. The hypnotizing pad and arpeggio in the background, a very triphop / hiphop beat that evolves throughout the track. And behind it a very soulful voice telling a compelling story. What triggered you writing the lyrics, and how important is this one for you?”

MARI: Objectified has a pretty clear meaning. I wrote it one day when I was feeling pretty down about the state of how things are for women. Sometimes you don’t feel like you are anything but a piece of meat, and then a “better” piece of meat comes along and it’s all a very shallow state of mind. Women are held to an unfair standard, we are pinned up against one another and compared. We are told “Thats just how it is.” and “Thats just guys being guys.” but it’s exhausting, to be sexualized for everything you do. Oftentimes the sexualization takes the seriousness out of anything you are trying to put meaning into. Its soul shattering when you are trying to use your brain and your passion, knowing that there will always be an element of judgement that has to do with your level of attractiveness.

YS: Can you tell us something about your production process on your solo work, how does your studio look like, and what are your favourite tools in songwriting (both software, and techniques)?

MARI: It’s funny I always feel like my creative process is evolving but oftentimes these days its very organic, like, i’m driving in the car and I just hear this bassline or this melody, I pull out my phone and record myself humming along to whatever is happening in my brain. Then when I get home I rush to my studio desk, take out my midi keyboard and try and hash it out in my DAW. Right now I’m using Bitwig for all of my musical composition but I also love Logic when it comes to recording vocals. I wish that Bitwig and Logic could come together and tighten the audio recording aspect on the Bitwig end. Vocally, I took a course from Berklee on vocal production and now I’m all about panning my voice. It’s very normal for me to take about 5 vocal takes singing the same exact thing and panning them around the stereo field and one phantom center. It makes for a much bigger vocal sound.

Synth wise, I’ve really been focusing on writing synth parts/choosing sounds that don’t overshadow each other and that play nice on top of each other, its a really delicate balance that takes a lot of skill and time to really hear what is going on. Drum wise, it’s all about choosing interesting snares for me right now and layering foley sounds into the snare hits. As far as software goes, I’m really loving Spire and Vital right now, I just love the user interface on that. Vital wins the award for me for easy usability and for ease in tweaking sounds. As far as Plugins goes, I’m always always ALWAYS loving FreshAir for vocals, MondoMod for modulation and Wider for finding places in the mix that instruments can sit where they don’t step on each other.

YS: On the single of ‘Can We Make It Rhyme’ we decided to do a b-side as well, ‘Monoculture’. I was triggered to do this song mainly because of its lyrics and how it has a link almost to the ‘Can We Make It Rhyme’ lyrics in a sense – everyone thinking in blind vision, not open to other views and therefore getting stuck in tunnel vision. In that sense I pulled the cover version into the EP in this context – how do you feel about that, is this world to ‘monoculture’ in its thinking?

MARI: You know, being a person who is starting a new full time career, sometimes I do feel like the world is just one big hamster wheel and there is a lot of pressure to stay in line. It’s tough for creative people to live in a world like that, I often think it is a curse not to be able to do what you love all the time. We are all expected to walk the path that was laid out for us (school, 40 hour a week job, marriage, kids, retire) and you are damned if you want to walk a little different. You get up for work and you fall into bed at night with exhaustion and the days just blend. Its pretty gnarly! Keep us busy enough not to have the energy to care. I think Soft Cell was right on point and I am glad to have been a part of the cover.

YS: Can you lift the veil, give a sneak peek, or tell us something about the upcoming work you will have out on COP Int.?

MARI: My newest EP is out now on COP. It’s a two song EP with some great remixes. It is truly exciting to be showcasing my solo work again. I can’t wait for you to hear it!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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(Photo by GNY) Out on April 1st – but already available in pre-order via the Alfa Matrix label’s webshop – is the all new album from the Belgian dark trip electro pop act Psy’Aviah. “Bittersweet” is the last album in the introspective trilogy that started with the previous 2 albums “Lightflare” and “Soul Searching”.

The first disc of this 2CD set offers 13 new songs featuring several collaborators including Irina Markevich on violin and Polina Faustova on cello, and the vocalists Addie Nicole, Mari Kattman, Marieke Lightband, Saydi Drigger, Huong Su, Lumí, Tina Forlorn, Eli Rho,  Rebecca Schneider or yet the famous Belgian professor Dr. Dirk De Wachter. Next to the new songs the first disc also offers revamped versions of the classic Psy’Aviah songs “Tired” and the mega hit “OK”.

To celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary, this first edition of the album comes as a limited double-CD digipak holding the exclusive 15-track CD “Rediscovered (20th Anniversary)” plus a download link to 14 extra additional songs. These 29 tracks (!!) hold cover version of Psy’Aviah tracks by a long list of other bands including The Breath Of Life, Implant, Aesthetische, 808.DOT.POP, Leaether Strip, Your Life On Hold, Digital Factor, IC 434, Llumen, Madil Hardis and many more.

The 2CD (and the additional 12 download tracks) can be pre-ordered via the Alfa Matrix webstore, while you can get the full 42 tracks in one bundle right here from Bandcamp.

Below you can already listen to 4 tracks.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-Ambient, Soundtrack.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: The new Psy’Aviah album is a collaboration and conceptual work between the Belgian musician and photographer ‘GNY’ aka Gwenny Cooman (who’s also involved with Mildreda). Yves Schelpe got inspired by her work and composed a Soundtrack for the exhibition GNY under the conceptual title “Steden Schuilen Niet Wanneer Het Regent” (translated “Cities Don’t Seek Shelter When It Rains”).

Content: The album indeed is an original ambient soundtrack featuring 11 tracks. Psy’Aviah transposed his Electro-Pop-Dance-Trance style into pure reverie. The multiple strings accentuate the Ambient side of the work, but I also noticed numerous field recordings (or samplings) now creating a dreamy impression and then a kind of astral trip. Some cuts are more mysterious like while others feel like an Electronic ballad.

+ + + : Artists are often dreaming to compose a Soundtrack. I don’t know if it was part of Schelpe’s bucket list, but he remarkably transformed himself into that style. The work is achieved with poignant strings while the multiple astral passages only reinforce the Ambient impression. I also noticed great analogue-like sound effects, which are a cool wink to some famous pioneers in this music genre. I don’t want to compare this artist with others, but some elements make me think to a modern perception of J.M. Jarre. “Slow Motion Bright Flashing Neon Lights” is a great exposure of this resemblance. But my favorite song is “The Escalator” for its mysterious sphere, which however remains devoted to Ambient.

– – – : The work is missing an absolute ‘master’ song although there’s a real potential hiding behind this work. But what I’m really missing is the addition of some real acoustic instruments like a saxophone or even guitar ao.

Conclusion: This new Psy’Aviah album is definitely one out of the box, but it for sure opens new perspectives for the artist.

Best songs: “The Escalator”, “Slow Motion Bright Flashing Neon Lights”, “Clinical Nature”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.psyaviah.com / www.facebook.com/psyaviah

Label: www.alfa-matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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Belgian photographer GNY (aka Gwenny Cooman, also known for her work in the band Mildreda) recently organized an exhibition of her work under the conceptual title “Steden Schuilen Niet Wanneer Het Regent” (Cities don’t seek shelter when it rains) in Wetteren (B).

For this project she also collaborated with artist and musician Yves Schelpe of Psy’Aviah who wrote a dark ambient soundtrack inspired by her work that played during the exhibition, reinforcing the atmosphere of the photographs, adding a unique sonic dimension to the exhibition, giving tones of hope and peace, but also of darkness and melancholy highlighting the contrasting sides of city and nature.

That soundtrack, “The Earth Keeps Spinning, Without Being Noticed”, is out now on Alfa Matrix as a download album (via Bandcamp) or as streaming via Spotify. Good to know, the Belgian national radio broadcast Klara already took one track, namely “The Escalator”, from the album to be used in a show for which you can see a video below.

We had a talk with both artists regarding this special collaboration.

SL: You never released an instrumental let alone an ambient album before, how did this one come about?
 
Yves/Psy’Aviah: After my previous, more or less traditional, album “Soul Searching” I set my eyes on working more on theatre soundtracks or atmospherical pieces. I did that a lot more in the early stages, but now I felt a need to go back to supporting a story, to collaborating on a different level and letting the music be supportive instead of dominant. I loved her photography work, and so when Gwenny asked me to do something for her closing night, I of course jumped on the opportunity.

SL: I presume you also listen to ambient then, many preferences?
 
Yves/Psy’Aviah: My ears are open to anything I like, so ambient is in the collection too… Let me say that I’m hugely inspired by work from Moby: I love how he layers piano and a ton of strings and pads. His ambient work is something I was drawn to from the get go. Other artists I like a lot are Mark Isham (his work for Black Mirror’s “Arkangel” for example), Eric Serra, Inon Zur (his soundtracks and solowork, especially the Dragon Age works are very much my cup of tea) Deuter (certainly albums “Prana Yoga” and “Atmospheres”), the more poppy Enigma (but check out his less beat-driven tracks like “The Dream Of The Dolphin”), Dirk Veulemans, Vangelis, and I could go on and on…

SL: I was actually quite surprised by this album, ambient tends to go nowhere in a lot of cases, but this one really has a true destination with tracks that develop nicely, I guess that your dream pop heart lays enough structures in there?
 
Yves/Psy’Aviah: Well, I think ambient is such a big umbrella term that people don’t find their way anymore in the vast amount of work and variety that exist in the genre, let alone what it means, or can mean, and end up listening to ambient music that isn’t their cup of tea… Just like every music genre ambient has so many genres, it’s impossible to describe them all.

There are indeed a few big broad distinctions: either you have a clear study of sound and sound patterns, in which it isn’t really music but a research project of what can be done. Then there’s the very experimental electro-acoustic work I know of Dirk Veulemans for example (he’s a fellow Belgian talent and well known for his work) – and apologies Dirk if I’d describe it wrong – but I feel their storytelling in the work is a big focus as well as experimentation – finding the boundaries of what music is. And then I think we have the more chill-out or soundtrack synthesizer music. We all know Vangelis and JMJ did pioneering work, it is a lot more focused on melodic elements. For me personally the storytelling is present, but also creating a kind of mood is important, certainly because it was written based upon existing photography work.

SL: How did you start on this one? Did you get to see Gwenny’s material on forehand?
 
Yves/Psy’Aviah: One can’t write music for an exhibition (unless that is the experiment of course) if you don’t know what the source material is, and if you don’t understand what the artist wants to evoke in terms of emotions. All this music is driven by Gwenny’s photography, by her vision and talking about her work. I do need to be drawn to something before it can inspire me, so it goes without saying that the emotions I experienced with the selected photography work of Gwenny on that exhibition were really strong, and very relatable. I could imagine certain things right off the bat. It’s in subtle ways such as the angles the photos are taken at, as well as the general subjects and the stories one can see behind them.

Gwenny Cooman: I think I saw Psy’Aviah’s first gig, and I was immediately overwhelmed. I remember thinking ‘okay, the new Praga Khan is born’. Psy’Aviah evolved and made their own sound and story, and I always liked the look and feel of the artwork and the content of the songs. Also, I noticed Yves carrying out street experiments and having other original crossover ideas. So I knew something exciting could be done.
 
SL: Did you use any specific techniques as far as the sound collages go?

Yves/Psy’Aviah: When I knew what the themes were I knew I had to incorporate a lot of field recordings – which meant going outdoors and recording sounds in train stations, elevators, nature, fields, underwater, on the bus, in supermarkets etc… As they’d be an underlying tone in either rhythmic elements (such as an electric escalator with its clicks and clacks tuned to a nice clock as if it were a drum machine, or train tracks repeating over and over, water streams that have a natural tendency to emulate a sort of repeating vibe, yet always with a little tonal difference…).

Those natural rhythms of nature and city were a perfect match and were for me personally the technique I had to use to get in tune with the photography of Gwenny.

Of course that is not everything, using those sounds and creating a compelling storyline in a track, using my background of chord progressions I like and basslines (either slowed down very much, or sped up a lot), to evoke emotions and contrast them to the sometimes dull machinal sounds, is what the motivation (or technique) was in the end.

SL: Gwenny, I know you have been busy with photography for quite a few years, but it’s the first time you are in the spotlights yourself with that expo. How different do you consider the material for this expo compared to what you did in the past?
 
Gwenny Cooman: I guess the way I look at things, and the stuff that draws my attention has not changed. But the last couple of years I’m more focussed and spending more time and effort to enhance my work. I discovered how different a picture can be in its digital form from one in printed media. The printing process was really a search for pictures with printing results that matched my expectations, and same for the framing.

SL: Did you select the pictures for the expo or were they made with the intention to organise an expo?
 
Gwenny Cooman: My partner convinced me to have an exposition now instead of postponing things until, say, the year 2080 (I tend to keep thinking I can improve something). Most pictures were not made especially for the expo, they were selected to fit the idea I had under the title ‘cities don’t take shelter when it rains’.
 
I am currently working on a new expo (aiming to exhibit summer 2021 in Ostend) which will have a different setup. I have a concept in mind and all pictures will fit that new story and concept and will be made with that purpose. I can’t reveal yet what I have in mind, but I can say it will involve topics such as science and superstition, some astronomy and astrology so to speak. 

SL: What subjects do attract you the most? I see a few with buildings, but it’s the stray dog that has triggered quite some feedback from our readers on Facebook. Care to explain?
 
Gwenny Cooman: I guess it’s about the questions that come to mind. Is it an abandoned dog? Are there houses in the neighbourhood where he could find a home? What kind of life has he had?
 
The expo showed pictures of abandoned places and the less attractive aspects of citylife in black and white. In contrast to these pictures, there were colourful pictures of nature (this use of black and white versus colours is reflected in the movie Yves made).

I was very lucky to have been able to do some travelling, and especially to visit some weird or abandoned places in the United States. The Salton Sea for example is one of those places where I can just sit and watch the emptiness, the leftovers of thrilling lives and expectations that place once held. So afterwards, when people look at a picture from that kind of abandoned place, they also start making up their own stories and interpretations of what happened.   

SL: Every photo artists probably dreams to have his/her pictures released in a photo book. A dream or something you might want to materialize in the nearby future?
 
Gwenny Cooman: Indeed! Working with Yves/Psy’Aviah really added value to everything. We inspired each other and that really is the most joyful feeling. If I make a picture and then look at it once I’m home and if it’s a good one, it makes me smile. But if someone else feels that way about my work, or even better, if they are inspired by it, that beats it all. So the movie and soundtrack that resulted out of our collaboration was really a very nice piece of art. Of course, a book would also be great. For my next project, I have some ideas on a catalogue which should be a crossover between photographs, poetry and literature. Still dreaming…

SL: What’s your favorite setup and why?
 
Gwenny Cooman:  I try to take silent, subdued pictures. Most of the time unintended. So I don’t go out thinking ‘now I will photograph this place or that person’, but the subjects are more or less random encounters. Of course I tend to go places where these encounters are more likely. But that means I travel with a wonderful and compact Leica camera so that I can always capture the moment.

You can check out the complete album below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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(Photo by GNY) “The Earth Keeps Spinning, Without Being Noticed (Original Ambient Soundtrack)” is a brand new ambient album by the Belgian electro pop act Psy’Aviah, which can be downloaded now from Bandcamp.

The material on the album is inspired by the work of Belgian photographer GNY (aka Gwenny Cooman, also known for her work in the band Mildreda). She recently organized an exhibition of her work under the conceptual title “Steden Schuilen Niet Wanneer Het Regent” (Cities don’t seek shelter when it rains) in Wetteren (B). The dark ambient soundtrack was played during the exhibition.

Under the current Covid19 crisis that limited the number of visitors and forced the cancellation of the planned live performance of Psy’Aviah at the closing of the exhibition, it was decided to make this soundtrack available for everyone showcasing Psy’Aviah dark ambient side and GNY’s photographic work.

Check it out below. The album download holds a selection of pictures taken by Gwenny Cooman for you to enjoy. Expect an interview with both artists in the next days.

You can also download the release straight from Bandcamp below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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