Psymon Backbone’s latest album, Head Physique Connector, wouldn’t exist with out their stay present in thoughts. Written largely all through 2020, when venues had been nonetheless shuttered and hope was fraying, the band channeled the extraordinary moments of ardour, sweat, and revelation that solely occur while you’re packed in a room collectively, sharing a communal expertise with strangers. The music is deeply groovy and disorienting, full of a staggering consideration to element from a band who say they’re “obsessive about manufacturing.”
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They lunge into absurdities freely (there’s a observe referred to as “Ketamine Scorching Tub” that might soundtrack these moments when TV characters take medicine and immediately flip into cartoons) and aren’t afraid to get unorthodox, like when singer Noah Prebish initially added rodeo-sounding drums to “Antimatter Child,” which they’ve been ending exhibits with recently. At one level, Prebish adopts his greatest impression of Sal Principato, the distinctive vocalist of NYC experimentalists Liquid Liquid, on “Bored of Guitar,” whose percussionist, Dennis Younger, options on “Wizard Acid” — a nod to a creatively huge time and place that’s effervescent up once more throughout the metropolis. It’s, in the end, a joyful report punctuated by bursts of chaos and curiosity.
Right here, Prebish delves into the Brooklyn dance scene, working with no-wave greats Liquid Liquid, and making their massively enjoyable “dream report.”
What sort of music did you take heed to while you had been a youngster?
I had many chapters, none all that shocking. My peak teenage years had been largely dedicated to MGMT, Daft Punk, Justice, and so forth. Not a lot has modified there. Earlier than that, it was Inexperienced Day and My Chemical Romance. I additionally had a buddy/bully in highschool who confirmed me Cibo Matto, Sonic Youth, and Useless Kennedys, and that was all extremely impactful. I additionally learn numerous music mags. I had a subscription to AltPress and would choose up copies of SPIN and Beneath the Radar within the airport.
The brand new album is knowledgeable by your stay present. What are a number of the most unhinged or exaggerated moments that you just’re trying ahead to enjoying onstage?
We’ve really gotten to play numerous this report already on tour, and considered one of our favourite methods to finish a present is with “Antimatter Child,” the fourth observe on the report. Like most songs on the report, this one was written in lockdown whereas I used to be going utterly stir-crazy. My roommates and I’d watch numerous Thrasher movies, which made me need to skate, however sadly, I suck at skating, so one evening I channeled my pent-up vitality into a really over-the-top, unhinged pop jam with numerous modifications. As bizarre because the music is now, it was even weirder within the demo section, and I actually thought that music was going to be a tricky promote with the remainder of the band, however fortunately they had been down, and it grew so much from there. They only made me take out the bizarre rodeo-sounding drums I began with within the intro. It’s a tough music to play stay however tremendous enjoyable.
How would you describe your stay exhibits, and the broader Brooklyn dance scene, to somebody out of state?
Our exhibits are cathartic and never self-serious. Numerous dancing and even some mild crowdsurfing every now and then. Not from us — most of us have unhealthy backs. So far as Brooklyn’s dance scene, it’s wealthy and numerous with countless superb micro-communities. Once I labored with The Lot Radio in Brooklyn, I obtained to spend so much of time round a lot of them, which impressed our artwork/dance sequence Secret Good friend with our buddies at POND Inventive.
After we had been youngsters, electro-clash was the large factor in New York, and there was extra overlap between DJ and band world. Today the 2 really feel much more separate to me, in some instances for good purpose, nevertheless it does make me comfortable seeing the 2 converge once more recently. A few of my favourite New York bands that cross over into the dance/digital/DJ zone proper now are Operator Music Band, GIFT, Shallowhalo, 79.5, Mr Twin Sister, Might Rio, Midnight Magic, Supertaste… There are too many to call.
You labored with Dennis Younger of Liquid Liquid on “Wizard Acid,” who’ve made their very own mark upon the New York scene and are, in my view, such an necessary band to return out of the town, proper up there with the Velvet Underground and Blondie. How did you get related?
I couldn’t agree extra. They’re considered one of my favourite bands and wildly underrated. To not say they don’t get any recognition, as a result of clearly they do, simply not as a lot as they deserve. Like many different folks my age, I first got here throughout them once I was in highschool, they usually opened for LCD Soundsystem. I used to be smitten. They’d taken all of my favourite issues — vocal hooks, hand percussion, and basslines — and distilled them into this scrumptious, potent serum of no wave and punk.
Dennis heard us on WFMU — massive like to the great Clay Pigeon — and messaged us by way of Bandcamp. He mentioned one thing alongside the strains of, “I like your grooves. Let me know should you ever need any percussion.” We had been backstage at a gig in Austin after we obtained the e-mail, and I freaked out. Working with Dennis has been a pleasure, and we nonetheless electronic mail backwards and forwards typically. He’s a extremely candy and supportive man with numerous cool music tasks below his belt, previous and present. I’m nonetheless so extremely touched that he reached out the way in which he did. Generally being in a band is actually cool.
Your music “Boys” is indebted to friendship. How has your relationship with one another advanced for the reason that begin of the band?
Michael and I met in highschool, and Peter and I met in faculty. I met Sabine enjoying in one other band after I moved to Brooklyn, and obtained to know Zeb and Sarah from the New York scene. Having recognized Michael for one thing like 15 years and Peter near 12, we’ve watched one another develop and alter and blossom, supporting and lovingly roasting one another alongside the way in which. We’ve executed numerous work to speak and assist each other higher. Even Zeb, Sarah, and Sabine, who we’ve recognized for a relatively shorter time, really feel like members of the family. We’re genuinely all actually shut buddies and hang around after we aren’t doing band stuff. When tour ends, all of us get separation anxiousness.
I learn that manufacturing means so much to you, particularly on this LP. What sort of particulars had been you fixating on whereas ending the report? What did you get caught on?
I actually respect this query/likelihood to ramble. The manufacturing moments I keep in mind pulling my hair out over had been all tiny, silly issues no person else would ever care about. One particular snare hit right here, an organ arpeggio there.
We’re all producers in and out of doors of Psymon Backbone, so all of us have actually sturdy opinions about how issues ought to sound. On earlier data, we’ve all the time produced and composed concurrently, letting the sounds information the music, and vice versa. This works numerous the time, nevertheless it creates two main issues. First, it makes it onerous to play stuff stay with out having plenty of know-how onstage that may and can break always. And second, for me, I’ll nearly invariably hit a wall in some unspecified time in the future compositionally once I work like that. I.e. if the verse sounds very nice and full, however I haven’t discovered a refrain but. Every part I strive sounds empty as a result of I haven’t produced it but, so I find yourself caught in a nook. With these issues in thoughts, we made a rule on this report to not fixate on how issues sounded till the songs had been actually compelling simply as demos. We figured if we obtained to the place the songs had been thrilling, even whereas sounding unhealthy, then we may placed on our producer pants and have extra uninhibited enjoyable with higher supply materials, plus work so much quicker. It may very well be like we had been producing our favourite band. It’s nothing revolutionary. Numerous artists work like this. It was simply new for us.
Largely, the system labored rather well, and I believe the songs are one of the best we’ve written, however there have been positively surprising challenges. To compensate subconsciously for the dearth of manufacturing, we discovered we had composed some songs a bit extra densely, which meant there wasn’t all the time a ton of room for our signature bizarre modular synth sounds and swooshes and percussion. Ready till later to outline the sonic identification additionally typically made the trail from demo to ultimate product rather less apparent than we had been anticipating. In the long run, we made our dream report. It simply took a little bit longer than we anticipated it to.
What’s the final piece of bodily media that you just purchased?
The final bodily media I purchased was two Risograph prints from Secret Riso Membership in Brooklyn. Peter and I every do our personal visible artwork stuff exterior the band, and I used to be there to print some copies of an illustration I had made. I ended up falling in love with their assortment of prints and books, and it was a battle to not purchase every little thing they’d. Fortunately not every little thing was on the market, or I’d danger monetary destroy.
