Psychlona
Struggles, boredom, new energy and a shared path…
A local urban myth suggests that if you go into the Thackley Forest at midnight, when the wind is howling and the weather is exceptionally foul, you can see hooded figures casting large shadows while performing their Satanic rituals. And if you listen very closely, wafting among the noises and underneath the ominous chants, you can hear this strange music… Music that does not aid those evil rituals, but feels warm, nostalgic and like pure rock ‘n roll… But still scary enough to have biker gangs piss their pants and leave skid marks as they drive off… It’s the sound that would later become…
Psychlona…
Bradford heavy rock outfit Psychlona has transformed, the vision warped, two guys left, two guys joined. The sound on the new album Warped Vision is still psychedelic and cosmic, but it has also turned a more blues toned corner. It has added a different level to their sound and has widened their possibilities. But losing two members might also feel like heartbreak. You’ve started the band together and turned it into what it is today. It might not always be that easy to find your way with the new gang. On Warped Vision, the first album with the new formation, it sounds like Psychlona is ready to take on the world. Let’s ask vocalist, guitarist and founder Phil Hey about everything Warped Vision… And more…
We’re Zooming with Phil over in Bradford, looking at his relaxed, white bearded, cap waring mug in front of his kitchen door. Phil, seems to be synonymous for straightforward and down to earth. And he’s obviously relaxed because the album is finished, but more so because if everything works out, he’s about to head off to Spain for a little R'n'R, before the tour for the new album starts. The album release party will be held at The Black Heart in Camden, London on September 28th and then they’re off to mainland Europe doing solo shows and touring together with the majestic bill of Slomosa and Greenleaf. Holy hell! A night not to be missed! So, how is life for the relaxed and down to earth Phil Hey over there in Bradford?
Phil: “Bradford
isn't the greatest place to live. It used to be but it's being
spiralling downwards for many years. the people are mainly great with
some exceptions of course. But the council seem to inject money into stuff we don't
need, chasing awards for this that and the other, while leaving other
things to rot with no assistance whatsoever. We do however still have a
great musical culture with unique influences drawn from the diversity in
the city and surrounding areas. We live in the better part of town, nice house, nice neighbors, but a
two minute drive over...”
What hasn’t gone downhill is the trajectory of Psychlona. The band founded in 2018 released their debut album Mojo Rising in November that year and has been putting out albums every two years since. With every releasing notching up the quality and the popularity of the band. How do you yourself view the Psychlona flight route so far?
Phil: “That first album was actually released as more of a laugh, you know. We recorded it ourselves. It wasn’t done properly. The quality of the songs is there. Really, we still think so. But the overall production is lacking. When we got to record in a ‘proper’ studio for our second album Venus Skytrip, we took it all to an entirely different level. And then when the first single Blast Off immediately did so well, we were all a bit taken aback. We had not expected that.”
Never thought about re-recording that first album?
“I actually suggested that. Cause… Well, let me tell you the story. I was on holiday in Lanzarote, we had just put the album on Bandcamp. And then I got to chat with this dude online, some guy named Todd. Haha. You know, Todd Severin, the dude from Ripple Music. And he said he loved the album and everything. So, mind you, I had just landed, checked in, had a few beers, so a bit tongue in cheek I suggested, so you gonna sign us or what? Haha. But he took it seriously and said, I would love to, but the roster for the entire year is filled up. I don’t know how to make space for you guys. And I really thought, shucks, well, we almost made it. Had a few more beers. Went to bed. The next morning, a bit hangover, I had messages from Todd and Niels Bartholdy form Cursed Tongue Records, they wanted to release the album together. I suggested going into a proper studio to properly record it. But they dug it the way it was. They were obviously immediately on board to do it all good and well for the next Venus Skytrip record. That was such a big leap, thanks to producer Andy Hawkins.”
And that’s been your go-to guy since then. So, what’s the first image that comes to mind when you think of Andy and the Warped Vision sessions?
“Boredom. Absolute boredom. Cause I was there for every second of the process. Whenever I suggested to Andy I would not come in that day, he would say he’d love my input and company. But in the end I just sat there as he tweaked and did his magic. So, yes the first word, boredom. The last word could be relief, at the very end of it all. That it was finally all done. But we’re happy with the results. It was worth it I guess.”
What’s the main difference for you personally when you look at those three albums with Andy at the helm?
“Look, Warped Vision was actually all a bit rushed. We had the studio booked. The same studio we had used for the previous two albums. We liked it there. It works for us. But then obviously, Martyn (Birchall, bass) and Dave (Wainfor, guitar) decided to leave the band. I think it was about two months after they hinted at leaving the band that they actually left. It took them a while to confirm they were leaving. It must have been a hard decision for them to make. So, we lost a bit of time there. We couldn’t do much. But Scott (Frankling, drums) and me kept going down every week, continuing to write new stuff. I had called some friends to see if they would be interesting in filling in should they decide to leave. So, when they actually confirmed, we could move fairly quickly with finding replacements. After the boys told us the sad news, I called them up and they immediately jumped in. We had six songs by then. And then the new Martin (Wiseman, guitar) and Izak (Ian Buxton, bass), both wrote a song each. Which was pretty good. Because the earlier Palo Verde album was a difficult time in many ways. We had signed with PsychoWaxx which on paper was the greatest thing ever for us, trips to the USA, paid for playing Vegas, doing all the Sky Valley stuff etc. In reality it was kinda sucking the fun and excitement out of the band, we weren't the carefree guys doing it for a laugh anymore. We suddenly had hard schedules to work with and difficult label owners and this made the song writing process less organic and more forced. It's probably what changed the future of the band and made Martyn and Dave realise they didn't need this anymore and had more important stuff to do with their lives. I love those guys man, we started the band together, it hurt when they left. But I guess their departure had been coming for a long time and Scott and me both fully respected and understood their decisions but at the same time wished they would stay..."
That’s not audible on Palo Verde at all. Impressive production in that case!
“Chalk that up to the magic of Andy Hawkins. Like I said, he did Venus Skytrip, Palo Verde and now Warped Vision, it’s his studio, he knows every corner and how to get the best out of us. We like how he operates, but he’s quite a difficult guy to work with, you know. He’s like a bit of a mad professor, you know, a bona fide musical genius. And the way he communicates, I wonder how many bands can deal with his critics. I mean, we play a song, and he just goes: ‘hmm, is that it? Okay.’ Or like, ‘You done? Well, okay.’ But that’s not a bad thing you know, being that critical of us. I guess it does push us to do our best. He also puts forth a lot of ideas to improve songs. He has ear, it often makes things better. And doesn’t like it one bit though, when I dislike his ideas and flat out state that it’s not happening. But he’s a great guy, and he brings out the best in us, we wouldn’t have been the same, and the quality would not have been the same without him. I’m sure we could have found a different studio to work with and gotten decent results, but nothing like Andy, it would not have been the same, he knows what we want to achieve.”
So he’s THAT critical! Was there a song this time around he did immediately like?
“Probably not, no, haha. I think he likes them all now though. There was one in particular he did not like. We did some quite heavy modifications down in the recording studio. And he was right in what he was saying. Cause I hadn’t really yelled with it either, in the way we had it in the rehearsal room. And I will tell you it wasn’t one of the ones I wrote, cough cough, haha, but I refuse to say which it was. But yeah, it came through in the end. We had some different ideas. Chopped a few bits out that weren’t … it felt a bit awkward in places. Like it was a couple of songs stuck together. But now it sounds like us.”
In three albums time you’ve managed to really carve out your own sound. How does the fourth one relate to that?
“I don’t know. I think it’s a natural sort of progression, it follows the same path. I always think once we finish that this one sounds even better than the earlier one, sound wise. Of course the big difference is we now have Martin (Wiseman) playing lead guitar, and he’s a really really good guitarist. He’s got his own sound. A self-professed blues man, you might be picking up on that. He’s a much better player than me. I mean just listen to the solo’s he does on the album. Izak (Buxton) is very similar in his bass style to Martyn Birchall, both really good bass players, but Izak’s a little bit heavier. Likes it more down the bottom end, which to me, is how the bass sound should be. I don’t think the sound on Warped Vision is a million miles away from our earlier stuff. We’ve got this down beat song this time around, but that’s a song I wrote a few years ago.”
You mean, SPLIT? Kind of fitting title when two guys leave the band…
“Haha, no, it’s not about them. I tossed it around for some years, made different sorts of arrangements for it. Lyrically it meant quite a lot to me. So I wanted to do it, capture that emotion, time and memory. I don’t think it will be one we ever play live. It was difficult even singing it in the rehearsal room. It’s about losing a loved one. And we’ve all been through that. If it’s a person or even a pet. Sometimes the easiest way to get rid of these emotions, or better yet, express your feelings and overcome them somehow, is to write a song about it. To get something down and out, for all eternity if you like. I don’t think it’s a live thing. We do try to keep the live performance to the punchier stuff really. Which people seem to like. I want Psychlona on stage to stand for party time.”
Talking about heavy emotions, how hard was it to see the two guys leave? I mean you hinted at it being a struggle for a while and that they were not conclusive about their decision. But then they did leave, even though the four of you were together for quite some time.
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| The old gang: Martin, Scott, Phil & Dave |
“Oh yeah, definitely weird… We’ve played, with Psychlona being myself, Scott, Martyn and Dave for quite a few years. You’ve got your positions on stage and when jamming. You look to your right in the rehearsal room and Dave would be there. Looking to my left and Martyn would be there. Suddenly I look and see Izak there and Dave is gone. It took me quite a while. It felt kinda wrong, you know. Even though the music was going well and we were making things happen, I wasn’t quite happy with how I felt. Too me some time to get over. But of course, they were always there. I’d been in bands with Martyn. And started Psychlona with Dave. Did I tell you the story of how it started? I was in a bar one night, watching a horrible covers band. I was mortified and thought about leaving. I did a quick scan around to see if there was anyone there worth talking to. And I saw Dave, who I knew, cause he played in a different band. He sat there, absolutely wasted, trying to get a new beer, but the bar staff refusing to sell him anything. So, I bought him a beer and we spent the rest of the night talking about punk rock, stoner, all sorts of favorite bands and albums, Kyuss obviously. And when the punk band I was in, Threshold Shift folded, I called him up and said, Dave, me and Martyn are gonna start a band. So he said alright, let’s start a band. And that was that. We never decided on a course of action or a sort of music, just that we want to play rock. Six drummers later, we had Scott and from there on the sound was set.”
So you already mentioned the new guys are great players, but what’s the best thing they bring to the table?
“Shit. What more do you want? They’re just amazing players. Better looking as well, haha. I mean, look at Martin, he’s six foot four or something, dreadlocks, he looks fierce, but he’s the nicest guy in the world. A real big softy! And they immediately brought songs into the rehearsal space. And they already said they were working on new stuff for a fifth album as well! And Izak never shuts up, and that’s a good thing! Cause there’s never a dull moment now. Whenever we sit around in the rehearsal room, whenever there’s a quiet spell, Izak’s constantly talking about something. It’s a good thing! They both bring good musicianship to the band. Martin also takes care of the laidback chilled out atmosphere and he’s immediately become the focal point now. With his playing, swinging his dreadlocks around. Haha, you know, at Stoned From The Underground Festival, Scott, Izak, Martin and me, were out there in front of stage talking to people after we played and having a beer. And some guy just pushed passed Scott and Izak and went straight to Martin, ‘hey man, great show;’ did not even recognize Scott, who’s been in the band for six or so years. Haha, so yeah, he brings a good visual image if you like. We’ve got a looker in the band now!”
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| The new gang: Scott, Izak, Phil & Martin |
Have they had a hand in the lyrics? I suspect not, but the lyrics feel a bit deeper, heavier in respect to earlier albums...
“No, I take care of the lyrics. They have to mean something to me, otherwise I can’t sing them. I’ve tried to write all of them about actual events that happened in my past. Some of it obviously not, I’ve never flown around Mars of wherever, haha. You know.. Blast Off was fictional, haha. With this one… I’ve found my peace with the boys leaving, and I’m at a place in my life, where I’m not angry with anything anymore. You know, I’m doing okay. I’m not living on the streets. Got a house, a lovely wife, my music. It’s all good. So what do you write about in that case. So I dove into my past and even though the song might have poetic license to dance around the subject, there are certain images or lines that are directly referring to something that happened or something I felt. Smoke for instance, it’s about one on my mates. There’s a verse that goes: ‘heard it on the morning news, you were gone, nothing we could do, guess you didn't see the red light.’ I was out with a friend of mine one evening, and when he said he was going home, I saw him drive off on his motorbike. Next morning I woke up to the local radio station stating he was killed after he had gone through a red light and got hit by a truck. So yeah, stories within the lyrics, they’re there, even though I tend to drift away from the subject as well. But I’m very critical of my writing. I always go through ten versions or more before recording any. And then, looking back, I think I’m only really okay with Meet Your Devil on Palo Verde and Down In The Valley from Mojo Rising.”
So I guess that’s where that nostalgic touch comes from that shines through in the songs. You look back through your life for subjects to write about. Even Topanga has that quality, before you realize what it’s actually about…
“Haha, yeah, it’s exactly about that. Working on it in the rehearsal room it initially had lyrics about space. But I did not feel it. Too much of the album was about real stuff. And then it suddenly clicked, I heard a sentence or two in my head. After remembering a trip to San Fransisco a couple of years ago. Visiting Height Asbury and a place where the Manson Family had lived. Interesting enough right, this weird area Topanga Canyon where the Manson Family got all their crazy ideas. Strange place, strange people. Like yourself, getting all warm and fuzzy from a song about a killer cult, haha. But I don’t know, that nostalgic thing you mentioned, it might just have something to do with my age. I was around in the seventies and so were the other guys, and c'mon you've heard us and you've seen us, we’re all basically just throwbacks to the seventies. If you look at the stuff we listen to, the stuff we wear, my favorite Grand Funk t-shirt. We’re just playing what comes out. And it comes out at the weirdest of times. Walking up in the middle of the night with a song in my head. Sneaking out of the bedroom in the dark to go up to the guitar room and quietly play into a recorder. There are times, when I’ve totally forgotten it, which is annoying. So, I think, the best Psychlona album has been lost. Forever. Haha. And now hearing Martin, the new guitarist is the same as me, he has difficulty sleeping when there’s a sound stuck in his head, well, it feels like we’re on the right path again, and that we’re on it together.”
A path that has taken you from pulling pranks in Thackley forest to stages across the globe, from cool label to cool label and soon to every cool venue in Europe.
“Yeah, it’s been a good ride so far. We've had some good labels putting out our music already. There have been a few bumps. Psychowaxx being one of them. But we’ve always had a champion in the name of Jadd Shickler at our back, he’s stuck with us wherever we went or took us with him wherever he went. I mean, Todd and Niels are heroes as well, they put out music on their labels for the correct reasons. Because they love the music. Shit, Todd is a maniac, the man never sleeps, he’s just written a book. We might be doing a song for him, for a soundtrack to accompany the book. Not sure if it will happen though. And now we’re with Magnetic Eye Records, great label, all business though. It’s a different take on putting out records. It made the entire process feel even more rushed. Cause they wanted the album by a certain date, complete, artwork included. And our favorite artist Kyrre Bjurling, who has done all our art is in more of a demand now. So, the timeline was horrendous. We actually had to spar a bit more to get this artwork done. And then they also wanted three videos and at a certain time. It took some getting used to. But I guess that fits with everything that we had to get used to with this album. Transitional? Perhaps. But all is fine now and Psychlona is ready for the future, we're on the right path again.”
It sounds like a lot of trials and tribulations. But you come across as relaxed and satisfied. So it all worked out in the end. What was the most euphoric moment surrounding Warped Vision in that case?
“Other than the end!? Haha. The end was great, finally getting the finished recordings. It’s been a very long process and there was a lot of time related stress and extremely dull hours. A lot of it was painful. But then you get the end result, you hear all the micro touches Andy did, you hear the sweat the boys put in, you see the finalized art, and yeah, there’s definitely an elated feeling.”
Now, going forward, all you need to do is convince the new guys that you need to have Whigfield’s Saturday Night as opening tune when you go on stage…
“Haha. Yeah, I tried convincing the guys in Threshold Shift to perform that one, I’d even written it out as a punk version. But I think I’ll have more chance with Baby Monkey Going Backwards On A Pig, it’s been our go to track to have a laugh in the rehearsal room. You know, Baby Monkey Going Backwards On A Pig, Baby Monkey Going Backwards On A Pig…”
And we're back in Thackley forest...
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