Psyche - Psyché '2023

Tracks list

Drop a needle on Psyché’s debut album and you’ll see visions,
or rather Mediterranean visions, be they of waves of heat shimmering above dunes
of sand, or of women dancing around a bonfire on a rocky plain, or of bushy
cliffs overlooking emerald-green and turquoise sea. The name Psyché is of
course ancient Greek for ‘soul’ or ‘mind’, signifying
the band’s love of psychedelic funk, but also the wide range of
Mediterranean influences – from Southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula,
and from Anatolia to the Maghreb – that provide an endless source of
inspiration for their hypnotic sound and minimalist style. Psyché members
Marcello Giannini (Guru, Nu Genea, Slivovitz), Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu, Nu
Genea, Funkin Machine) and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea) have been active in the
Naples music scene for almost two decades, most notably during the first wave of
the new Neapolitan Power movement (Slivovitz, Revenaz Quartet). Over the years
they have often crossed paths and collaborated on side projects in various
genres (math-rock duo Arduo and, more recently, synth-pop duo Fratelli Malibu),
before working together as the rhythm section of Nu Genea’s live band.
Following their first tour with Nu Genea in 2018, they started Psyché with
the intent of exploring more minimalist styles and making music with just a few
elements. A unique combination of psychedelia, groove and improvisation, the
music of Psyché goes back to the roots of our future; it evokes visions of a
mythical past, blending centuries-old music traditions and mixing them with
modern genres. Like a warm Mediterranean breeze, it travels across lands, seas
and eras, distilling essential rhythms and cosmic pulsations. The album’s
opener “Kuma” (titled after the first ancient Greek colony on the
Italian mainland, now an archeological site near Naples) is like a vibrant,
magical wave. With its deliberately simple harmony and sharp guitar riffs, it
travels across the Mediterranean from Italy to North Africa, first lapping
gently on Greek and Turkish shores – with some compositional elements
reminiscent of Italian pop legend Lucio Battisti – and then speeding up
and landing on the driving, syncopated rhythms of afrobeat. While listening to
it your eyes fill with images of small white houses shining in the sun, of fig
trees heavy with fruit, of spice bazaars and colourful medinas, and you can
almost feel the desert wind blowing in your hair. The journey continues with two
examples of Psyché’s bold and elegant approach to contemporary
afrobeat and cumbia fusion: “Cumbia Mahàre” and
“Amma”. The former combines minimal synths and exhilarating rhythmic
patterns of drums, percussion, guitar and bass, drawing us into the movements of
an imaginary ritual dance (the term mahàre was used in Southern Italian
dialects to indicate witches). Next is the cinematic and mysterious ambiance of
“Angizia” (a snake goddess worshipped by the Marsi in ancient
Italy), another fascinating mixture of different sonic traditions and cultures
where hip-hop/funk drums are blended with Maghreb influences, Balkan echoes, and
hypnotic, Theremin-like synths that have sort of a sci-fi movie quality to them.
The title track “Psyché”, with its uptempo afro-rhythms, ethereal
vocalizations and refined percussion, is almost a manifesto of the band’s
style and confirms the freshness of their minimalism, which is not afraid of
taking in the sun of lands confined between the sea and the desert. The
following “Manea” (named after the Roman-Etruscan goddess of the
dead) is an afro-funk number with smooth and introspective dreamy jazz touches,
and with an arrangement dominated by a guitar that, dripping notes like drops of
water, creates a delicate, cinematic sound. Next, we come to
“Hekate” (the Greek goddess of magic, witchcraft and crossroads), a
track that fuses psychedelia, spacious Latin guitars and a fast, tight groove.
The album comes to a close with the exquisite melodic ballad
“Kelebek”, which seamlessly combines hip-hop drums and dreamy
guitars, and whose warm, flowing sonorities and evocative atmospheres conjure
the image of a butterfly (which is what kelebek means, in Turkish) floating over
the Mediterranean and, from there, the world.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Psyche - Kuma (3:42)
1.02 - Psyche - Cumbia Mahàre (3:42)
1.03 - Psyche - Amma (4:37)
1.04 - Psyche - Angizia (4:06)
1.05 - Psyche - Psyché (3:47)
1.06 - Psyche - Manea (4:43)
1.07 - Psyche - Hekate (4:43)
1.08 - Psyche - Kelebek (4:00)

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