Psy’aviah: Who are they?

Psy’aviah speaks about the band

Interview conducted on January 30, 2018

By Daniel Locke

The Psy’Aviah live band line-up consists of our legendary Ben van de Cruys on guitars, songwriter & producer Yves Schelpe on keys-knobs-wires-electronics and a stunning soulful vocalist, the famous Marieke Lightband who will certainly have a big impact on you.

2017 saw a new album “Seven Sorrows, Seven Stars” and a brand new live line-up that started perform again Fall/Winter 2016 with legendary Ben van de Cruys on guitars, songwriter & producer Yves Schelpe on keys and the famous Marieke Lightband who will certainly have a big impact on you.

Umratedmagazine: What was you background like?

Yves: As a young boy age 6 or 7 I think, I was entered into music school to learn the basics – only to be kicked out of there after half a year because I was presumed tone-deaf and couldn’t sing… I actually was asked to “playback” whilst the class was singing :-). I think it’s a shame, I love music and loved it since I was very young, so I pursued, when I got my first own computer I started making music on it. And slowly but surely I started composing and songwriting, learning it by myself on the internet. I must also mention Dirk Fuelman’s, a teacher I had in my school who’s subject was IT – and he’s an expert and well-known figure in the “electro-acoustic music” scene. I learned a lot from him, concerning what a synthesizer is and what components do what. I owe him a lot, and we’re still in touch after all those years.

How did you start you musical career?

Yves: We got picked up by Alfa Matrix, the label which houses Front 242 and had deals with Anne Clark and more back then, for a 3-album contract. Exciting times back in 2009 they were – because I really pushed hard to put a stamp on the “EBM” or “electro-industrial” scene with my own views on it, which wasn’t easy at times, but due to playing on Briefest and winning several contests (on Studio Brussels) and getting good comments on UK’s BBC Radio – I think Alfa Matrix was convinced we were dedicated to our “sound” and “exploration”. It may have started in 2003, but the real start was in 2008 thus.

Tell me about the development of your musical style?

Yves: Bands like Pragma Khan, Delerium, Moby, Röyksopp made my heart beat faster. They were interesting, in that they made electronic music but so vastly different each time. I think I can relate to that, in the sense that in 2009-2013 I made music with core individuals, so Psy’Aviah then was seen as a “band” with a lead female singer, a guitarist and me as producer/keyboard. But due to circumstances and me wanting to explore “storytelling” more I shifted the focus and we land in the era of 2013-now, and era I call “Collaboration Age” 😉 – still writing the music and lyrics and doing the production myself but inviting vocalists from all over the world to contribute and tell the story with their voices. With the first album of that being “The Xenogamous Endeavour” (and the current one “Lightflare” being the third one of this era).

What is your music genre?

Yves: I call it open-minded electronic music with heart & soul. But we could be classified under trip hop, indietronica, synthpop and electroclash/breakbeats for other tracks. So it depends on which songs you hear first, upon digging deeper you’ll notice we’re not stuck to one genre – it’d be boring for us. It’s the same with bands like Moby, Röyksopp or even in the past New Order. Not being afraid to experiment and to put out songs that are only tied to one genre…

Back in 2004, you were focusing on live perform only, why?

Yves: Simply because I had no clue how the music industry worked, I didn’t know anything and I was still so young… We released MP3s (some of our old hardcore fans still have them) on our website or Last.FM for free. They never were released on an album though… so they’re well kept secrets… maybe you can find some of them floating on the internet ;-).

How did you win the studio Brussel Brussel and what is it?

Yves: This actually was with such a demo, it was a contest where emerging artists could send in a demo to national radio, they were then put up against two other bands and the public could vote. There was also a jury of three professional musicians that commented. The demo we sent in was called “Future Of The Sun”, and it won by public vote.

You released your firs LP in 2008. And you are still with the label. They must be good to you?

Yves: The strength of Alfa Matrix is that I can focus on my music and don’t have to worry about anything else. They’ve also supported me in every step I took, as musically my journey was going from a band era (2009-2013) to a collobarion era (2013-now), they always stuck with me – same with the various styles of music I incorporate in the core electronic sound we have – they’re very open, they let me choose how I want to do my artwork (which is always very much tied to the story I tell on the album). Yeah they’re good to me :)!

How was it to play at your first festival, and what was it like?

Yves: I think the first big festival was BIMFest 2008, we did some before, but this was kind of the kickstart to a larger audience to get to know us. It was a real treat, very nice experience and meeting some people for the first time like Luc Van Acker and Jean-Marc Lederman. Since our music wasn’t strictly electro-industrial or EBM, but more a mix between triphop/electropop synthpop and of course some elements of EBM, we were the odd ones at the festival, but it was a cool experience, since we got to really show off that this mix of sounds could be interesting – we got good reviews after that, so more festivals followed after!

Why do you feel that the single “Moments (feat. Suzi Q. Smith) were banned by YouTube? After being selected for the 2007 BBC Next Big Thing?

Yves: I have no idea why it was banned, as there was no nudity, no vulgarity in it at all. The music video since then has been copied by fans and uploaded to their own channels, so it lives on, thankfully. I don’t know exactly, as the BBC jury really liked it, I think maybe some people flagged it back then – maybe misinterpreting the song, although I don’t know why. I still don’t understand it to this day, YouTube never said why it was taken down.

How did you start to work with Kari Berg (ex-Ashbury-Heights)?

Yves: I met Kari at a festival we both were playing and I was intrigued by her voice. So even though I acted as core band in the “era”, I also started to invite guest vocalists. I worked with Jean-Luc De Meyer (Front 242) and Kristell Lowagie (Lovelorn Dolls) and then I met Kari and I simply asked her contact details, then we mailed and tried to make a song – which turned out to be “Deep Dark Desire”. A synthpop tune, I still am proud of up until today. I then co-wrote a song for her own project called “It’s Just Words” (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=WtnT_3yyFEM), a protest song against bullying and more concepts. I think for the next album we might be doing something again… 🙂 – I think she has an exceptional sounding voice that deserves a lot more songs written for!

How was it to license your music to several episodes of a TV Series?

Yves: Some of our songs have been used in advertisements and small portions in other media, but this time for the Belgian national TV series “De Ridder” (translated “The Knight”) – in its essence it is a crime series that takes place on the court of Ghent where Helena De Ridder, played by Clara Clemens, is public prosecutor. We contributed music to several episodes in several seasons, for which we were credited of course. It was just a thrill to see and hear our music being used in some of the scenes!

And then you got the Microsoft deal for the release of Windows 7. And it was the Microsoft first time focusing into music. How was royally deal set up with Microsoft?

Yves: That was a total surprise, the song “Tired” got a lot of attention because of that. There was no real deal, it was a contest and Microsoft selected us out of … a lot of entries, because Microsoft wanted to make a big impact with their new Windows 7 & focus on music. It was mostly promoted in the US though, never so much in Europe.

Why did you started the Urban Sharing Experiment?

Yves: I was working 3 years I think then as a developer and I started noticing a routine taking place. I thought, do I notice stuff around me, do I still pay attention to the world, and do I still take risks? For me then the risk was to start such a project, and I wanted to find out if people could get ripped out of their routine when confronting them with unusual “packages” hanging where they shouldn’t hang. Let’s just say I wanted to experiment in the real world, I don’t think I could do this now as the terror alarm in the country would go off when they see such strange packages hanging for buildings or taped to walls. Anyway, later on we did some workshops in Belgium and an exposition at the PLUTO Festival, where they showcased works and the intent behind the project.

Can you explain the Live 2018 “LightFlare your unique experience? Since it is a project you been doing since the beginning of the band.

Marieke: Seeing the album is a collection of strong collaborations with various artists who each have their specific voice colour and intonation, I try to bring all the stories together on stage as 1 book. The diversity that really works on an album will on stage become a more harmonious endeavor with all those different stories brought together by 1 voice.
I try to respect the specific sounds created in each song by the executive artist but still to stay true to myself and my own sound. This is what makes it definitely worthwhile to see Psy’Aviah live. The different experience of the album versus the live settings!

Your videos are a joy to watch. Can you explain either Earth, Wind, Fire, Air And Sky (Om Namaha Shivaya) (Yoga Inspired Music Video) or Reboot Reset Relay (ft. Fallon Nieves) (Music Video) #ElectroClash?

Yves: Thanks, I’m glad you like our music videos – with a budget of $0 we try to make each music video as best as we can. It’s hard work, and I’m sometimes editing up to 2 months for a video. “Om Namaha Shivaya” is a video that shows off Yoga poses, I didn’t want to just focus on Yoga poses, so I made sure the person doing the poses could be edited in as a “shape”. You can still see the human form, but as a silhouette. On top of that silhouette I “painted” the ocean waves, to bring the calmness as well as the roughness of the sea into that clip as well. Reboot Reset Relay focuses more on the vocalist Fallon Nieves, where she’s playing a robot, or is she a human… As that’s where the song is about?. As for the new music video coming out soon, “Aftermath” ft. Ellia Bisker (in exclusive preview for you here: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=GPUdmeTILxM) – this is a special one as the video is shot at an old abandoned factory near Willebroek (Belgium) in real urban exploring fashion. It really fits the theme of the song’s devastating nature and also stars singer Ellia Bisker edited in as ghostly appearance.

How do you pick the people you in which you use as guest vocalists and musicians on your music?

Yves: I usually start out with making a track and then write my lyrics & vocal melodies on there. I then record that “vocal guide”, which… most vocalists find quite hilarious as I can’t sing. Either way – that vocal guide though is their starting point and then we either mail version, or I make suggestions to them where to add some extra backing vocals, etc… Some write their own lyrics and vocal melody though, like Michael Evans of MiXE1 and Ellia Bisker of Sweet Soubrette. But I like writing my own stories usually, with the vocal hints and pointers to make it sound like a Psy’Aviah song – once I then have that first rough demo with my vocals – I send either have a voice I know in mind, or I have to start searching for someone that can tell the story, and where the vocal really first perfectly. For example with “Lost At Sea”, I immediately knew that Mari Kattman was the voice that could tell that story, same for “Ghost” with David Chamberlin. For “Lonely Soul” though, the search was longer, and the song was finished I think already half a year before I found Phoebe’s voice to tell it.

Yves on your Facebook profile you say Programmer by day, musician at night. Can you explain this more? Because you are a software engineer? Can you tell me about KodeFoxx?

Yves: As music doesn’t earn me much, or not enough to live from, I have day job where I’m a programmer (or some call it software engineer, a more fancy term). It basically means I have to balance my life, it’s programming by day and making music (or music videos) at night… It’s just the truth, to me it also means, “don’t procrastinate”, I’m busy all the time with “making” stuff, be it software, be it music. KodeFoxx then is my, well you could call it “band name”, for my open source work. I sometimes write software out of pleasure for people who have specific needs.

Would you want to play either SXSW or Bonnaroo Music Festival?

Yves: Easy, SXSW!
Marieke: Well SXSW festival would be great if we can put it in a USA tour but seeing that is not yet in the pipeline Bonnaroo music Festival is more realistic :-)…

What music fest would you like to play?

Marieke: My first festival I attended from the age of 13: Rock Werchter in Belgium. Other international festival is Glastonbury!
Yves: A ton of fests, but I think something like Infest or WGT would be nice, although there are mainstream festivals like Pukkelpop where I think we would fit in quite nicely on some of their stages!
What instruments do you use to write your music?
Marieke: Guitar!
Yves: The initial is a piano / MIDI controller by AKAI. To get the first chords, the first things on paper. Later it’s mostly My KORG MS2000, Waldorf Blofeld and a lot of VST instruments, such as Massive, Reaktor, etc…

Do you like vinyl?

Yves: I never grew up with Vinyl, nor cassette, for me the CD is what I grew up with, so I don’t like nor dislike Vinyl. It just doesn’t speak to me as much as a CD, or a digital release with a music video… When producing a record though, I emulate the sound of vinyl or tape often, or get soundscape subtly under the music, which at first listen you will not notice, but those subtle ambient sounds of crackling or a tape distortion can really give a very big impact on the mood and setting of the sound…
Marieke: I adore vinyl as it makes everything sound better

What’s your favorite album?

Marieke: I don’t have 1 favorite album. I have been inspired by so many artists and so many styles. This has determined my own diversity and just choosing 1 is and has always been impossible
Yves: I agree, I don’t have favorites either – and I’m the sort of person that doesn’t choose. It depends on the season, it depends on how I feel that day. I would never limit myself. What I can tell is that I’m very fond of Röyksopp, Moby, Delerium, Faithless, Robyn and Praga Khan. Give me an album of any of those artists and I’ll be happy :-).

Mac or PC? And why?

Yves: I work on both machines, and I worked on both linux, windows and macOS for my job. I have my preference for Windows, as it’s easy for a work environment to balance stuff. For music production I use a windows PC as well, because I find it easier to take out parts and replace them, I could go Linux, but there lies the problem that the software to make music on Linux isn’t so good or easy to use. So in the end its PC/Windows for me I guess, but I don’t have anything against the others. Might be a boring opinion, but to me, whatever gets the job done for you, pick that one. But know why you’re picking it ;-): aka known the pros and cons.

If someone was listening to you for the first time, what 3 videos or songs would you tell them to look/listen to and why?

Yves: Such a difficult questions when you have a back catalogue since 2008 (8 albums) and you do a variety of songs and genres mixing & matching them up. But let me try:
1- Alcubierre Drive ft. Kyoko Baertsoen: YouTube – because there I really tried to blend trip-hop and EBM elements, coming up with a classic song structure but still having some notion of EBM elements. It is also one of the more popular videos.
2- Not What I Expected ft. Fallon Nieves: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=5i-DjCRQpo8 – As this shows our “danceable” side more, as well as our critical note to society. A danceable protest song, in almost punk fashion.
3- Lost At Sea ft. Mari Kattman: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=d-Dw0Dx5_-Y – As it’s taken from the brand new album and really shows what I mean with sotrytelling and finding the right vocalist. It’s also the most synthpop oriented track in this list of three.

Who is your favorite singer and why?

Yves: I don’t have favorites, it’s too damn difficult to choose. Everyone has their own qualities, and like “my favorite album”, it depends on what mood I’m in, or if it’s raining outside, or if the world’s ending… I also feel every singer shines differently on each song – so it would be a choice between genres as well then. Let me say that everyone I worked with is an instant favorite of mine – and I mean that, because I asked to work with them, and I chose the specifically for that certain track.

What was your first concert you performed in and your last concert?

Yves: The first, very very first, was actually a performance in a theatre piece called “Dorian Grey”; some of the soundtrack elements can be found on the EP “Chasing The Speed Of Light”, it was in 2002/2003 +/-. The last one we did at an open-air festival at Rivierenhof.

How do you see your band in the next 5 years?

Yves: Ever evolving, ever exploring the boundaries of our sound and where we can take electronic music to, and take elements from other genres and bring them into our own world. I’m already working on new songs, and a follow up EP which will be called “Looking For The Sun”, it will feature two brand new songs with Sunnie Williams on vocals and SAYDI on the other track. So I’s day stay tuned, because they have awesome voices!

Any guilty pleasures your fans would be surprise you listen to?

Yves: I think the most loyal fans know I have a broad taste, from classical to enya to Vangelis to Front 242 to Madonna to Metallica to Weezer to Die Antwoord and on and on… When I like something, and I think it’s good, then I don’t mind which genre it is.

What is on your bucket list?

Yves: A road trip through either Canada or the US, but also doing an interview series on YouTube with some interesting people. I’m working on this right now, but its work in progress, so still on my bucket list!

What is on your phone for music now?

Yves: Everything that’s available on Spotify. But lately it has been this playlist “Essential Synthpop & Electropop” (for those who are on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/ 116680694/playlist/ 64QLSIgYyrPfbe5CDZZ7K9?si= RuiFS1elSGa1lSN2htR6rA) with bands like Purity Ring, M83, SAYDI, Depeche Mode, Ayria, Ladytron, Rörksopp, Moby and more…

Anything in closing you would like to say?

Yves: Thank YOU for having us & we hope to see & hear everyone on our future journey. Feel free to say Hi via our Facebook, twitter, etc… – We love conversations with our fans!

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