Psymon Spine

By Sean Maldjian, Contributor

Photo provided by, Psymon Spine

Meet Psymon Spine

Hello everyone and everything. I hope you are enjoying yet another onslaught of snow and sleet. At least we have an energetic, and explosive rock group to hang out with. Hot on the heels of the release of their 2021 album ‘Charismatic Megafauna’ Psymon Spine stopped by to hang out with the fam and chat about truth, lies, and the NYC music scene.

Two Truths and a Lie

(Answers at bottom of the article)

We were all born fully grown out of Ron’s (our manager) head

We’re a hive mind, communicating  telepathically to follow the will of great leader, Gorgonzola

We recorded our album in 6 days and rested on the 7th

Would You Rather

be transported permanently 500 years into the future or 500 years into the past? What would you do?

Michael: Honestly both options are kind of terrifying but if I had to choose, I'd probably choose going 500 years into the future . I could see Peter living in the year 1,520 a lot better than I would. If I suddenly woke up in the year 2520 I'd most likely have a coffee and just spend 3 years googling (if google is still an applicable option) everything that happened between then and now.

Some questions with Psymon Spine

Do you believe the NYC music scene fosters community or competition?

Noah: Definitely the former for us. I think NYC is kind of a mirror, though - you receive the sort of energy you bring. So if you want a competitive life in music here, it's certainly available to you. I wouldn't recommend it though. There are enough challenges without wasting your energy on weird social dynamics. Success is highly personal, extremely fickle, and not a well that runs out if you don't get to it first. You'll be happier and have a more sustainable life here if you are kind and supportive.

What brought you all together?

Noah: met Brother Michael (synth/vocals) when I was 15 years old. He basically taught me how to DJ and to produce, and we started making electronic music and DJing around upstate New York, where we grew up. When I went to College in 2012 I met Peter (bassist/vocals) and we hit it off and started playing a bit of music together. Shortly thereafter, Michael and I were booked to play a few shows in Europe, but Michael wasn’t available to tour at the time (he was studying audio engineering in LA), so I asked Peter to fill in. We barely knew each other going in and left the experience permanently bonded in a way that only a crazy, wonky DIY tour can. While on tour Peter and I started messing around in Ableton between gigs and ended up sowing the seeds of what would one day become the first Psymon Spine songs. When we got back, we assembled a band with friends of ours at school, including drummer Nathaniel Coffey. Eventually, Michael graduated and moved back to the east coast and joined the band.

In 2016, we moved to Brooklyn and released our first record a year later on Axis Mundi Records. We took a bit of a break following the record’s release, during which time I started collaborating with Barrie Lindsay (of pop band Barrie). We needed a bassist, so Barrie set up a tinder with a picture of the band and a note saying “do you play bass?”. We matched with Sabine (guitar/vocals), who had just moved to Brooklyn from Berlin, and she joined the band. Sabine and I really clicked creatively and were working on a lot of music outside of Barrie so we asked her to join Psymon Spine. It was a ridiculously perfect fit right away, and eventually Sabine and I decided to leave Barrie to focus on Psymon Spine and our other projects.

Psymon Spine has had what feels a million different line-ups and musical objectives over the years. We’re like a human body - cells are born and they die, some are reborn while others are replaced - but somehow we maintain our form. Or maybe more like an ephemeral mass with its own sounds and rules and gravitational pull.

How has your creative process developed since you started playing back in 2013?

Peter: In the early days, each member of psymon spine had a clear yet distinct vision of the kind of band they’d like to be in. Our differing interests and specialized skill sets complimented each other, but it took a little bit of tinkering to create a product that contained everyone’s aesthetic preferences while sounding cohesive as a whole. Album one would have a folk, techno and indie rock song back to back to back because we held on too strongly to the original identity envisioned for our demos. As we worked together longer, our collaboration process evolved and we focused on the vision of the band, not of individual members. Of course certain members still spearhead certain songs, and we quite honestly might still sound like a bunch of idiots tied together by a rope, running in different directions. But if we sound like the above analogy now, then we used to sound like a bunch of idiots hitting each other over the heads with sticks, so still a favorable transformation if you ask me. Or you could say that the change in the creative process was us adding the rope, and purposefully running in different directions because we now know that we’ll catch each other at just the right moment, fall back together, and then continue tossing ideas back and forth while staying within the limits we set during our initial charge.

If the price was no option what would be the perfect bagel?

Michael: I think my favorite bagel situation ever is out by our old studio in Rockaway. Pardon this very generic "New York Guy" answer but I can't think of anything better than the bacon, egg and cheese with extra hot sauce from Rockaway Bagel.  

Could you write us a Haiku?

Noah:

Tried making pork buns
They came out so fucking bad
Quarantine is lol

What is the very first thing you want to do after quarantine?

Sabine: Hug people. But I think we will learn to adapt to a new world with the virus, but I can’t wait to be able to tour again. I can’t wait to be able to tour again, oh! I miss gas stations, leg stretchings, and green room snacks! oh! live music! Those horrible soundchecks that you have 18 min to set up a 20 channel live band! Even those I miss. Beer smelling rugs, bandmate's farts, nasty black jeans, drunk crying, 2 hour NPR podcasts, that one guy in that tiny town that you loved and you won't remember his name but you will remember his dog's, saving stew on a juice bottle for later, grandparents hosts that cooked you the best porridge of your life, hummus fights, strip clubs, college kids that drink vodka out of Starbucks cups - and they know your lyrics! Endless roads and endless notes! Oh, I miss touring (I could go on forever) <3

How has the Brooklyn electro-pop scene shaped your sound?

There's always cross-pollination when we play with/collaborate with other electronic pop friends, but as far as how the scene has influenced our sound, I feel like it's more of a parallel thing; we're all reacting to the expense of space and time in NYC, which lends itself to drum machines, synths, things you can record in your bedroom. Even though we do play together with live drums etc, the majority of the initial composition on our new record happened in our apartments using our laptops. I think it's super cool and interesting to see how space affects creation, and you can really see that play out in realtime in NYC.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Just want to share an amazing website called fund-justice.com which makes it really easy to find, research, and support Black-run businesses all over the US. For those of us who have resources to spare, specifically white people, it is essential that we make concrete, daily changes in terms of the organizations we support and align ourselves with so we can stop giving our money to people who are actively hurting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people. Along with the changes that happen on the surface, we must actively educate ourselves on our own privilege and all of the violence that that privilege in built on. This is going to be very uncomfortable for a lot of us, and we will most definitely make mistakes, but that discomfort is ripe with knowledge and we must push through it. The fact that considering racial justice is a choice for us says tons about our own privilege. We need to listen to and amplify the voices of Black people, without demanding that they drop everything and explain things to us on whatever terms we see fit at that moment. The materials are all out there already, and they are super easy to find. Black people have been writing and speaking out literally for centuries, in just about every format imaginable, and they keep on coming. A quick google search for “readings on racial justice” will provide hundreds of lists of books, shows, videos, etc. on the subject, compiled by various respected and reliable sources. Also want to specifically shout out the amazing collective Black Trans Femmes in the Arts (https://linktr.ee/btfacollective) who has been doing awesome work such as compiling resources and information for Black Trans femme artists to connect and create work opportunities, and creating a directory for non-Black Trans femme artists who would like to provide free or discounted work/resources to support Black Trans femme artists.

Two truths and a lie answer key:

Lie: We were all born fully grown out of Ron’s (our manager) head

Truth: We’re a hive mind, communicating  telepathically to follow the will of great leader, Gorgonzola

Lie: We recorded our album in 6 days and rested on the 7th