For Pshycotic Beats, music is the light in the darkness. 

With a deft touch as a producer and a strong lyricist, Pshycotic Beats is proving to be one of music’s most dynamic rising artists. Bridging together the spirit of David Bowie and the suave of Nick Cave, Pshycotic Beats shows that music is much more than a form of escapism but a way to channel one’s spirit and free their own demons. Their latest single It’s About Time embodies this. Exploring the beauty of life despite struggling, It’s About Time is a masterclass in bringing together mental health and music into a conversation.

1883 Magazine chats with Pshycotic Beats about It’s About Time, being vulnerable through music, and more.

You released your debut single just over 10 years ago. How have you changed and developed as an artist between then and now?

Since I released “Implosion” in 2013 I think I’ve been growing and mutating into a competent vocalist. I’d like to think of myself as a sort of crooner for the dance floor. Imagine dance anthems sung by voices like Scott Walker, Marc Almond, Bowie. That’s the concept. In the beginning, my sound had a more retro feel to it, more influenced by the Disco Munich sound, Giorgio Moroder and that moment in dance music history. It’s About Time is more noisy, as if Trent Reznor had produced the Pet Shop Boys.

You recently released It’s About Time, can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the track? 

I am recovering from a severe bout of major depression. Before the pandemic I had been unable to get out of bed for almost three years. So in 2021 when I wrote the song I had been in perpetual quarantine for twice as long as everyone else. The inability to touch my loved ones, to hug my friends and family, besides, my parents are in my care and they are 90 years old, keeping them safe has been a herculean and very stressful task. The song is pure escapism, let me out, let us out, we can’t go on like this any longer.

The song touches on your personality disorder and choosing to live life and seek out the light. It’s a quite honest and open track, are you ever hesitant about exposing yourself through songwriting or is it a form of therapy for you?

Well, you can’t really choose to live in the dark or in the light. When you are not well, when you’re suffering from mental illness, you can’t live anywhere else but in the dark. Through a lot of struggle, therapy, and medication, I have started to see the light, and I have realised that many times we have wonderful things right under our noses, and we tend to take things for granted. I think it is important to convey the message that you can overcome anything, and nothing is permanent, a difficult time in your life will pass. I make records as a form of therapy, and this is the first time I’ve opened up.

What do you hope people take away from the track?

That they don’t have to ask anyone’s permission to live the life they want to live, that they get inspired, that they dance, we need to dance more than ever because what has happened to leisure, events, concerts, is a drama. The human being needs to dance, to sweat, to come together, to laugh. We’ve lost our sense of humour.

It’s a part of your upcoming album Festering. What are some of the themes that tie the entire record together as a whole?

The album is called Festering because that’s the analogy they use in the psychoanalytic process I’m going through, to explain where my mental health issues come from. And it comes from childhood wounds and traumas that were not worked through at the time and began to fester, fester and fester. And I’m 42 years old, so by the time I got the help I needed it was a little too late. On the other hand, the album doesn’t explicitly talk about mental health. All the songs are about overcoming, that we are going to get out of this.

What did you learn about yourself while writing and recording Festering?

That I am a hopeless workaholic. I re-recorded all the vocals on this album six times, it took me a lot of work to complete it. It took me twice as long as the previous ones. And I have realized that I don’t know how to take a break, I can work for 16 hours every day without a break for 14 months, which is what I have done. I know now how unhealthy that pace of work is. Then I’ve come to know the concept of ear fatigue and that every x hours you need to stop because if you don’t you start to distort what you hear.

Was there anything that you did differently while recording Festering that you hadn’t done prior?

I have been taking singing lessons for six months while preparing the album. My teacher is an opera singer and the lessons are classical vocal technique, but I had a great time. And I’m getting a better understanding of how the instrument works and how to take care of it. I’ve also stopped arranging strings by computer and midi technology. For me it was a challenge to work with a real orchestra and real musicians on this new record. It has been very difficult but the experience has been worth it.

What 3 songs would you choose to soundtrack your perfect day?

1-Sound and Vision by David Bowie.

2-Family Affair by Sly & The Family Stone

3-The Magic Touch by Melba Moore

Lastly, if you could manifest something for yourself this year, what would it be? 

I wanna be known worldwide as a musician. Never give up on your dreams, who knows what’s in store for you?

It’s About Time is out now.