Last week I had beers and a Father’s Office hamburger with Tom Psychemagik.
We talked about our favorite singles of the year, love, beer, major labels, late night warehouse adventures, travelling and the pros and cons of Los Angeles vs. the UK.
Because we were having a sweet mandate, I didn’t think to record it for an interview (because that would be rude,) so unfortunately you won’t be privy to any of that dinner’s glimmering trivial revelations in this blog post (other than my revealing that Tom REALLY liked the Burger but seemed to think there was a bit too much* smoky bacon-onion relish on his.)
*BTW: This is impossible IMHO, but I digress.
Considering that earlier this week KCRW featured Psychemagik’s latest remix (Quentin Quatro) as Today’s Top Tune, the release of their unbelievable Bryan Ferry remix and their shimmery remix of Kauf’s Relocate (and that remixes quick ascension up the Hype Machine charts) I thought I’d send them a couple of introductory type questions to shed a little light on the inner workings of the Cosmic Forest duo.
Hello gents…can you perhaps introduce yourselves? Who is Psychemagik?
We are Thomas Coveney & Danny McLewin and we have to make music! Music is the celestial sound, and it is sound that controls the whole universe, not atomic vibrations.
What are your roles? (At one point Tom shared that Dan is more of the “crate digger” and Tom has more of a “producer” role. Is this accurate?)
Yes…although we work as a team throwing ideas around and bringing our interests and tastes together. Its kinda interesting sometimes, I (Tom) may be playing around with drum patterns or synth ideas and Dan will pull out an old sample and drop it over the top while we’re working…it’s a fluid process you know!?
How did you come about your sound? Although really beautifully melodic, a lot of the stuff has been “downtempo” or “Balearic,” which when you started wasn’t really de riguer…what inspired your interest in a slower vibe? Is that something you see changing?
I think its evolved from our collective interests. We both come from different musical backgrounds and it’s a fusion of this that creates our sound. To be honest, it’s more of a subconscious process than a calculated production choice. We both love the more laid back sound, so it seemed a perfect place to start once working together…I guess we’re just lucky that it’s now en vogue! ha!
You guys have made a real name for yourselves and have been in high demand playing a zillion shows and festivals this summer. It’s a bit of a weird question, but what do think is the appeal of your sound right now? To what do you attribute the sort of wildfire effect?
Hmmm, tough one. We keep our ear to the ground and also I think it’s our eclecticism that really helps. We’re not tied to one sound or genre, we love all types of music and love producing and playing all types. Our sets are a galactic musical journey. Taking people through many styles, times and tempos…its a trip!!
You’ve released a couple of comps and a couple of original works…what’s on the horizon? Is there one you prefer over the other? I mean, like putting together (excellent) comps or creating your own work?
Dan has always been an avid crate digger and this is a beautiful way to show case some of these rare finds and also enlighten listeners to some of this otherwise unheard music. However, creating our own works is more the passion. We have been remixing various artist for quite some time now and the focus is going to return to our original material again very soon. We have a few really exciting projects coming up also, working with some serious heads of our scene (what ever that is).
While on the subject…what’s your favorite thing you’ve done so far? (It’s a brutal Sophie’s Choice kind of question so don’t feel obligated to answer this.)
Our remix for Kauf is definitely a favourite and is getting a lot of heat right now. We love his vocals, it was a joy to work on!!
What’s next for Psychemagik?
We’ve met some awesome vocalists on this recent tour, Cedric from Azari lll, Navid Izadi and Tone Of Arc and we’ve been talking about collaborating on some new projects which is super exciting! Look out for our Disco All Stars edits compilation coming late summer.
STACKED: Must Hear Remixes from Psychemagik