1. First of all, Darrin, are you 100% pleased with your new album?

Well yes actually. There is alot of time and energy invested in the various tracks. Perhaps one or two could be better performed or improved upon, but I think musically and ideally it's a great new album. I'm very happy with "Silence Was A Melody" and "Tears" for example.

2. Since "Intimacy" you have also entered a new group called INSIDE, along with people from THE ETERNAL AFFLICT. Is that why we had to wait so long for new Psyche material?

Yeah that's one reason, but mainly it was my decision to continue Psyche's career in Europe and find a new keyboarder to take Stephen's place. I wanted someone permanent that would compose and go on tour as well. It took me a long time to find someone. Per and I were recording while INSIDE began touring for the "Room Full Of Mirrors" album so it took some time to develop a plan for the next Psyche album in between.
3. Is INSIDE viewed as a side-project like "Vanishing Heat" or will you rank this group along with Psyche?

INSIDE is to be seen as a new group with my voice and those of various female vocalists defining our own future  in Electro-Pop whereas "Vanishing Heat" was just an occasional experimental outlet for me between 1990-1994 which may or may not continue depending on my time or interest.

4. How do you keep your motivation after being so many years in the scene?

Well I try not to do my recordings to be in a scene. I love electronic music and still am discovering new sounds or song arrangements that interest me. I still prefer performing and travelling than sitting around the house!

5. Alot of your early material still has not been made available on CD. Is there reason to expect a follow-up to "Tales From The Darkside"?

That's really hard to say because we released that for the people who really wanted to hear how we sounded at the beginning, and although I have enough old tapes to make another one, I'm more interested in what I'm doing now and trying to establish the "new" Psyche. Also the timing isn't right as such a release should be done while we're taking a break, and right now I'm focussed on "Strange Romance" and perhaps a following Remix E.P. I have nothing against making a second collection however.

6. For the new Psyche album there is a new keyboarder in your line-up. Who is he, how did you find him, and what was he doing before?
Well, as I said I was looking for someone, and preferably who didn't live too far away from me. A fellow musician told me about Per. He was just beginning to establish his recording studio and producing his own music as well as making demos in a band. He brought a cassette for me with two songs that eventually became "Tears" and "Lonely One". After I'd made a rough vocal demo I knew that Per was the only keyboarder I could continue Psyche with. I had the demo from "You Ran Away" with Torben Schmidt as well, but it wasn't enough for a new beginning and Per re-recorded it as well so that it fit Psyche's style properly, and then we were on the way to completing "Strange Romance".

7. LIGHTS OF EUPHORIA made a cover of "Misery" on their debut album. Were you pleased, and is that why Torben Schmidt has joined you on some new songs?

I was complimented by the fact that someone even did a cover of us, and in fact I really liked the musical arrangement, if not the vocal. So I got in contact with Torben and asked him if he'd like to send me a few musical ideas. "Trouble In Mind" and "Insecurity" came from him as well as the original idea for "You ran Away" but I am working exclusively with Per, and so these are like guest tracks for Psyche because I felt they belong on the album.

8. What kind of music inspires your creativity? Or rather, what do you listen to when you are not making your own music?
It was easier to state my influences when I first started making music. Lately I've been listening to stuff that really has nothing to do with what Psyche makes although I think that's what makes us different. I'm still inspired by Annie Lennox and Eurythmics, Tangerine Dream, some techno stuff like LFO, Aphex Twin, but I also listen to Marianne Faithfull, Nina Simone, Blondie, and "Oldies- Pop" like "I'm A Believer" from The Monkees or "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" from Marvin Gaye. Besides that some film soundtracks like "The Name Of The Rose" or "The Serpent And The Rainbow". In a way I'm not very happy with modern pop and so I'm trying to create my own. I like emotional singing and innovative music, and I'm finding more of this from the past at the moment because there's just so much out there and I hope to bring some of that out in Psyche because I'm not interested in being "just another synthi-band".

9. Are you (still) also inspired by horror movies, literature, or something akin?

Not so much as before. I've seen my favourite Dario Argento and David Cronenberg films a thousand times and other than "Species" last year I don't know much of what's going on in Horror. I am still inspired by melancholy Art films or images I might see in magazines. I'm reading Isaac Asimov sometimes. I'm still inspired by certain soundtracks. Per has also watched everything from "splatter movies" to Casper. I think fantasy is very important and something that shouldn't be denied in society. I'm sure my life was made more interesting because of Godzilla, Star Wars, and Star Trek. I'm not so much into films only interested in "death scenes" however.

10. Your latest single had a surprising cover-version of the obscure pearl "Good-bye Horses" (by Q Lazzarus). How did you discover this track, and why did you choose a track that most of your fans probably will not know?

Well they know it now. An acquaintance of ours had the complete version on cassette. Per liked it since he heard it. I hadn't completely ignored it either since that scene in "Silence Of The Lambs". We did it because it's minimal style really appealed to us, and thought it would make a good club hit. It turns out there's a whole cult of fans for this song, and it's certainly written a whole new chapter in Psyche's history. "Guilt" from Marianne Faithfull is probably also not known to many of Psyche's fans before but I've started to become interested in interpreting other artists material if I can add new meaning to it for Psyche.

11. How do you divide your effort between two different groups? Do you work in "cycles" or are there also other Huss-material imminent?

Well to be honest, other than Psyche I had no other career plans. Now with INSIDE a little planning is involved for release time and touring. There's going to be a new INSIDE album soon this year. I have finished the recording in advance so that I have time to tour as Psyche right now and work on promoting "Strange Romance" with Per. Psyche and INSIDE are appearing on a few compilations as well. I cannot decide for the audience which group is better or any of that stuff. Hopefully they will be equally successfull. INSIDE has already established somewhat of an audience that hasn't at all heard of Psyche. The cycle of work will eventually be decided by the success and popularity of each group. The "outside" promotional effort is also dependent on the record companies.

12. The texts and overall atmosphere on "Intimacy" was somewhat depressive. How would you explain the direction of your new material?

On "Strange Romance" I've returned to the mixture of Synth styles like on "Mystery Hotel". Sometimes it's lighter danceable Pop. A few sad songs a bit of nostalgia, and little bits of classic Psyche experimentation. A big surprise is the acoustic guitar version of "Guilt" and Per's classical piano sounds which definitely fill out certain parts of the "poppier" songs on the album. There's even a tribute to my brother from Per in the obligatory Psyche instumental "Teeth And Claws".

13. There is a jungle of German/Swedish electro-pop groups right now. Do you expect Psyche to still stand out from the crowd?

Yes, most definitely. We have made music for nearly 14 years! and still maintain our individual style. My only concern is that sometimes people are swayed by trends or copycat bands, but I think my singing, and Per's new input will keep Psyche fresh and unique for some time to come. So long as there's an audience still searching for something different, I think they'll find us.

14. What do you think of the new material from your fellow countrymen FLA and Download?

My Canadian electro-heroes were originally Nash The Slash and Rational Youth. By 1985 Psyche pretty much left for Europe so I missed out on further developments in my own country. Of course I've heard Skinny Puppy, and I think it's cool to be considered one of the top Canadian synth groups that have inspired people, but I haven't really followed FLA or the others.

15. Have you any contact at all to other bands from Canada(although Psyche is not entirely "maple leaf" anymore)?

No. We never did, other than our previous time with Dwayne(Skinny Puppy) and my first Vanishing Heat album with Kevin Komoda(ex-Rational Youth). We are in contact with Nash the Slash but that's all really.

16. Are you pleased with the evolution within the electronic scene throughout the 90's?

No, not really. I think techno/dancefloor kind of killed Synthi-pop, and when Depeche Mode turned to guitars that signified a real end of an era. Now there's still Erasure, and countless Electonic Body Music groups. But I was never really interested in groups that sound like Front 242 or Skinny Puppy anyway. There's nothing for me that compares with, Soft Cell, Visage, Yazoo, Fad Gadget, Chris and Cosey, or Cabaret Voltaire. I like some techno stuff, but that's usually then instrumental. I know that Germany has produced a few big names in the independent scene like Deine Lakaien, Project Pitchfork and so on. Maybe something will come out of that, but the big World media like Rolling Stone or Mtv does their best to ignore it all. I'm quite fond of S.P.O.C.K but it's obvious that it's more difficult to become a successfull and creative synth band as it would be to do the industrial crossover thing like Nine Inch Nails. If I think too long about this question I just get depressed.

17. Is there any chance of your brother Stephen reappearing in Psyche?

Maybe not on stage, but perhaps as a composer.

18. My editor always wants to know what kind of equipment bands use...

Well there's been different synths on every album, but I'd say for up until "The Influence" album, we had the Sequential Circuits Pro One, Roland SH101, Korg Mono/Poly, Dr. Rhythm(two kinds), Roland Rhythm Composer 707, Oberheim DBX, Roland Poly 800II, Roland Microcomposer. And the dreaded Yamaha DX7! There's also an old Moog on "Mystery Hotel". "The Influence" album comes entirely from the Casio FZ 1, and was created by David Kristian. "Daydream Avenue", and "Intimacy" had the addition of the Korg Wavestation and the Roland JD800. "Strange Romance" is with Per's keyboards and they are; Korg M1, Roland Rhythm Composer, Kawaii K3, Roland Sampler, and borrowed from Stefan Rabura; Roland D-70, Korg Poly Six.

19. And finally, can you just assure us that you will be making music long into the next millenium?

Yes, as long as there's an audience, and a company willing to release us. We're just beginning!
The year 2000 is not so far off anymore.