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subsequent revival.
Bands from Fisherspooner to the Bloc Party all owe debt to the
sonic path carved out by Psyche. And while Darrin is often
compared to Soft Cell’s Marc Almond for the obvious vocal
reasons, it is really a much deeper connection between the two
musicians – both of whom are literary artists using pop music as their
cultural canvas. As Darrin put it, all great pop songs tell a
story, and I found out that this great pop song creator has equally
great stories to tell.
Formed in 1982 by
brothers Darrin and Stephen Huss (who were respectively going by Evan
Panic and Anthony Red at the time), Psyche came onto a scene inhabited
by like-minded darkly theatrical electronic bands such as Alien Sex Fiend, Gary Numan, even Yazoo, and, of
course, Soft Cell. Originally formed in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada, by the mid-1980s, Darrin moved to Montreal and had begun
working with Vanishing Heat (in addition to Psyche). By the end
of the decade, Stephen had left the band and Psyche carried on under
Darrin’s artistic eye. In the early ‘90s the Huss brothers once
again reunited briefly to release 69
Minutes of History, a compilation disc
spanning the years 1987-1991 and immediately followed it up with Intimacy in 1994. However,
the reunion was short-lived; Darrin was now in Germany full-time and
Stephen’s health problems and residency in Canada made the partnership
impossible to sustain. After a series of side projects, Darrin
hooked up with keyboardist Per-Anders Kurenbach, who infused Psyche
with new life; the two released a string of albums, Strange Romance and Love Among The Ruined. In 2000,
Kurenbach left and was replaced with Remi Szyszka; the new duo released
a series of discs and dance-floor hits, culminating in 2004’s
career-spanning album Legacy and Psyche’s most recent
release for Metropolis Records, The 11th Hour.
Since the making of The 11th Hour, Remi has since left the
band and
On the splash page of Psyche’s
website is a photo of frontman and founding member Darrin Huss
stretched out with writing papers and red wine. It is the perfect
image for a man whose band has been around long enough to see the
original electroclash and synthpop wave come and go and its
Per-Andres has returned
for Psyche’s summer tour. I got the chance to indulge my love of
synthpop, eletroclash, and good books all with a fellow German
transplant as I sat down with Psyche’s Darrin Huss.
SickAmongthePure: Psyche has gone through
many incarnations over the years. What is the current line-up for
your latest release, The 11th Hour?
Darrin Huss: Psyche is pretty much
myself, and whomever I decide to work with in the future. At the
moment that happens to be Per-Anders Kurenbach with whom I had
previously recorded Strange Romance and Love Among The Ruined. One final song
with Remi Szyszka (“The Belonging Kind”), and one with a guest musician
Christian Wirsig (“Defenseless”) round out the overall collaborations
of the album. The line-up changes have never been planned, they
have happened for their various reasons. I decided that from now
on I will take on the main responsibility for representing the image of
Psyche.
SATP: How did you originally
pick the name Psyche?
DH: It’s actually the B-Side
of a Killing Joke single, spelt “Pssyche”
on their record for some reason. I wanted a name that represented
something long-lasting, human intelligence, mind, and soul, our psyche
is what makes us unique, and that was very important to me when I chose
the name. It has ended up that the albums represent my journey as
an individual and my experiences so I’m glad I chose such an astute
name.
SATP: When Psyche first
started out in the ‘80s, it was a duo of you and your brother,
Stephen. Is there an unspoken dynamic when working with a sibling?
DH: Yes, I think it’s a
close unit. But I must admit that Per and I are also quite
symbiotic in our thoughts and vision of music as well, so that is a
pleasant surprise. It was not easy to find someone who would be
worthy of replacing my brother. Family has a special bond, but
I’ve been very lucky to find musicians who’ve complemented the original
vision I had with Stephen.
SATP: Growing up, were both
you and your brother Stephen equally into music, or did one have more
influence on the other?
DH: We are only a
year-and-a-half apart, but we both discovered certain things for
ourselves that we later shared as a common interest or perhaps liked
more than the other. We were both into KISS! [laughs] But it was the
synthesizer that really changed our lives. My brother was always
the more musically inclined; I play a bit, but I decided early on to be
a vocalist.
SATP: What was the defining
moment in your youth where you realised music was what you wanted to do
with your life?
DH: It’s actually
interesting to think about this now because I was already singing along
to songs around the age of 7 or so, and my brother and I had keyboard
lessons from the age of 10 onwards. But this was not quite “fun”,
you know? More like extra schooling.
I think it was when I had
my first job at a grocery store, and later as a doorman at a cinema
when Psyche had already started gigging, and I always had this place in
my head that knew that I wouldn’t be working at a “normal” job once I’d
finished high
school. I think the
real certainty came after we’d independently produced our first album Insomnia Theatre, and New Rose Records picked us up for
Europe. I always say the first “happiest day of my life”
experience was getting a long distance call from Paris and having
Patrick Mathé tell me he wanted to release our debut album in
Europe. That’s when I knew, “This is it!” Also, I never really
felt skilled for anything other than singing and writing. Most
artists should feel this way, I hope.
SATP: In some regard, the
title of your latest release, The
11th Hour, almost sounds like a
swan song. Was there an element of artistic culmination while
making the album?
DH: Well, my dear listeners,
The 11th Hour may or may not be my
swan song. As
Remi decided not to
continue with Psyche, I was very disappointed, as I was initially
determined that this would be the last line-up change ever. I was
actually working with him on new songs as he made this decision.
However, I had also started doing some projects with Per, such as
“Faith” on the A Tribute To The Cure release, and I had a few
instrumentals that Per had sent me last year that I felt could be
Psyche songs if I would pursue them. I also felt that despite the
success of "Sanctuary”, I was somewhat undermining Psyche’s direction
with the “dance” oriented tracks created with Remi. So
accidentally, it all fell together later in 2004, and when Metropolis signed us in the U.S.,
my feeling was, “Hey great opportunity, but maybe too late?”
That’s why I released Legacy just to clear out
emotionally for this recent album. That may also have backfired
to some degree since The 11th Hour is almost everything
that Legacy isn’t: darker, moodier,
more experimental. Anyway, all these feelings about what Psyche
is, or should be as well as my own personal situation flowed into this
album. I’ve said this before, and I stand by it: Psyche is not a
career. Psyche is an entity that exists for me and those who
relate to it documenting certain feelings and experiences through
music. It is for me a purity that is almost unreachable by
today’s measures. Of course I want it to sell and reach people
with my art. It is very personal for me, and therefore more
painful when I think that it often seems a limited requirement in the
commercial industry.
There definitely will be
a lot of soul searching before another album comes. I have
reached a certain expressionistic peak, whether certain critics hear
that or not. Even my vocals are the more honest and raw than I’ve
been in a long time. I was not interested in projecting myself in
some perfected manner. I wanted certain songs like “Yearning” to
sound like I was uncertain, and singing for the first time. I
want the voice to represent the words as they are written. I
noticed this song is picked on most by critics, and of course loved
most by fans.
SATP: Can you elaborate more
on the creative process that went into making The 11th Hour?
DH: I will just add that I
wrote the songs over a longer stretch of time than any other album;
and, although I wanted the overall sound to fit together, I think there
is quite an amount of variation - certainly the title track and “The
Belonging” are quite different from one another. I have this
obsession to show all the facets of the electronic genre that I
like. It’s very hard for me to stick with just one narrow
direction. Originally I wanted to make an angry synthpunk album,
but my whole mood just shifted to the slower ballads after I worked on
“Bloodcurse”. I didn’t even want songs, per se. Some of the
coolest Psyche songs don’t have an obvious chorus in my opinion.
SATP: Define the perfect pop
song.
DH: Oh, finally! I thank you
for this question, see 'cause I hate the “standards” of pop. I
don’t like the idea of a structured song for the sake of just making a
song with boring instrumental sounds and arrangement. My
definition is that it has to at least contain one sound in it – synth,
noise, extraordinary solo, or whatever that makes it stand out.
The vocal must be unique and grab your attention right away. It
can have a catchy chorus, but please not sampled! It should be
like a story that develops before it ends. Examples would be: The
Flying Lizards version of “Money” which contains all the elements of
which I
speak. Also,
Visage’s “Fade To Grey” is another good example. “Sanctuary” from
Psyche is a bit too much on the repetitive dance side, but it has some
unexpected industrial noises, the sort of “robo voice” synth break, and
the verses that are not even the same melody so I like that. I
could name many more examples, but most of them come from the
‘80s. Obviously Soft Cell’s version of “Tainted Love” sets the
bar pretty high. Anyway this is just my opinion, but it defines
what is necessary for me to create or enjoy a song. I believe in
pop as an art form. It’s just more fun to be pleasantly surprised
than having the same sweets served all the time.
SATP: What are your thoughts
on the current rise of retro-‘80s synth bands?
DH: You mean like Spetsnaz?
Or the electroclash inspired groups? I’m not aware of so many, so
you’d have to name a few. I of course still hang on to much of
what I enjoyed in the ‘80s, so I always hope someone will come along
and achieve something
like Fad Gadget, Bauhaus, or Blancmange in this century, but I
don’t know if that’s possible since the times and technique has
changed. The only way is to be an explorer and discover unique
elements of making music the way those early artists did, but write
about new things, otherwise it sounds like a parody. It’s not
easy when we’ve homogenised just about everything in the arts to
satisfy certain demographic requirements. Sadly even something
fun like electroclash is already over before any of the artists become
successful at it.
SATP: You’ve cited numerous
cult authors in your liners notes or songs (JT Leroy being one of my own
personal favourites). What are you reading at the moment?
DH: Did I mention JT Leroy? [Huss has in prior
mentioned “Edge of 17” was subconsciously created by Leroy’s
novel Sarah.] Well, I like to
discover the real dark and twisted underbelly of human behaviour.
I mean we are Psyche; we have to uncover it all. I’m having
trouble getting into books lately, and find myself reading biographies
all the time. I think the last thing I read was Hubert Selby’s The Demon. That is one sick
book. As if Requiem for A Dream wasn’t bad enough!
I enjoyed Marc Almond’s latest
confessions/observations in In Search of the
Pleasure Palace. I plan to get the
new Christopher Rice since I really loved his
first two books; Snow Garden even inspired the song
of that title on “Babylon Deluxe”. I’m actually writing my own
little life story at the moment, so maybe it’ll be out next year.
I’m kinda obsessed with some form of closure in my life at the
moment. I guess I’m too impatient these days with reading and
have got into films again more. I didn’t even manage to finish my
copy of William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition!
SATP: While we’re on the
subject, books, like music, lend themselves to letting the individual
create corresponding images in their own mind. Psyche’s
music has often had a flair for the dramatic or theatrical. Do
you use visual cues when creating songs?
DH: To some degree yes, I
certainly thought about myself performing most of the songs on the new
album as I recorded, and I have internal visions about what the
sentences in “Bloodcurse” and “Yearning” or “September Moon” look
like. I see the situation or the scene I’m describing. It
plays like a movie and helps inform the vocals. Songs like
“Looking Glass” or “The Hiding Place” as most of them are very visual.
SATP: You’ve been living in
Germany for almost 15 years. How has the German music scene
changed in the time you’ve been there?
DH: Oh, I don’t know really,
it’s still the biggest scene for electronic and goth music, but the
groups that came up in the ‘90s are as much a continuation as one might
expect. There is a worldwide consensus now on who are the big
names, and of course the infiltration of techno ten years on is felt
throughout the scene. I like to think, or to hope, that this is
beginning to die down, but I feel in North America it continues.
There are some groups who are popular right now whom I feel should be
reviled rather than revered. The whole movement is in flux at the
moment, so it’ll be interesting to see what styles and bands come
through the strongest in the next few years.
SATP: In past interviews you
expressed ambivalence about bands doing side projects, although you
yourself have done a number of them over the years. From your own
experience, what are some of the positive versus negative aspects of
side projects?
DH: Maybe I was envious
'cause I had several things on the side in the ‘90s, but none of them
were as successful as Psyche. I also thought that if one is happy
with the sound of their main act, that should be their focus. The
other reason was that I think
a side project should
represent a whole other musical avenue than just another spin off of
your own direction. These days every synthpop band seems to want
to do a harder more industrial side project. In Psyche I was able
to achieve both sides and more within one album. Our world is
getting so compartmentalised; it’s just insane. Remember Yello?
They ran the gamut from synthpop to industrial to elegiac instrumentals
all on Stella alone. This seems
to be forbidden these days. I now have tentatively started
something new with Lounge, and am also planning a minimal old-school
electro release under the name of Jetlag. But I am certain that
Psyche will always be the main act.
SATP: Let’s talk shop.
The music industry can create a very love/hate relationship from
artists. What is the best advice you’ve ever been given about the
music business?
DH: A guy from a Canadian
group called Rheostatics once told me you have to
also love the “business”. If you don’t like the business then you
should leave it. I still struggle with that philosophy.
This implies also being aware of your “competition” etc. I have
occasionally tried to make Psyche more scene-compatible, club-oriented
and what not for the sake of the business or whatever is suppose to
function, but it just doesn’t apply to me. I think we are a rare
case of “no matter what guidelines I would try to follow something
would throw us off a linear pattern anyway.” I’m sticking to the
chaos theory myself, and just letting things happen.
SATP: What words of wisdom
would you impart on bands just starting out?
DH: My advice is: believe in
luck, and you will be lucky. Also, look at what other people do,
but don’t apply the reasons for others’ successes upon yourself.
Certainly you do have to work to achieve things, and one should never
think they sit on a pedestal and are unbreakable no
matter how far you’ve
gotten. Search your own voice; persevere while staying hungry.
SATP: If you could go back in
time, is there anything from your musical past that you would change?
DH: Not the music, but maybe
the presentation. I wish I had more power over the performance
presentation the way Skinny Puppy invested in
theirs. I go back and forth on the subject of whether or not a
radical appearance would help the music or if the music itself is
statement enough. When I was 17 I danced naked and covered in
shaving cream while performing. My brother wore a bloodied
butcher apron, and even drilled a synth to pieces that was filled with
chicken giblets! I think perhaps for some I appear too “normal”
for the actual thoughts and sound that Psyche actually
represents. The music is different though too. But I love
all my songs. There are perhaps a few that I don’t really relate
to that much anymore, but I can listen to them and appreciate why we
made them at the time, except the goofy “Ride On” and “You’re The Only
One” from Mystery Hotel. I like to believe
that what I’ve laid down in the past is still going to be relevant for
some time to come. That was always my intention. I think a
track like “The Crawler” or “Brain Collapses” certainly set a standard
for dark electronic music that hasn’t faded from relevance in the two
decades since they were born. And “Ghostrider” from Suicide is almost 30 years old,
but still sets the standard for all that has come since. I have
had the privilege to develop my sound and not make 10 albums that are
all the same, so I’m thankful that the risks I’ve taken have continued
to be supported.
SATP: Finally, what are your
touring plans for The 11th Hour? Is there any hope
that Psyche will come to America?
DH: There’s hope because I
want to do it, but this I will leave to pursuing my own luck, and
popular demand making it happen properly. It would be unfortunate
after our return to the North American market in 2000, not to perform
for our listeners. So far we have been in a few states in the
U.S., but I would welcome a cross-country tour whenever possible.
Right now Europe holds the larger fan base for us, although I am aware
a good number of people who support us in North America. The fact
that you have asked me certain historical questions proves to me that
many are even aware of Psyche’s existence for some time.
That being said, we are
pretty much a newcomers to the generation that’s growing up now, and
that’s the level at which we have to make our new start.
The mark of a great
artist is the combined ability to always be creating change, yet
staying true to one’s identity. Over a period of almost twenty
years Psyche has developed, grown, cleaned the slate, and started
again, always managing to sound fresh and yet distinctly their
own. I personally hope that The
11th Hour is merely the end of a
chapter and not the conclusion of Psyche’s continual music novel.
Psyche_connections
Psyche_related
Photography by Heiko
Meyer and Daniela Vonndran
