Oops!

It looks like you don't have flash player 6 installed. Click here to go to Macromedia download page.

Psyche have been in the electronic music scene since 1982 when brothers Darrin and Stephen Huss gigged for the first time in Canada.? With more than 14 releases and one anthology (spanning 1987-1993), Psyche keep on with their continuous highly fueled machine to deliver club- and radio-friendly hits one after another. Psyche have always been about diversity of musical and lyrical experiences, and confirm the vitality and relevance of their journey from the early '80s into the 21st century. As preparation for their upcoming album, The 11th Hour, and to celebrate their signing to Metropolis Records in North America, Psyche released an exclusive anthology for North America. And it seems that after more than two decades it is just the beginning for them. ReGen's Jez Porat kinks it up with frontman Darrin Huss?

How was the process of picking the tracks for the new compilation, Legacy?

Huss: That was rather difficult because I basically wanted to have some rare mixes but also represent the hits in the form that they are most liked. The whole sound was in fact re-mastered, and the vocals came out much better. My main interest was to choose the innovative tracks with the best vocals.

Why are you releasing it on Metropolis rather than Artoffact?

Huss: We recently signed with Metropolis because our option with Artoffact was fulfilled. The reason for the "best of" album is actually to celebrate the new label in North America, and to further advertise the songs that may not have been noticed yet. I believe in music for the long term and hope that Babylon Deluxe will receive more attention as well. So it's good for both labels. I take it as a compliment to be picked up by Metropolis, but I don't have any unrealistic aspirations. The music business is what it is.

Are there any plans for an anthology CD that will cover your music from 1982-1991? Tales from the Darkside and 69 Minutes of History could be considered collections of your early works and they are really hard to get these days.

Huss: Actually all of Psyche's releases are still in print so none of these releases are that hard to get. Certainly in Germany you can get all the SPV releases at a reasonable price. I would love to actually do a chronological collection that starts with Brain Collapses in 1985 to The Quickening in 2003. I think that when Psyche is 30 years old, that then it might be fun. It was hard not to put some older songs on the LEGACY release, I actually chose "Angel Lies Sleeping" even though it is on 69 Minutes of History. I'd rather make new albums though.

What is it with Psyche that makes you such a unique duo that you have managed to survive the ups and downs of the scene for so many years?

Huss: I think it's because I decided at the age of 17 that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, but not knowing what the rest of my life should be like, I just continue to go on. Also, I am obsessed with not doing what others do. Every time something becomes a trend, I go the other direction. I care a lot about my choice of words and sounds; I hope to show people just how creative Psyche is with the 2005 release of The 11th Hour. Another thing is that because we never were really massively popular for one album or song, we can be discovered by any generation at any time without sounding old. An album like Intimacy or Love Among the Ruined doesn't belong to any particular period of time, or synthesizer preset trend.

What are your thoughts about where you have reached so far? Did you manage to achieve your goals as a band?

Huss: Well the goal of being in the Top 40 of real sales charts has never been reached, which is a pity, but the goal of making music with a unique style and message, and presenting that fairly internationally, is certainly happening and continuing each year. I never really asked myself what I wanted out of life, but as I get older I'm discovering what I have achieved so far is in fact my answer.

Where are you heading as a band now?

Huss: I've decided that Psyche has basically done a lot of the styles in this genre that have already been categorized. I want to go back to more experimental pop. I never was interested in complete noise, I like the idea of a song, but I want to turn all that inside out. I want to sound like a movie soundtrack with vocals. Sad and scary moods being more my preferred sound. A song like "Exhale" is a good example. I guess you'll have to wait and see. Not sure what to do about the obsession with club music that everyone still has in our scene. I'd love to find an escape from that.

How do you manage to keep up with your hardcore fan base, yet attract a new audience?

Huss: Usually the new audience comes when we've compromised and done club music and remixes. I'm never certain if they'll stay with us, or just like Psyche for "Sanctuary". But the hardcore audience respects the whole journey and knows that I don't want to disappoint them. I really want to communicate through my art, and I think many of my lyrics are fairly universal.

On the new X-Rated single you have covered Yazoo's "Situation." Did you get Vince Clarke to listen to that?

Huss: I'd love to have him hear it, and especially Alison Moyet, but it was actually just for our own personal pleasure, because I love Yazoo. It's a one-time thing, and doesn't belong to Psyche's repertoire or anything. I mainly wanted to show how great some '80s songs still are.

There is no doubt that sex is one of your main themes. Has this really become one of the most important aspects of our lives?

Huss: I don't think sex is my main theme at all. Certainly I've started writing about it more in the last few years but there wasn't so much in the early Psyche days. I would say that it is one of the main aspects of human existence. Most people are obsessed with sex, money and religion. Maybe even in that order. I wrote about peepshows in one song, and now have a song about Web cam sex entitled "X-Rated." But most of my other songs are about science, romance and lately war, a topic I absolutely don't relate to.

Many of the songs on Babylon Deluxe are either titled after popular gay-themed films, like Gods and Monsters and Edge of 17, or seem to have gay-oriented themes and homoerotic imagery in the lyrics. Was this intentional?

Huss: It's actually funny because ?Gods and Monsters? is about cloning, religion, fantasy and science. That title was just too good not to use for a song, so even though I saw the film I didn't really write about that. Edge of 17 was in fact written before I saw the movie, and it turns out that the film title was taken from a Stevie Nicks song. I did use other film titles such as ?The Beyond? and ?Memento,? so it just got to be too much. I don't know that the songs are homoerotic. I know that some people even think that the "The Outsider" from 1988 was on that subject matter. I think people should get what they want from it. Certainly ?Edge of 17? is sort of about a callboy, but it could also be a girl. The ambiguity is always intentional in my lyrics. I don't like to pass judgment or point a finger saying this is wrong or this is right. I like to just question or describe.

You list both Christopher Rice and Clive Barker as inspirations in the liner notes of Babylon Deluxe, both of whom are rather famous writers. How has their work influenced your life and music?

Huss: Yeah, that's just an accident that they're both gay. I'll just say that Snow Garden is the title of Christopher Rice's second book, and Clive Barker definitely affected me with the Books of Blood, but it was Coldheart Canyon that inspired the refrain in "The Quickening."

Darrin, you are involved in a lot of side projects. What does that extra experimentation give you?

Huss: I'm not so much anymore. I only do occasional guest vocals.? At the time, the other projects were occurring just because I was asked. The only one I really am serious about right now is LOUNGE. It's because I'm a singer, and in our "scene" my abilities are often not required. I like jazz and some moody breakbeat stuff. I feel that audience is separate from the Psyche audience and I prefer to separate some of my adventures. I did try to bring some of my favorite styles together in Psyche but I feel that doesn't always work very well, so no more blues and jazz tunes in Psyche.

Would you tell us some info about the upcoming new album? How is it going to sound?

Huss: Dark, slow and sad, with one or two aggressive synth-punk songs included simply because I've rediscovered my angry side. But I hope it has a real experimental, sorrowful sound with very warm and interesting vocals. I'm even changing my singing style a bit.

What do you think of the electro/EBM scene these days?

Huss: I am tired of all the '90s techno people who are now known as future pop artists. I'd rather hear the original Capella or Snap than these dark imitations. I hate distorted vocals, so 60 percent of the new scene is just noise to me. I like some of the electroclash artists and sometimes there is a group or two who's just starting out that I admire. I will always have great respect for Apoptygma Berzerk, until the Harmonizer album, and I like some other Scandinavian bands, but mainly I prefer my '80s heroes. No one will ever be better than Fad Gadget, so that's my opinion. I don't want to name anyone, but there are many bands I could do without in the EBM scene.

Do you have any favorite acts?

Huss: Yeah they're all under "favorites" on my Web site. Some are missing, but mostly everyone from Marc Almond, Devo, the Eurythmics, Fad Gadget, Lene Lovich and even Sade. That pretty much covers it. I mainly only like artists with a really original sound or voice.

I understand there is a new DVD in the works. Would you like to tell us about it?

Huss: It'll cover all the music videos starting from 1983 with "The Crawler," to a live performance of "Sanctuary" in 2001. I think I chose around 14 to 17 titles. I hope it will be out at the same time as The 11th Hour.

It's basically 20 years of Psyche told visually. You can see my brother and I, 20 years ago, playing at least one song on the keyboarder. The last official video was "Misery," with David Kristian in 1989. I plan to have a commentary track as well. The videos still look fairly good, but it sure ain't no MTV shit!

You are planning to play some shows in North America. What is next?

Huss: There are some special performances in Poland this year, and hopefully two dates in South Africa will soon be confirmed. Next year Psyche will start off with a new album, and will tour Europe together with Diary of Dreams. Basically we are lacking a bit of exposure. I know it sounds crazy when you see how often we've played in the last few years, but I think we still need to cover more ground. Hopefully the new album will show our audience a more solid vision. One that shows that I am assured what I want Psyche to represent. Of course it's difficult when people always have certain old favorites and all that, but I have to really establish us with a new album before doing another nostalgic greatest hits tour (at least I have enough hits to rely on that possibility, though). I want to do a North American tour, and get to Australia as well. So I am fairly ambitious despite my small cult status.