Meet Psy'Aviah, Electronic Music Artists

Psy'Aviah was founded in 2003 by producer and composer Yves Schelpe, later joined by vocalist Emélie Nicolaï, and guitarist Kristof De Clerck. Since 2011, the band consists of Yves, Emélie and Ben Van de Cruys. Known as open-minded electronic music artists, Antwerp-based Psy'Aviah want to challenge the world to think about "Our Common Future." Check out their music video for Our Common Future on YouTube. The track debuted in February of 2014.

How will we live together, and how we will care for each other? "Our Common Future" explores these questions and mixes dub, pop, and triphop, with a special warm sound from the lush synthesizer of Yves (Psy'Aviah) and the smooth and emotional vocals by special guest Kyoko Baertsoen.

You can listen to and purchase Psy'Aviah's music on Spotify, iTunes, and BandCamp.

Our interview below is with Yves.

1. How did you first get into electronic music?

When I was 16, I first started creating electronic music. While everyone else was playing guitar, drum kits, and bass, I saw the opportunity to work alone and form my own band.

Back then I was heavily influenced by Praga Khan, Underworld, Moby, and a lot of trance music (Svensson & Gielen, PUSH, etc.). Especially the album "Mutant Funk" of Praga Khan sparked me to write my own music, since that album showed me how genres & other influences could be incorporated into a song. To this day it's still a big influence, and it has shaped the band's tagline: "open-minded electronic music with heart and soul," which truly describes what we do. We're not afraid of trying out new genres, directions, or styles. From reggae to triphop to hiphop to ebm to ambient and more... It all has a special place and influence in the music of Psy'Aviah.

2. What are some of the challenges of writing music which addresses important topics like diversity and respect?

The most challenging part of writing such lyrics is to make them relevant for everyone. I try to tackle this by describing the world how I observe it, or questioning a subject, but not necessarily giving an opinion in the lyrics. It's up to the listeners to make the thought experiment for themselves. With the song "Our Common Future," for instance, the line "Survival of the fittest, or survival for us all?" is a good example of questioning the situation we're in this world. And, by then, in the chorus using the lines "We are all in the same boat here, we are all on the same planet," I try to make it relevant for everyone.

Another song of ours that comes to mind is "Keep Hope Alive," which deals about euthanasia. The lyrics never give out an explicit opinion, but again ask a question: "Who are we to decide to keep Hope alive?".

3. What inspired you to collaborate with Kyoko Baertsoen, and what was the process like?

I've been a long time fan of the triphop band "Lunascape." which was co-founded by Kyoko. I first heard her singing in 2001 with the Lunascape song "Sequoia" on a Belgian late night show called "De Laatste Show." I was instantly in love with the band. Kyoko has a very distinctive voice, very warm, emotional and a bit mysterious. I found it could be a perfect fit for this song and went searching on the internet about how to contact her to work together (thank god for Facebook ;-)).

The process is how I usually work with all vocalists. I sent an instrumental demo, and a demo with my own voice on it "singing" the lyrics. The vocalists then take that back and make it their own, recording it at their studio and send me back the vocals. It's a process that's very efficient and allows us to work on our own rhythms. But in general I love collaborating with different vocalists. Without being disrespectful here, those voices are like instruments for me in a track. For a while "Psy'Aviah" had a main vocalist, which was interesting as we had a more "band"-like structure and could perform live a lot. But I felt the need to go out and experiment with new and other voices again.

4. In making the video for "Our Common Future," what did you want to express?

As the lyrics try to make you reflect on the current socio-cultural and ecological state of our world, I thought it would make sense to "zoom out" and see the totality of our earth. What better way than to use the NASA Space Program footage for that. We then literally look at our planet from a distance and can contemplate its future and our future, while admiring the beautiful images shot by the telescopes and cameras of the space programs. Furthermore, it was a great way, visually, to incorporate Kyoko in the music video as she's singing the vocals through consoles, monitors, and screens.

5. What are some of your plans for the year to come, and what's the best way for fans to keep up with your work?

This very moment I'm working on a new "Psy'Aviah" album, where I'll return to my "roots," which means inviting people and collaborating with them on tracks. Most of the tracks are written and recorded, and I hope to finish the production somewhere in May 2014. The album will feature guests such as Mari Kattman, Lis van den Akker, Lisa Nascimento, and again Kyoko Baertsoen. We're also working on having a very cool remix line-up for the limited edition!

Updates, behind the scenes clips, and contests are posted on our Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts. So those are the best to stay in touch with us: facebook.com/psyaviah - @psy_aviah - youtube.com/psyaviah.

Thanks, Yves!

Meet Bob Pinto, Musician and Composer

Bob Pinto lives on Maryland's Eastern Shore in a modest house with a wife and cat. He has varied musical interests and has been playing music since elementary school when he first studied saxophone and piano. These days, Bob creates contemporary, melodic instrumentals utilizing electronic synth libraries. His album, Winds and Journeys, is available on Google Play. Samples of his ambient music are also available on YouTube.

1. When did you start composing music?

I have always had tunes running through my head since taking music courses in college but never developed any real songs until a few years ago. The foundation of theory was there but no creation.

One day as I walked towards my piano, for lack of a better term, I "saw" a pattern of notes and thought I could write a complete song. It wasn't great but it was a starting point. Within time I found a style that worked best.

2. What inspires you to create music in the ambient, electronic genre?

I was fascinated when I first heard experimental music on the earliest analogue synthesizers. I also liked the synth sounds used by Pink Floyd, E.L.O., and Vengalis.

Later the music of Enya, George Winston, and Yanni opened up a great interest in this type of music. The unfortunate moniker of "new age" has been used to describe this genre. I prefer ambient electronic and even then I write these songs to be listened to and not just some background sound.

3. Your album contains music which addresses several themes; what was your process in putting the album together and arranging the tracks to cohere as a whole?

After the pieces are written, sometimes I'll look at a piece and say, "All right, what is it? What do you call it?". Here is where many music writers give some vague, otherworldly or foreign name. I could name some pieces names like that but what would they mean?

One song on the album started out as a piece to be submitted for review by people who were a go-between for A&R producers. They wanted something that could have been written by Vengalis. Well, I had always been fan of his and knew his style. The song reviewers deep-sixed it, but I didn't. I included it on the album and called it "Los Vengalis."

In nature, nice breezes are soothing as they interplay with various trees and brush. They're spontaneous yet constant. The leaves make the same sound but in arrhythmic waves. I just love the sound of it. Jesus even speaks of it poetically referring to the spirit. It can be a gentle lullabye or an invigorating rush. I love winds, so I made it a recurring theme or element in the music.

The journeys aspect of the album is largely influenced by the fact that I and many of us have undergone crisis or been thrown under the bus, either by people or workplaces or even medical crisis. You learn to get through it, recover, and, hopefully, are the better for it. The song "Journey through Crisis" deals with this in that way. It, too, is broken into three sections. The music reflects everything starting out good, then lost in seconds, and lastly the recovery begins.

One song, "Niddle Dance" (a made up word), takes place in an imaginary pub and celebrates the recovery. I actually wanted to call it "I finally got rid of the dang thing" but didn't. :o)

4. Do you have a particular process you follow when composing music?

Actually, I do it all on computer, writing the midi notes as I go. If I were smart, I'd plan everything first. But what I'll do often is write a few measures, play it back, and see what it suggests. Sometimes things flow very smoothly with only some editing of small details, and other times I have to beat it to death to make it sound right. But I'll always try to keep style and methods in mind as I go.

5. What sort of work do you do for your day job, and how do you maintain a balance between your music and your other work?

I do assembly work in a manufacturing facility. I also do church music, so time management becomes important. I do hate having to quit creating and then pick up where I left off the next day. You just try to leave outlines on how to proceed when you start the next day.

Art is hard for us to make a decent living at it. It often has to be supported out of pocket and then you have to be a genius at promoting it. And then, I don't want my wife to become an art or computer widow. A healthy balance has to be maintained.

Thanks, Bob!