Psychemagik

Review: There are certain songs so eternal they could be re-edited and repressed into infinity and never grow old. There are also certain remixers and re-editors that can be trusted with even the biggest of anthems, and Psychemagick are surely up there. Taking on Talking Heads' "This Must Be The Place" and Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere" is no mean feat, when the originals were such pop perfection to begin with. Balancing the scales between a fresh treatment and solemn respect for the sanctity of the original versions, these versions simply add a little oomph in the rhythm section and apply smatterings of blissful, dubbed-out FX where it counts to send these perennial favourites into the stratosphere.

Review: We'd argue that "Feelin' Love" is one of the most impressive productions in Psychemagik's growing catalogue. First released in the spring of 2019, it returns to stores in 2020 via a fresh white vinyl pressing. The track is impressively drowsy, warm and woozy, with fragile, eyes-closed female R&B vocals rising above a blend of snappy drums, thickset bass, swirling synth sounds and chiming melodies, all seasoned with the kind of trippy effects that hit home hard when you're feeling love (sorry) at four in the morning. Flipside "Wake Up Everybody" is arguably even better, with the production pair peppering a head-nodding, hip-hop influenced groove with impeccably dubbed-out piano sounds and opaque musical flourishes.

Review: Psychemagik teased their debut album earlier this year with the smooth crossover single "We Can Be One", which opens up this hotly anticipated long player from the widely adored duo. There's plenty of pop leanings to this record, but of course shot through with the dreamy lilt of psychedelia and deep-digging Balearic charm that has defined Psychemagik from the beginning. At times it gets more bombastic, as on "Ghost Particle" with Liam Magill, and there's a cheeky party track or two (just check "Above The Clouds"), but the main focus here is on rich songwriting with a heavy emphasis on warm synth tones. Existing Psychemagik fans will be happy, but this record should equally land them a new legion of admirers as they take another step forward in their evolution.

Review: ** Reissue of the Psychemagik Wang Chung classic ** If you've been following the rise of Cosmic Forest dwellers Psychemagik for more than a minute, you'll be aware of their extremely chunky revision of Wang Chung's 1984 jam "Dancehall Days" which has been teasing new arrivals at their Soundcloud page for more than a year now. It finally gets a vinyl release here, and an official one to boot as Wang Chung vocalist Jack Hues was so impressed with their illicit take he sent them the stems for the official remix you see here. It's very much in line with their original edit but comes replete with that extra beef and on a neat white twelve inch. Another archival killer from the duo in "Beauty And The Bass" lines the flip too.

Review: ** Psychemagik classic repress alert ** Ah yes, "For Your Love", the 1978 Euro Disco classic from Chilly hasn't that been re/edited by at least 78% of Soundcloud's disco edit community? Correct - it's actually second only to the gazillion marketing tools presented as a remix that are helping to power forward the career of Lana Del Rey. Psychemagik are yet to remix Lana Del Lips so we can forgive them for adding to the slew of edits of Chilly's Yardbirds cover version already released. As it stands the Psychemagik version of "For Your Love" is a commendable revision which beefs up the low end and extends everything beyond the ten minute mark. Much better is the sub blessed take on Joyce's "Aldeia De Ogum" which should come with a Punta Del Esta Approved stamp.

Review: There are few record collectors and DJs with crates quite as deep as Psychemagik. They've already proved this beyond doubt via a trio of brilliant Magik compilations for Paul Murphy and Simon Purnell's Leng label. Magik Sunset Part 2 continues this run, gathering together another double-album's worth of fantastic obscurities from the worlds of stoner disco, left-of-centre rock, psychedelia and Balearica. As usual, there are some genuine "how did I not know about this record" moments, from the star-kissed Balearic jazz of Fabio Fabor and saucer-eyed white boy reggae-rock of the Trepidants, to the Flamenco-tinged AOR disco shuffle of Jack Adkins' "Sunset Beach".