PSY’AVIAH - Lightflare (Alfa Matrix)

English:CD-review
  Van Muylem    15 januari 2018

Yves Schelpe, the man behind PSY’AVIAH worked himself all the way up and can look back at 15 years of hard work and lots of experiments. It wasn’t always easy, just as it wasn’t easy to find the right people for the right song, but that is just what keeps him in the race and keeps it challenging for him! The title of the new CD is also well chosen, just as the artist who figures on it!


Yves Schelpe is not the kind of guy who could work with the same vocalist, over and over, but got challenged and made his way of life out of it. I can only bow for what he did the past 15 years! This is his 8th album and won’t bore you to death like on so many other albums from artists who forget to innovate and produce the same shit over and over …

As the whole album is about the sea and the lightflare we start with the beautiful siren song called Lost At Sea withMari Kattman (she proved in the past that it is a match made in heaven). The song floats, delights you, makes you happy and yet leaves a slight melancholic trace … It’s a magical beauty with the right soft electronic music and the perfect tempo/beats. Ellia Bisker gets her chance with Aftermath. As we know: it can’t always be a hit or smashing and perfect: here it feels as if the vocals are not blending in with the music. It could be that I simply don’t like her voice (however she doesn’t sing badly at all), maybe it’s a personal feel? The guitar and the beats gives it something eclectic. The Great Disconnect with Marieke Lightband has a certain Hoover-touch(the first version of Hooverphonic): it sounds delighted, filled with sugar and honey whilst keeping you in a sweat dream with no wand then an auditive outburst but yet o so fragile and melancholic. I really adore this combination! As for me a lot of airplay is granted and even wished for such a pearl! But I fear that the radio’s will play this one as we hear more and more commercial stuff without any real quality. It’s sad that nowadays airplay is about putting money on the table and a good business plan.

Sound of New with Addie Nicole shows off perfect how good Yves can experiment and work out new sounds, just like the title of this fresh track! The beats and guitars work well, it’s almost like working towards an auditive orgasm! I can imagine this is also the perfect way to discover new artists! In The Sound with MiXE1 brings us fior the first time on this album male vocals and introduces us to hiphop and triphop. The elektronica sounds a bit more upfronted and louder. For Myself goes a but further, with a slice of melancholia and some screaming. The lyrics are also nice: clearly fighting off things. I cherrish this experiment! Heavy Heart introduces again the magnificent Mari Kattman: it’s not the happiest track but it’s strong and haunting your head! It’s the kind of songs you don’t forget fast as if it’s glued inside your head. And my god: I really love her voice! It’s an emotional bombtrack! Words don’t describe how good this song is, how good the music is, how good it all blends in …

Reboot Reset Relay with Fallon Nieves is siomething totally different and goes more into the melancholic techno departement with smashing beats and roaring machine’s. Ghost is another great one, this time with David Chamberlin on vocals. I must say it reminds me a bit of Jan Dewulf(Mildreda, Diskonnekted, Your Life on Hold)? And why not try it next time with Jan? I like the dirty feel of the song and the electronics that slowly run over you. Another highlight is the sweet Lonely Soul with Phoebe Stone. Triphopping mixed with a floating feel, something sticky and the right voice to lift it to a higher level! I already dropped the band’s name and the next lady was once part of it: Kyoko Baertsoen (ex Hooverphonic) reaches out with Plan B and once again tells us dropping her out of it was a mistake! Just listen to her voice! It’s a faeric track that moves slowly, like waves … It’s a highlight of sweetness! Game Changer with MiXE1 sounds very fat, funky and well inspired! It has the perfect drive and might even make it into clubland! You can dance on it, it’s catchy, it moves you … It has it all (like most of the track on this album)!

Under The Rain is a slow techno-minded track with the right beats and the right tempo. I like the vocals and once again feels like the perfect match! The last songs sounds like written especially for Junksista, fact is that Mr. Vanity is a cool last track! Fallon Nieves inpersonate’s the lyrics in a perfect way and even leaves some lipstick in the end! This was electropop of the highest level!

The album sounds like a best of 2017, released in 2018 and thus nominated as the best album from Belgium released in 2018!

VIDEO TRAILER

Album Video Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHJSESut3Z4

Video Clips: “Lost At Sea”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-Dw0Dx5_-Y

“Reboot Reset Relay”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXdL5yUHuFI

TRACK-LISTING

01. Lost At Sea (ft. Mari Kattman)

02. Aftermath (ft. Ellia Bisker)

03. The Great Disconnect (ft. Marieke Lightband)

04. Sound of New (ft. Addie Nicole)

05. In The Sound (ft. MiXE1)

06. For Myself (ft. Lofthill)

07. Heavy Heart (ft. Mari Kattman)

08. Reboot Reset Relay (ft. Fallon Nieves)

09. Ghost (ft. David Chamberlin)

10. Lonely Soul (ft. Phoebe Stone)

11. Plan B (ft. Kyoko Baertsoen)

12. Game Changer (ft. MiXE1)

13. Under The Rain (vs. KONER)

14. Mr. Vanity (ft. Fallon Nieves)