Issue 81 / September 2017

LIVERPOOL PSY
The annual gathering of the
international neo-psychedelic
community is as eclectic as ever,
spanning myriad sub-genres that
make the PZYK diaspora so ripe
for investigation.
“A tumult of
music, visual and
technological
discovery”
Since a 2013 article in The Guardian coined Liverpool
as ‘The Great Psychedelic Capital of Europe’, the
questions of what psychedelia is haven’t stopped.
Trying to grasp psychedelia, in all its various forms,
is like trying to hold sand: there’s just too much ambiguity, and
the tighter you try to pin it down, the less knowledge you have.
Given that the consensus view is that it’s a journey to higher
consciousness, perhaps a more pertinent question is not ‘what
is psychedelia?’, but ‘where is psychedelia?’. For one weekend
every year, LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF
PSYCHEDELIA is the place where altered-state junkies and all
corners of the musical spectrum come to unite in a celebration of
otherness. If you want answers, it’s the only place to be.
For two days in September (22nd and 23rd), the hipster’s
paradise of the Baltic Triangle is blown away by a sonic
debauchery unprecedented in Europe. Over the past six years,
the festival has become a gathering of musos, outcasts and
leftfield aficionados from across the globe, renowned as one of
the best gatherings of its kind in the world. Set amidst the ghosts
of Liverpool’s past, PZYK (as it is affectionately known) brings
a tumult of music, visual and technological discovery to Camp
and Furnace and District, split between five performance spaces.
Upon entering the site, you’ve no option but to be immersed
in the dazzling, warm world of the festival; as a member of the
PZYK congregation, you’re opening yourself up for an experience
quite unlike any other.
This year’s Psych Fest headliners prove that the
‘International’ part of its name is no idle boast. Texans THE
BLACK ANGELS could be considered godfathers of the neopsych
resurgence, and are virtually an industry in their own right,
with a record label (The Reverberation Appreciations Society)
and a mammoth festival (Levitation, formerly Austin Psych Fest)
included under their banner. The Saturday night headliners
have reignited an interest in the genre over their five albums,
pushing it to its very limits. Fusing elements of desert rock with
experimentalism and noise, their 12-year journey has been one
which has gone from strength to strength, with their most recent
LP Death Song lauded as a genre-defining piece of work. The
Black Angels are possibly the perfect headliners for this festival,
so if you see only one thing this year, make it this.
Alongside Austin’s disciples of psych at the top of the bill
are SONGHOY BLUES, who round off proceedings on the Friday
night. Having only released their debut album in 2015, the Mali
band have already become one of the most beloved bands from
West Africa in recent time, and it’s not hard to see why. Their
latest album, Résistance, channels the tension of civil unrest
in their home country, merging it with a club-like vibrancy.
Renowned for hypnotic and animated live shows, their bluesinfused
Afrobeat can only really be appreciated at one of their
rare stage outings.
Pioneers in sound can be found right across the globe,
sharing a fundamental sense of discovery with Liverpool Psych
Fest’s ethos. As well as plucking some of the movement’s
innovators from the sands of time – from Sweden and Zambia
respectively (see overleaf for more info) – the festival recognises
those sonic diviners who are making great strides today. In
recent years, France’s cultural melting pot has proved to be a
fertile place for experimentation – and you need look no further
than what comes under the Oui Love PZYK banner to see why.
Starting life as a club night mashup by two DJs from the Parisian
suburbs, ACID ARAB took its fizzing fusion of European techno
and North African beats to its natural conclusion on the majestic
2016 LP Musique De France. If you want to know what the future
looks like, where barriers are seen as opportunities, then Acid
Arab can be your gateway drug. The members of prog-psych
supergroup AQUASERGE are no strangers to Liverpool Psych
Fest audiences, and this year they get to show off another string
to their multifaceted bow. And no event of this nature is complete
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