Psychemagik

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 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: 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.