Static Syndrome

I am Static Syndrome, and I make psychedelic music, which so far I have worked alone to make; however, I do enjoy collaborations, and would love to work with others on projects. My newest EP was released on the 6th of December 2019. This EP can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, YouTube Music, and just about any other streaming platform you can think of!

Click here to listen to the EP

This EP, not unlike my other albums and EPs, has a tendency to shift styles a lot. One moment it may sound like a Boards of Canada B-side, and the next moment it’s straight out of Selected Ambient Works volume 2 by Aphex Twin.

I currently attend Stafford College in the UK, studying music technology. It was maybe 3 years ago, when I was still attending secondary school, that I fell in love with the idea of psychedelia. I was always entranced by the artwork, and the artists that I knew at the time (Pink Floyd being one of the largest examples, for as obvious it may be). Since 2016, I have been relentlessly creating music, incorporating many different genres and vibes. However, it’s not like a 15 year old kid like me would have much to work with. Hell, the first proper album I ever created was made entirely on a looper machine that was brought in by a group who would travel between schools and work with kids like me. Looking back, I am still proud of that release (Celestial Worlds), but I have improved dramatically.

I have made music so far, in acoustic, metal, rock and electronic styles, and this new EP is one of my electronic releases. I am immensely proud of how its come out. It’s one of the best sounding releases I have, and one of my favourites personally for songwriting. (I’ll leave you all to come up with your own opinions though!)

So, what artists have inspired this release specifically?

I have already mentioned Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada as influences, quite specifically these tracks from each artist:

• "Rhubarb" by Aphex Twin
• "Aquarius" by Boards of Canada

Walkthrough the Tracklist

There has also been considerable amounts of influence from Tame Impala, who is known for combining old-school psychedelia with newer elements. While not very directly inspired by Tame Impala, I do love many older psychedelic artists; one who did directly inspire Psilocybot would have to be The Future Sound of London:

"Papua New Guinea" by The Future Sound of London

From this, and to an extent from Tame Impala, I have picked up influence from dance music, which is shown very clearly in the first of 4 tracks on Psilocybot, entitled “Space Station Motel”, for which I have a music video:

"Space Station Motel" music video

On track 2, entitled “The Great Artificial Demon Will Rise Again”, is where that Boards of Canada influence starts showing its teeth. My use of whole tone scales in this track is directly inspired by them. If you’ve heard The Great Artificial Demon already, you will have noticed straight away a very strange sample at the start. That would be from this video here:

Change da world, my final message, goodbye.

Track 3 is perhaps the strangest track. “Screwball Tectonics” has a structure that makes about as much sense as its title! I am not quite sure what inspired this track, but a part of it can be traced back to this wonderful track by one of my favourite experimental bands, Death Grips:

"The Cage" by Death Grips

The final track, “Cloud Calliope” acts as a rest. Much like a come-down, it still has that hint of buildup and tension that is omnipresent throughout Psilocybot. This is an ambient track, a-la Carbon Based Lifeforms or Aphex Twin. Elements will gradually be added in as the song progresses, and by the time it ends, I guarantee you will be left in a meditative, hypnotised state!

Abiogenesis by Carbon Based Lifeforms

So now you know what you can expect from Psilocybot, or if you have already heard it, you now have a better understanding of what exactly you just experienced. May I personally thank you for reading this, and for listening to my music. Bonus points if you have shared it with anybody! And finally, a massive thank you to Stafford College for teaching me how to make the music I make!

You can follow my Facebook or Twitter pages, the former of which I am most active on:

Static Syndrome official Facebook page

Static Syndrome official Twitter page