Psycatron
Over the past couple of years Irish techno duo Paul Hamill and Dave Lievense under their Psycatron guise have rapidly
risen through the ranks of the international electronic scene through securing high profile appearances on many of the
world’s premier league electronic labels and dropping killer Live sets and DJ shows at some of the best clubs and festivals
on the planet.
In 2008 they became the first Irish act to appear on Carl Craig’s legendary Planet E Communications a label which
celebrates it’s 20th Anniversary in 2011 and is considered one of the leading labels of a generation, respected the world
over. ‘Deeper Shades Of Black’ was the first single released on Planet E and it went Top Five on Beatport, became a
Berghain anthem and had everyone from Derrick May to Ben Klock, Adam Beyer and Simian Mobile Disco to Kevin
Saunderson getting behind it. This was the beginning of Belfast>Detroit relationship that would see Psycatron take their
DJ show to the 15th Anniversary of the Detroit Electronic Music Festival (Movement) in 2010 where they performed on the
bill alongside some of the biggest names in electronic music including Plastikman, Josh Wink and Model 500. The Planet E
connection holds strong into 2010 and beyond, teaming up with legendary vocalist Blake Baxter for ‘She Is Music’ on the
follow-up to ‘Deeper Shades Of Black’. 2011 will also see Psycatron hit the road with Planet E on a number of select dates
as part of the Planet E 20th Tour.
“I think Planet E are one of the most revered labels in the world and it never ceases to amaze us when we meet other
well established producers who tell us how much they'd love to release a record on the label and how jealous they are of
us! We went from a position where nobody knew about us to releasing on Planet E and all of a sudden lots of doors begin
to open and people start taking notice.”PH
The international theme continues as we head south from Detroit to Sao Paolo in Brazil, where Christian Smith's Tronic
Music has delivered a total of four Psycatron EP’s over the past two years, festival favourites ‘Directions’ and ‘Tipping
Point were the first to drop, while the anthemic ‘Celestial Symphony’ (described as a ‘timeless piece of Detroit inspired
electronic music” on Plain & Simple) appeared a year later. In fitting with Tronic’s old-school roots both singles paid
homage to the golden era of techno but at the same time reflecting a modern outlook that’s a constant theme throughout
Psycatron’s work where they ignore the trends of today that will be forgotten tomorrow and instead draw on their years of
experience to make music that will stand the test of time.
It’s no real coincidence that one of the first labels Psycatron began buying as teenagers starting out DJing was Planet E,
another one of those labels also ranks in the “File Under Legendary’ category. Home to the likes of Aphex Twin, Joey
Beltram and Derrick May, Belgian imprint R&S signed 'Is What it Is' in November 2009, which further added to the hype
which was beginning trickle out from various corners of the industry. ‘Is What It Is’ became one of the biggest melodic
techno tracks of 2009 and united house and techno jocks alike with people like Ewan Pearson and Francois K (who signed
it for his Air Compilation album) singing it’s praises.
With every release and every gig the list of Psycatron supporters continues to grow, it reads like a who's who of quality
underground Electronica with everyone from John Digweed to Joris Voorn, DJ Hell, Dave Clarke, Sven Vath and
even Martin L Gore from Depeche Mode playing their music, charting their tracks and supporting them the world over.
“I've been into electronic music since I was a kid, from hearing eighties electro-pop on the radio I became a huge
Depeche Mode fan (and still am) and their influence creeps into a lot of our music. I played piano for a few years as a kid,
but never followed through on it as what I really wanted to play was synths and DJ, so seeing Martin Gore chart one of
our tracks is easily one of my proudest musical achievements”PH
Throughout 2010 the rollercoaster ride continued with their remixes of UNKLE, Psychonauts, Jamie Anderson, Secret
Cinema and Mutant Clan all receiving massive critical acclaim while their singles for Planet E and Tronic kept the pressure
up. A chance meeting with one of their key supporters Paul Woolford would lead to Psycatron’s final release of the year
as they teamed up with the Leeds-based producer on two tracks ‘Thunder/Cloud 9’ that were instantly snapped up by
Sven Vath for Cocoon and were hammered on Pete Tong’s Essential Selection for a couple of weeks running. Live Sets
everywhere form The Rex Club in Paris, to Tresor in Berlin, Movement in Detroit and the Melkweg in Holland for ADE also
ranking as some of the year’s club highlights.
The pressure looks set to continue throughout 2011 with singles forthcoming on Bedrock, Tresor, Planet E and French
label Skryptom confirmed for the first quarter of the year while appearances at the likes of arguably the world number
one club at the moment Berghain, the Planet E 20th Tour and not forgetting their 8 year stint as the longest serving
resident DJs at Shine and The Stiff Kitten in Belfast will further ensure their reputation continues to grow in all the right
circles.
“When we play live, it's all our own music which we perform live using a couple of laptops and controllers and some
keyboards. We also throw in some loops and samples from people who have influenced us over the years and little
surprises along the way, because of live nature of the show you’ll never hear the same show two nights running” PH
"Psycatron perform an outstanding live set " Dave Clarke
"Their tracks combine relentless energy and groove with bundles of emotion and tension, to make for an all-
encompassing sound that is perfect for those big arenas and club rooms. Truly 21st century techno".
Data Transmission
"These guys are fantastic, definitely a name to look out for" John Digweed
"Their hybrid, genre-bending live set sees them splice, filter and mess with anything - from their own productions to
underground house and techno classics - with devastating effect" DJ Mag.
"I LOVE Psycatron" Laurent Garnier
"One of the most exciting outfits of their genre" Data Transmission
"Psycatron is one of the acts of the year" Agoria
//Links
YOUTUBE: http://youtube.com/user/psycatron
FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/psycatron
MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/psycatron
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/psycatron
SOUNDCLOUD: http://soundcloud.com/psycatron Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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