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ARTIST
TITLE
Psyche II
FORMAT
LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
FLIES 081LP FLIES 081LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
5/8/2026

"Nearly three years on from their self-titled debut, Psyché return with a new album that reinvigorates and expands their singular blend of groove and psychedelia. The band's name itself -- the ancient Greek word for 'mind' or 'soul' -- signals a deep-rooted love for psychedelic funk, while pointing towards a vast array of Mediterranean influences spanning Southern Europe, the Balkans, Anatolia, and the Maghreb. While their first record explored a mythical, timeless Mediterranean as a sort of 'elsewhere' -- reimagining ancient musical traditions through modern styles and sensibilities -- Psyché II adds a subtle political dimension and shifts the focus toward a wider, more contemporary geography. Here, the Mediterranean becomes a modern lingua franca -- a fluid bridge uniting diverse peoples, cultures, and musical legacies. In this vision, the band's native Naples serves as a vibrant crossroads where sounds from North Africa and the Middle East meet the echoes of distant shores like Brazil and Colombia. The album's core strength is the band's mastery of restraint -- their minimalist style. Veterans Marcello Giannini, Andrea De Fazio, Paolo Petrella, and Roberto Porzio -- all central figures in the Neapolitan scene through projects like Parbleu, Bassolino, and the Nu Genea Live Band -- excel at creating engaging, hypnotic music defined by few elements but deep, pulsating grooves. Their sound traverses cosmic funk and desert blues, cumbia, dub, and jazz, anchored by the use of analogue synths and propulsive basslines. The record gains further international and political weight through collaborations with Ziad Trabelsi on "Hurriya (We Must Resist)", an Anatolian-rock-style celebration of resilience and freedom with lyrics in Arabic, and Merve Daşdemir (formerly of Altın Gün) on "Yallah!", a proud unmasking of duplicity sung in Turkish and built upon the exotic rhythm of a Middle Eastern-inspired dance. Psyché II is the distillation of a journey through cultures and identities: an album where cross-pollination and a nomadic spirit become the tenets of a contemporary sound -- at once rooted in the Mediterranean and open to the world."