INTERVIEW: Five Minutes With … Pressyes
Vienna based producer/singer/songwriter Pressyes has been working on his music in quiet for an extended period. Hidden away from the public’s eyes and ears, sheltered in his studio behind a stash of analog synthesizers and equipment Pressyes worked on bringing his vision of summery and sparkly yet psychedelic pop tunes to life.
He has collected countless memories on his travels, backpacking through Asia and Europe. The need to process all these experiences – the bits and pieces of information and values taken from different cultures and places – led him to take time away from the world, condensing these memories into what has become a special soundscape, carefully crafted and created with seasoned analog equipment.
The result is ‘Touch The Sky’ – his debut single which will be released worldwide on the 30th June via Ink Music.
We caught up with him for a chat ahead of his upcoming release.
Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?
Holla! I’m about to get ready for the road. Summer´s around the corner and I will fly from Vienna to Berlin tomorrow to play some cool festival shows with my second band “Clueso”, so it’s gonna be a “besides my guitar, what can I pack in my luggage” situation again. I hope I get back sunburnt, as I need that kind of spirit for writing songs.
To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?
I’m a big fan of pop music in general, but I love it even more when it comes with some tasty vintage tape sound. So the stuff I create comes from a pop music background, but is mostly mixed with a lot of psychedelic ingredients and besides that, I can spend days on finding the right analog synth sound to spicen things up a bit.
Recently I fell in love with rap music as well…so, let’s say psychedelic pop music with a touch of groove and rap.
What are the 5 albums and artists that have influenced you the most?
The Zombies – Odyssey and Oracle
The Beatles – White Album
Tame Impala – Lonerism
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
What other artists do you really like at the moment and why?
Anderson Paak and Childish Gambino. for bringing back the spirit of old rap and jazz music.
Justice, Soulwax and Todd Terje for providing the best driving music in the world.
What are some of the key pieces of gear you use to write your tracks?
I’m a multi-instrumentalist, so I use whatever gear I can get my hands on. Most of my hook lines come from my 10 piece analog synth rig which is set up right under my high bed. The jewel of the rig is an old ARP2600 synthesizer, a very sweet sounding thing. I have to admit that I became more of a collector during the past few years, and I’m also proud of the fact that I don´t use gear that has been manufactured after 1978 (except the obvious laptop of course).
If you weren’t a musician what would you be?
A car mechanic. I love driving my 66 Volkswagen bus, but it comes with a lot of work and sometimes pain. It’s nice as a hobby, but I think I wouldn’t dig repairing cars on a daily basis that much.
What’s the best gig you have ever done and why?
Playing a support show for The Killers with my last band. We were really young back then and it just felt amazing.
What’s the worst gig you have ever done and why?
No bad gigs in real life, but i once dreamt that i was playing a festival show and the stage was more or less a huge gigantic trampoline. whenever i tried to sing into the microphone i just couldn’t reach it.
It felt really terrible!
What are your thoughts on some of these genres?
Classical
A little Debussy or Ludwig Van is great once in awhile but I have to be honest, I can’t sit quiet for too long. It’s good for driving though.
Blues
Yeah. I’m digging the blues roots, especially the really old stuff. It’s good, but it’s hard for a guitarist not to end up as a typical cliche blues player so I’d rather listen to it than play it.
Soul
I love the vibe of old soul records. They had the best singers, the best gear and the most soul back then. Oh how I’d love to go back in time and share a drink with Curtis Mayfield.
Hip-Hop
It’s gotten better and worse at the same time in the last few years. Sometimes it’s hard to find the good stuff, but Kendrick Lamar and Anderson Paak really make the genre glow again.
Folk
There´s so much folk music out there with so many different styles. I do like some Danish and Swedish stuff, it´s very melodic and melancholic.
Trap
OK. If it wouldn’t be for the same 808 hi-hat sound for years then I would actually maybe really listen to it.
Do you have any information regarding upcoming releases, projects, DJ mixes or collaborations in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?
Still working on my debut album asPressyes.
I sang a feature with Austrian electro outfit “Gudrun von Laxenburg” and it was released on Skint/BMG a little while back.
Follow PRESSYESS:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pressyesmusic/?ref=br_rs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pressyes_music
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/pressyes
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRd5O_befCw0YZsT6Z3yBSw
Website: https://inkmusic.at/artist/pressyes/
