Moods 42: Psy-Chick
November 2021's Moods Mix has their reigns held by the ultimate Psy-Chick (@psy_chick), curated by Jamie Johnson. Née Melissa Hernandez, Psy-Chick isa Phoenix-born, Detroit-based DJ who throws down 80s-tinged tracks 00s, 90s, and 10s. It's a downtempo meditation on music discovery nostalgia in your early 20s. Check out the tracklist, liner notes, and artwork below.
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TRACKLIST
Andy Stott - Violence
Lo Kindre - Sounder
The Art of Noise - Moments in Love
Bjork - Venus As A Boy
Alex Zhang Hungtai, Pavel Milyako - M 3 Movements
HTRK - Give It Up
Alva Noto - Uni Blue
HTRK - Eat Yr Heart
Portishead - Biscuit
Funky Doodle - B1 (Live From Yellowknife)
Skinny Puppy - Christianity
Front 242 - Don’t Crash
Essaie Pas - Corps Étranger
Guerilla Welfare, Mary Howes - Easy Street
dip in the pool - A Breath from the Queen of Snow
Daisy Moon - Chambers
Deux Files - Drinking at a Stream
Sade - Kiss of Life
Röyksopp - Sparks
Fatima Al Qadiri - Medieval Femme
HTRK - Synthetik
Sixth June - My Joy
MR TC & Lo Kindre - The Watching Eyes
Skinny Puppy - Worlock
Cocteau Twins - Shallow Then Halo
Sonoko - Danse avec la Tristesse
Liner Notes
"Hi fellow music friends. I was raised in the Southwest, or more specifically, Phoenix, Arizona. I moved to Detroit about four years ago because I was open to living here and exploring the electronic music scene that makes this place unique. Growing up, I gave every genre an opportunity to peak my interest, but electronic really impressed me and stuck with me starting around my mid teen years. Once I was able to attend 21+ shows, I found myself repeatedly going to the 80s synthpop/darkwave nights. Eventually I found my happy place— EBM/industrial weekly club nights. That’s initially how my interest in electronic clubbing began.
"I loved to dance and lose myself to Skinny Puppy, Front 242, and slower, sexier groups like Portishead and Massive Attack. In this mix, I really wanted to highlight that transitional time in my early 20s when I heavily (and solely) sought out this music because it was a time I was very inspired to dive deeper and begin my involvement in the electronic scene.
"After going to these nights regularly, I obsessively began exploring all subgenres of electronic—industrial leading me to IDM, IDM leading me towards drum n bass, jungle, techno, etc. My first techno show was a live show by Axkan that I sought out in Phoenix. After my experience as a techno fan in a city that doesn’t care to particularly recognize it, I’ve really grown to admire fans in smaller cities where there’s no way of possibly bumping into or being introduced to techno. You really have to find out about it on your own and seek it out— at least that’s what my experience was along with friends I’ve met through the scene over there.
"Saying that, electronic music and shows quickly became a space for endless discovery and surprises. In this mix, I’ve made an effort to show that. Along with my gothy/industrial favorites that introduced me to electronic, I’ve included other slower and moodier favorites that I regularly listen to now, including a few numbers by my favorite group, HTRK. Although there’s a difference in BPM of what I typically tend to play, these songs put me in a similar kind of trance."
Artwork
We've paired Hernandez's mix with an Andrea Carlson piece Anti-Retro—a silkscreen the depicts bodies, sculptures, and garments from Western and Indigenous either ripping themselves apart or in states of decay and rebirth. Both pieces set a mood of introspection and questioning where things from the past move between nostalgia and retro in the disintegrating world we find ourselves in.
Check out this interview with Andrea Carlson here if you want to learn more: https://monumentlab.com/bulletin/dont-look-to-my-work-for-reconciliation-a-conversation-with-andrea-carlson
And here: www.mikinaak.com/blog/a-note-on-anti-retro
Psy-Chick redirected their $40 comission to Detroit Goodfellows, a 100+-year old organization where holiday season, they distribute gift boxes to kids ages 4–13 living in Detroit, Highland Park, River Rouge, Hamtramck, Harper Woods and Ecorse. Match our donation here: www.detroitgoodfellows.org/