Meet The Emerging Cerebral Rock Group… Psychology
Crafting cerebral rock uplifted by shoegaze fuzz, waves of distortion and provocative, poignant vocal musings, Psychology is a brand-new project that you need to get to know in 2023. All about the moment lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist John Atkinson met his wife, their debut single, ‘First Contact’ is out now.
After completing his Master’s in Educational Psychology and discovering all the amazing positive effects music can have on the brain, John decided to delve head-first into his insatiable appetite for music to create his debut, self-titled album Psychology, which is to be released on 8th September.
We caught up with John to discuss the track, what sparked his obsession with music, and some of his all-time favourite musicians that inspired the birth of this exciting new band.
Hi John, thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us today. Congratulations on the release of your debut single, ‘First Contact’! How are you feeling?
Feeling ready to give this record its due. It’s strange, that although the record has been done for a long time, the process doesn’t feel complete without it being released to the public.
‘First Contact’ is about the first moment you met your wife, which I absolutely love. Would you be able to tell us more about this moment?
I mean, it was a paradigm shift. My life’s direction, which had taken shape over the course of years, completely pivoted in the matter of a few hours. Looking back, I’m kinda proud that I was able to see the moment and consciously make it happen. Obviously, we both did.
Your self-titled debut album is coming out in September – tell us more about the album and what we can expect.
You can expect a lot of twists and turns and exploration. I think it’s something you can give your full attention to and be rewarded. Robert Smith said on every Cure record, “Please listen loud.” I think that’s applicable too.
You say that this project is a collection of love songs – how does your wife feel about being such an inspiration for you musically and having a whole album essentially dedicated to her? Flattered, we hope!
I think she’s over it, haha! It’s like that song by The Who, “when I say I love you, you say you better”! No really… marriage is a long conversation and ours just got put to music in a way. She knows how much goes into a record like this, and that her inclusion in it is reflective of what she means to me. = It’s not like I set out to write love songs or anything… this record, it just happened.
You took quite a leap of faith with this project after completing your Master’s in Educational Psychology, and discovering how much of a positive effect music can have on the brain. Tell us a little more about this and why you decided to make this change?
So after studying about that positive effect music has on the brain in school and deciding to get real about guitar, I worked for a while in education and all the time was writing music. Maybe it wasn’t so much a leap of faith as much as I was just becoming consumed with what I was doing musically. Not only did I like playing and doing the thing, but I was really happy with the finished products… or at least the idea of where the songs were going and what they could be. I thought, “these songs sound good, I need to realize the vision I have for them,” and that was pretty much a full time job.
What do you hope people will take away from ‘Psychology’?
This is something I absolutely don’t want to be prescriptive about… I want people to explore it and take what they want from it. Sometimes it feels like I’m spoiling people’s parties already when saying that some songs are love songs. Like, to me, First Contact is musically violent, yet the lyrics point a certain direction. Maybe that means there’s a wider application. I don’t want to take that opportunity for interpretation away from people.
Let’s take it back to the beginning – what sparked your love for music? How did you get into learning guitar and bass?
I was just always completely obsessed with music and sound. When I was little I used to make recordings with a realistic tape deck and a radio shack mic, I don’t really even remember what of. I was a little late to the game with my musical education as I started to learn in my teenage years because of athletic commitments, but I always was completely obsessed. I used to take long late night walks around the neighborhood listening to records to get the alone time with the music. I think it was only natural that I wanted to make my own music at some point.
What was the first album you ever bought?
I’m not sure what was first. I started asking for albums instead of toys here and there pretty early…. But I know that Thriller, the Gambler, and Purple Rain were all there. Born In The USA, buying Zeppelin 2 was a momentous occasion for sure. I remember being overwhelmed by choice but I was buying a Zeppelin album that day no matter what. I wonder what would’ve happened if I had bought In Through the Out Door. The only one I wasn’t buying was Houses of the Holy… that cover was too satanic for me. I loved the Rolling Stones early on too and bought Dirty Work when I was 8 or something, not knowing that they had a past catalog of perfect monumentally classic records. I didn’t care… I still loved it.
Who are your favourite artists at the moment that you recommend?
The new Queens of the Stone Age record is really good. I can’t get away from the record Hum released a couple years ago, “Inlet”. I’ve been listening to Bowie’s “Low”. Ministry’s “Filth Pig”. Ween are always in the rotation.
Do you have any more plans for Psychology after the album? Can we expect any performances?
No shows scheduled right now, but I’m really looking forward to getting into the studio and starting work on the next record. I have a ton of music that’s ready to take shape.
Make sure to check out Psychology’s debut single ‘First Contact’ here or below.
