American duo Desert Dwellers recently released their newest full length album titled "The Great Mystery". In support of the album they are currently touring across the U.S so be sure to check out their tour page for a location near you. 

If you have never heard of Desert Dwellers before then you should immediately check them out online as their music is some of the finest in the downtempo, psydub, global bass genres you are likely to hear. They can also pump out a rocking four-four dance track too which they are known to bust out when playing live. 

I recently asked DD member Amani Friend a few questions about all things past, present and future from the DD duo. Read on for some interesting insight into one of the hottest acts on the circuit today.

PsyAmb : How does the new album differ to previous ones ? I heard there might be some more uptempo tribal tech numbers on it ? What was the overall vision in regard to creating this album ?

DD : The Great Mystery is a special release in the vast Desert Dwellers music catalog. This album marks the first time that the two of us (Amani Friend and Treavor Moontribe) have collaborated on a full length album together from start to finish, even though we have been producing music together  since 1999 in a wide range of styles. Up until now our productions have gone into the world as either singles, EPs, or on various artist compilations. 

Symbolika is a psychedelic clothing label that has gained a loyal fanbase around the globe with their superb designs documenting the psychedelic experience. They have a full range of psychedelic t-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts and hoodies for both men and women as well as a range of psy decor such as lampshades. I was fortunate enough to chat with store manager Yud and designer Fabian about the past, present and future of the collective.  

PA : Symbolika has been around since 2001. That's quite a long time for a label in the psychedelic fashion niche. Could you tell us about how Symbolika started, the history of the label ?
 

Symbolika : Symbolika started from visionary experiences. It started in Goa. After one of the experiences I started drawing symbols from the experience and it opened the channel to download these symbols and share them. After more experiences more symbols came and Symbolika was born with our first 10 symbols. 

PA : The name itself is interesting. Is there any meaning behind the name Symbolika ? Your designs incorporate a lot of symbolic imagery from spirituality and mind/consciousness expansion ­ is that where the idea for the name comes from ? 

Australian producer Kalya Scintilla has been winning praise wide and far with his mix of deep bass, stuttering beats and ancient sacred melodies delivered with an underlying current of psychedelic funk and whomp. 

With a number of EPs, compilation appearances and his latest album "Dance The Spiral Never Ending" all released in just a few short years, he is quickly becoming a name known for innovative psychedelic electronica. 

He recently took time out from his U.S touring schedule to sit down and answer a few questions for the PsyAmb blog. 

PsyAmb: Well, first let's get started at the beginning. How did you get into music production ? Did you come from a musical family ?

Kayla Scintilla: My parents have a great taste in music. They raised me and my siblings on Led Zepplin, Lionel Richie, and other great old rock, soul, and funk. 

I wasn't really into sport at school but I was into music so my friends and I would listen to mix tapes during school and jam out at each other houses on the weekends. We all took turns on drums, bass and guitar playing mostly metal and funk. 

When I left home and moved to the city I fell in love with going to nightclubs. It wasn't long before I had a pair of turntables and was rocking vinyl at house parties and clubs. I played House, Hip Hop, Funk, Breaks, Techno etc basically anything with serious groove. 

In 2005 I purchased my first computer to make beats but living in the city and having a 9-5 job meant that my focus was not as intense as I wanted it to be. In 2007 I went to my first outdoor psytrance festival, called a Doof in Australia. The experienced changed me deeply and I opened my being to a whole new world of frequency. 

The music from Zenon Records changed the way I perceived what was possible with sound and it wasn't too long before I had left my life in the city to pursue a life of music. My focus was psychedelic trance but about a year later the Kalya sound started to emerge as a result of me wanting to explore different realms.

I recently had the fortune of conducting an interview with talented ambient downtempo musician Michael Sundo a.k.a Vonoom via Facebook. Vonoom's music has always hit a chord with me with it's warm dubby bass lines, psychedelic filters and crisp percussion. So let's read on for a look at the life and times of this psychedelic ambient wizard.

PA :

How did you get started making music ? Do you come from a musical family ?

V:

I began making music back in 2003 as a natural development from my interest in DJ'ing psytrance. I loved the vast possibilities of sounds that synthesis provides, so I began to experiment with programs like Propellerheads Rebirth, Fruity Loops and Reason. It took a long time, however, before I really began to grasp what was going on instead of pushing buttons until happy accidents happened. I never really had anyone to show me the ropes, so getting to where I am today was a long process. It took many years before I began to be satisfied with my sound. My family is not really musical as such, but I was introduced to psychedelic trance by my brother, DJ Akindo, who is still an active DJ.

Vonoom - Michael Sundo

PA:

How would you best describe the kind of music you make ?

V:

Hmm that's a tough one. When people ask I usually say psychedelic chill-out for lack of a better label. I like to think that I have a fair amount of variation in my tracks, and I like to experiment with different ideas and atmospheres. Overall, my goal is to make positive music that puts a smile on your face while making sure that there's enough chunkiness to shake your ass to.

PA:

Did your early psytrance productions have an influence on the kind if psychill /psybient/ downtempo music you create ?

V:

I suppose it probably did. For the first few years of my experimenting it was mostly psytrance that I was attempting to make, but my creativity was a lot stronger whenever I was working on something that wasn't psytrance. I found psytrance to be too restrictive, the bass had to be a certain way, the kick in 4x4 and so on. You can of course break with these formulas, but I found myself just repeating what I'd already done or heard before, so I felt the need to do something different. My many years of listening to trance have definitely had an influence on the way I look at melodies and track structures though, so yes, it has had an influence.

Here is a entertaining video that provides a view into the mind of UK producer Ott. Ott is getting more open and comfortable online recently which is great to see as he has tons of fans worldwide who are interested in hearing about his past and musical inspirations. 

This is a really  cool interview I think - very laid back and honest. He doesn't hide anything. Of all the interviews I've ever seen of producers withing the psychedelic ambient music scene this might possibly be the best I've seen ! There are some real gems of information here so if you have a spare  40 minutes, grab a cup of tea and enjoy this candid interview with the world's greatest psychedelic dub producers.

Ott is currently on tour in the US with his band The All Seeing I. For full tour dates check here.

PsyAmb favorite Simon Posford has been busy recently with the Shpongle tour of the USA. If you guys have been following his Facebook feed you will know that Simon has been right up there with his use of social media and letting the fans know what him and his band of traveling pranksters are up to on the road. Recently he posted a link to some some nice interviews he gave about things past present and future concerning Shpongle and Younger Brother including some incites into the next new Shpongle album including possible track names and album title. For those of you who don't use Facebook here is a copy of the interviews for you :

"The Brain Trust" interview : Part 1

Several weeks ago, Ben of The Brain Trust sat down with Simon Posford - a psychedelic mastermind of sorts whose at the helm of projects including Shpongle, Hallucinogen and Younger Brother - for a lengthy conversation that touched on both the serious and the absurd. In celebration of Posford's upcoming performance at House of Blues Boston tomorrow, TBT will be releasing the conversation in two parts. This is part one in which Posford discusses his affinity for the live band, pre-show anxiety and the state of the record industry. Let's get Shpongled ...

*NOTE: Please read Posford's responses with a soft English accent in mind.*

BW: Logistical problems aside, if circumstances were such that you could do every single gig with a live band, would you?

SP: Absolutely, yes. It’s much more fun. Notwithstanding the fact that all the people in the band are my close friends that I love simply to hang out with before or after the show, I’m honored to be able to play with musicians of such high caliber and talent. They are all truly outstanding: from Joe Russo on drums who’s maybe one of the best musicians I’ve met in my life, to Pete Callard who is just a phenomenal guitar player and has a massive wealth of musical knowledge, or Harry Escott the cello player, who has scored music for 300 piece orchestras and choirs in Dubai. Raja Ram - my guru, my student, my friend and my muse always has the band in stitches with his cunning linguism.

During the show itself, all I really have to concentrate on is performing on my instrument - playing the guitar, tweaking some synths, and just being a musician, which is really what I’ve always wanted to be all my life. It's so much more fun jamming with people on stage, vibing off each other and it dilutes the pressure on me as well - there are many more people to take the heat if it fucks up! (laughs)

BW: Speaking of pressure, do you ever get nervous?

SP: Every time.

BW: Every time?

SP: Every time. I would like to be a little bit less nervous because it can be mildly incapacitating. But, on the other hand, I think nervousness is preferable to indifference. It keeps me on my toes. And I don’t think you want to be too complacent about a show. I think the day I stop being nervous is probably the day that I stop doing shows.

Brooke Kettering has produced a very informative interview with Simon Posford of Shpongle and Younger Brother over at the Roving Festival Writer website. Simon has been busy touring the US this year doing a number of huge festivals with the Shpongletron Experience show.

Read on here for some insider Shpongly tid-bits and Simon's opinion of dub-step, genres and DMT.

B: How are you doing?

S: I’m good, a little tired, but umm feeling good. Excited for tonight’s show.

B: Have you been touring like crazy?

S: Yea, I’m on an eternal tour. We’ve done, I don’t know, ten days or something like that. We’ve only just started I guess, and it’s fifty shows in total.

B: So you’re touring as Shpongle right now, correct?

S: The Shpongletron, ya, exactly.

B: Right, how was Coachella?

S: Coachella was amazing. A lot of people, and fantastic production. So everything just conspired for a great show.

B: When you go to festivals like that, do you ever get time to enjoy yourself?

S: We did. Um, commercially I suppose Coachella isn’t really my type of festival but um, the only people we really wanted to see were Trentemoller but because all the people and stuff we got stuck by Duran Duran for some reason.

B: So you got to hang out for a few days or were you back on the road right away?

S: We stayed for two days, we saw Duran Duran and Kanye and a few other people. But pretty much had to go straight out.

B: So, I’m more of a conversationalist than a journalist, but, hopefully we can just have a nice conversation and I’ll able get some interesting stuff out of it.

S: Ya, I mean ask me anything you like and if you want me to expand further I always can.

B: Something that I found interesting…have you heard of CouchSurfing, the website?

S: Couchsurfing?…yes.

B: So I’ve been doing that for a while…just hosting not traveling myself…

S: Really? How is it?

B: It’s been awesome! I’ve had all great experiences. I hosted this one guy from Israel and, I always try to find a common ground in music, and in saying that I listen to some electronic music, he said he listens to Shpongle. And then I was in this remote part of Mexico (Mahahual), where I became friends with these Mayan dancer dudes, and in talking about electronic music, Shpongle was our common musical ground. You obviously tour all over the place…why do you think Shpongle is soo…can appeal to anyone?