Mind expanding, experimental synth magicians Psychic Ills jam out strung out sounds, heavily infused with a heady dose of 60′s inspired psychedelia. Blondes not bombs.
Happening upon each other in the Big Apple back in 2003, psyche rock trio Psychic Ills are a long-haired arrangement of musicians who make the kind of music perfect for an out of body experience. Descending like a mist, Elizabeth Hart, Brian Tamborello and Tres Warrens’ dream-like tapestries fuse together hallucinatory, eastern flavoured rhythms, realised with a bass, drums, a guitar and synthesisers. Layering vocals over instrumentals, a signature sitar is occasionally plucked as an ambient howl leads a rolling wave of drowned out dub to a dramatic climax.
The band’s second album Mirror Eye was rated with a controversial 1.4/10 by Pitchfork, signifying that many are switched off by the meandering nature of this experimental music. But a brave few, more concerned by hemp, love and loose fitting attire, find their appetite for free-spirited sounds satisfied by the niche compositions Pyschic Ills create. An acquired taste, the band are highly skilled in the art of trance and being in the company of their improvised orchestra of beats and pieces transports you to a world of time-free fun. Turn on, tune in, drop out.
See more from i-D online’s i-N Session series
