Psykobilly is a solo project by Bill Newton, ex-guitarist and songwriter from early 80’s North East new wave band Silent Scream who featured in November 2019 blog……
The debut album, Black Candle, has taken a year to write, record, produce and master. I’m pretty pleased with how the album has turned out Newton continued….The album’s overall sound has been described as ‘darkwave’, although there is a mix of pop, rock, ballads and synth-driven songs.
Listeners have already made comparisons with Nick Cave, The Cure, Scott Walker and Morrissey…
Obviously, I’m honoured and pretty amazed to even be mentioned in the same breath as such legends and heroes of mine.
Who were the other musicians that you worked with on the album ?
I am fortunate to have talented friends. Four of the songs were recorded with Steve ‘Smiley’ Barnard (The Alarm, Archive) at his Sunshine Corner Recording Studios in Hampshire. He drums, plays bass, sings and produces. We had Pete Kirby on keyboards and piano and James Walsh who sings on two songs.
The other 60% of the album is essentially me at home with my MacBook and Logic Pro X recording software, my Auden Chester acoustic and Yamaha SG2000 guitars.
Is there a story behind the album ‘Black Candle’ ?
The album’s title is metaphorical although essentially refers to the dark but illuminating nature of the songs. They’re all personal, I always ask people to look beyond some of the technical shortcomings and focus on the honesty and passion in the music and lyrics.
Are you looking to play the album live ?
It’s unlikely you’ll see me perform live as the songs are pretty complex arrangements. They can all be stripped back and played acoustically but to get near the sound of the album I’d need two or three guitars, piano, keyboards, strings, backing vocals and maybe a choir of angels! Give a listen to the last track on the album, Remains.
One of the sweetest things that has happened was when a friend of mine played the song Remains at one of his gigs, a very emotional lady approached him and asked if she could use the song at her mum’s funeral as she felt a personal connection with it.
Are there any plans in the pipeline for Psykobilly ?
It’s just so hard to make any breakthrough these days. It’s pretty rare that small, independent artists get any mainstream recognition, and there is very little financial reward.
My first single Leave It All Behind has been streamed 1500 times around the world in the four months since it was released and the official video has been watched over 2000 times on YouTube but I’ve only made £5 from this !
I’m not complaining though and prefer artistic praise over money anyway.
Ideally, I would like to write for other people. I’m not in any way arrogant about any ability I might have and would describe myself as humble and self-deprecating.
However, I do think that the songs are strong enough to be performed by more established and talented artists who could reach a wider audience.
I can always live in hope that a small label might offer to release my music or that Miley Cyrus comes calling!
Black Candle is available now on Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes and all other major digital platforms.
https://psykobilly.bandcamp.com/album/black-candle
https://open.spotify.com/album/1I0IJmxNhIllIhjAnDBwoq?si=ndh570p8QNuYpknA07yuNQ
https://music.apple.com/gb/album/black-candle/1494508478
Gary Alikivi January 2020.
ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK 