Psychic Space Invasion / Ian Holloway

Interview originally published (in Polish) at IKultura.net

Questions asked by Artur Olejarczyk

August 2008

1. How long a time have you been involved in the music scene? What made you to start your own webzine, music and label?

I've been making my solo music since the turn of the century but before that I had played bass and sang in alternative and psychedelic bands for years.  Around 2002 I started tinkering with digital editing software and gadgets which allowed me to explore the freakier ends of the music I wanted to make. 

I wasn't really working with any purpose or any direction in mind just making slow, quiet music for the fun of it. Eventually I had a set of tracks which I put onto a CDr called 'This Quiet World' using the pseudonym Psychic Space Invasion. I passed some copies around to some friends who liked it and told me to keep going so I have.

The label, it was called Elvis Coffee Records when I started, was one my friend Adam Lewis and I had created with our previous groups so it made sense to carry on using it.  I dropped the name about a year ago and adopted 'Quiet World' because Elvis Coffee - which had never really fitted the music - I just thought it was funny - had got to be really annoying. 

The zine, Wonderful Wooden Reasons,  is the more recent of all my pet projects.  It was something I'd always wanted to do but had never managed to get off the ground before.  Suddenly I was in a position where I was trading CDs with like minded folks all over the world so I started doing little write-ups of the albums as an A4 double sided zine and including it in amongst my mailouts.  As the zine got more popular the paper version quickly became unfeasible so it moved over onto it's own website (www.wonderfulwoodenreasons.co.uk) and myspace page (www.myspace.com/wonderfulwoodenreasons). 

2. How would you describe your music? What values and ideas are you trying to hand over to listeners? What is inspiring you to create these sounds?

How would I describe my music?  I'm really not sure.  A lot of it is drone based but I like to change things around a bit as it keeps things interesting for both me and anyone listening.  People have described it as 'dark ambient', 'minimalist' and 'post-industrial' and they all have merits. I think if I had to label it I'd call it psychedelia because it's a nice non-specific tag but it's not something that particularly bothers me.

I don't think I'm trying to pass any values to my listeners.  I think if you're listening to this type of music then you're of a certain mindset to start with.  I'm not interested in creating a mystique or of being part of any particular genre or ideology.  I'd just like my music to be appreciated for what it is....music.

As for inspiration, I generally compose from a single sound idea.  I'll hear or record something that I like and then build a track around it using whatever's at hand.  Occasionally I'll have an idea which I'll pursue but usually, in the early stages at least, it's luck and happenstance.  Once I have the skeleton of the track I can then slowly work it into it's finished form.  I love this part, I can lose hours tinkering with individual sounds.

3. Why did you decide to leave the PSI name and start to sign your materials under your own name? Does it mean that your music changed somehow?

I simply got bored of using it.  It was useful at first in that it gave me a degree of anonymity and acted as a buffer between me and any criticism that may be aimed at the music.  Over time though it began to feel increasingly contrived.  Psychic Space Invasion was only ever me, no-one else, so why did I need to present myself under this assumed title?  I couldn't answer that question so I abandoned the name.

Making the change was fairly easy as I released two albums fairly close to each other that couldn't and shouldn't be credited to PSI. The one that couldn't was the first collaboration I did with Darren Tate.  Neither of us wanted to have to think up a name so we just used our own.  The one that shouldn't was the first release on Quiet World, Walking Through Fireflies, which was dedicated to a friend who, at the time I was writing the album, was very ill.  To use the frivolous PSI name at a time that was anything but frivolous seemed inappropriate.

Did the music change when I dropped the name? No, I don't think so.  Other people's perception of the music may have done, I can't really comment on that, but I've always just made the music I wanted to.

4. What does the name Psychic Space Invasion mean to you? Do you really consider that your sounds have an impact on the psychic states of the listener? Why did you decide to pick up that name?

Like a lot of my names and song & album titles it was originally chosen because it made me laugh.  My partner and I had been discussing some shamanic concepts that she's into and the phrase 'like a sort of psychic space invasion' was mentioned. It seemed to fit with the music I was making and I liked the silliness of it.

I think music absolutely has an effect on one's psychic state by which I mean one's sense of self and one's emotions, all art does.  The beauty of it, in whatever form, is it's ability to climb inside your head and take up residence for a while

5. Psychic Space Invasion "Transitions" album has been released by Persepolis Records. What can you say about cooperation with that label? Why didn't you release this album on Quiet World? You were releasing your materials on own label previously.

The why is simple, they asked.  Persepolis are a new label operating out of Yorkshire.  One of the guys involved contacted me through myspace and asked if they could release one of my records.  I sent them two of the albums I'd been working on and they chose Transitions.  It's an album I like very much.  It was recorded at the same time as 'Walking Through Fireflies' but it's the flip side of the emotions that went into that recording.  It's a very sombre recording, one of the darkest and most claustrophobic things I've done.  It was released under the Psychic Space Invasion name as a wave goodbye and because it's still probably the more recognisable name.

6. You have recorded a lot of materials, including some collaborations. Which of these collaborations are you recognizing as the nicest ones? What is interesting in collaboration for you? Don't you have problems with passing on own ideas, to gain a good working cooperation?

I thoroughly enjoy doing the collaborations especially the ones with Darren Tate.  We were introduced to each other by Andrew Chalk who acted as a middle man sending each of us the others recordings.  I love the sounds Darren makes and luckily our ways of working compliment each other wonderfully - he likes recording wacky noises and I like playing around with them.  We've just released our second album together, called 'Summerland', this time with the help of an American chap called Banks Bailey who makes the most astonishing field recordings.  I got to spend a couple of weeks working with a set of Banks' recordings and several of Darren's guitar improvisations (and a recording of his cat purring) to which I was allowed to do anything I wanted.  Bliss.

I think the real appeal of collaborating lies in that it pulls me out of my comfort zone.  I have new sounds to work with and new structures to explore and also the pressure is on to produce something that not only I'm happy with but that the other collaborators are also. 

7. Why did you decide to start your own label? What artists are already in your catalogue and what kind of music can be found on Quiet World?

I started Quiet World (and Elvis Coffee Records) really just because I wanted to create a veneer of legitimacy for my releases but the longer I did it the more I enjoyed it.  It's got to the point now where Quiet World is essentially self-sufficient which means I can open it up to other artists that I like.  I released a couple of collaborations through Elvis Coffee (Jebus - The Ants Are Eating My Head & Itto - Sound on an Empty Road) and a couple of compilation albums (The Breath of Forgotten Places & The Eternal Present) all of which are available for download at www.quietworld.co.uk.  So far on Quiet World I have put out albums by Darren and also by Cardiff based ambient musician Adrian Shenton. There's more to come but little that has been finalised yet.

8. You're managing also Wonderful Wooden Reasons webzine. What can you tell us about it?

My zine is probably where I spend most of my, increasingly rare, spare time these days.  As I sit here writing this I can see a stack of 35 albums which I should be listening to and reviewing for the next issue.

Wonderful Wooden Reasons has been going in its present form for about 18 months.  It’s where I get to give a shout out for all the cool music that flows through my hands.  I'll cover any form of music in the zine and will pretty much give anything and everything a listen.  I have only one rule and that is I don't review anything I don't like.  I'm not into slagging things off, there's enough negativity in the world at the moment without me adding to it.  Like all good rules this one does have an exception which is the Movie review page where I get to vent my spleen a little.

Some months it can be a real chore getting it online but without it I’d have missed out on some outstanding albums.

9. You will participate in audio and visual collaboration with Rod Thomas and Steve Jones on 12th of July. What can you tell us about Mission Open 08 undertaking? What kind of art we can find there and what is your role exactly?

The Mission Gallery is a nice little Swansea gallery situated in the Marina area in an old chapel.  They accepted a 9 minute edit of a much longer video piece called Aurarora as part of their first ever open show.  It ran for a month with the video playing  on a loop.  The place has astounding acoustics but unfortunately they weren't playing the piece loud enough for it to really resonate.

Hopefully I’ll get the edit posted up on youtube or myspace sometime soon but it really is only a teaser for the 3-part 40 minute version.

If you go to the Psychic Space Invasion myspace site there are two other earlier videos made by Rod of some of my tunes.  Both are well worth a look as he has an interesting eye for an image.

Strangely, just after I finished typing the above Rod and Steve called at my house to tell me that Aurarora has also been accepted for the summer show at another Swansea gallery, The Glynn Vivian, which runs from 26th July to 6th September.

10. What are your the nearest plans as artist, label manager and writer?

Later in the year there will be a disc of Banks' field recordings.  He sent me a disc full which I'm having a nightmare time deciding between but I've nearly got the track list worked out.  I think there'll be one more album from me on Quiet World before the end of the year.  Beyond that the only plan for the label is to release the DVD I have been working on with Rod Thomas and Steve Jones called Aurarora but I think that's still a little way off from completion.

I'm currently working on a follow up to my Pendulum album for a small US label. No idea when that'll be out as I've only done three tracks so far.  Also Oscar at Evening of Light zine has asked for a track for a compilation he's assembling that'll link his words with other peoples music which will be interesting.

The plans for the zine rarely get any further than trying to get the next issue out on time and that rarely happens.  I am toying with the idea of adding a radio show style podcast but that still needs to be worked out.

Thank you for your time.

My pleasure.  Best wishes to you for your zine.