Psykosonik
| Psykosonik | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| Genres | Techno |
| Years active | 1992–1997 |
| Labels | Exit Records (Dietrich Dexter), Wax Trax! Records |
| Past members | Paul Sebastien, Daniel Lenz, Vox Day, Michael Larson |
Psykosonik was an American techno music group that enjoyed moderate success in the early 1990s.[1] The band had four Billboard Top 40 Club Chart hit singles.[1]
Psykosonik was featured on the Mortal Kombat: Annihilation soundtrack.[2]
The band's lyrics feature cyberpunk and extropian themes such as virtual reality, AI, cybernetics, life extension, and general science.[citation needed]
Contents
History
In 1991, Smilehouse lead singer Paul Sebastian met Vox Day at The Underground in Minneapolis and the two men put together a band, with Day on keyboards and Sebastian on guitar and vocals. They recorded two songs together before finding a drummer, Michael Larson, and a deejay/production engineer, Daniel Lenz, and forming the complete band. The band Psykosonik recorded a three-song demo tape at Sebastian's apartment where he had a recording studio, and later performed in local clubs, including First Avenue, 7th Street Entry, and Glam Slam. Their first recorded song was the unreleased "Sex Me Up"[3], which led to the band being signed to Wax Trax! and TVT Records.Their first album, Psykosonik, was released in 1993. Their second album, Unlearn, was released in 1995.
The band's third album, Spiritual Machine, was completed by 1997 but was never released by the band's label, Wax Trax! Records, who were by this time owned by TVT Records. The experience led to the subsequent disbanding of Psykosonik.
Daniel Lenz went on to produce a single album with vocalist Brent Daniels under the band name Hednoize. In 2001 Lenz launched a short lived project called PsykoHed on MP3.com. He released his debut solo album, Stuck in a Dream, in 2008, featuring guest appearances by Brent Daniels, as well as Paul Sebastien. He has since recorded many soundtracks for various television shows and movies, including the music for the Disney Cars 2 movie.
In 2004, Paul Sebastien teamed up with Caesar Filori to release two singles under the name Basic Pleasure Model, titled Sunyata and How to Live. Sunyata was a Psykosonik song that had been written and previously recorded by Sebastien and Day for the Unlearn CD, but was not included on it.
Michael Larson went on to become the audio director for Fenris Wolf, then for Epic Games. He produced the soundtracks for the Gears of War series.
Personnel
Members
- Paul Sebastien (1992–1997) – vocals, composition, engineering, lyrics, mixing, production
- Daniel Lenz (1992–1997) – composition, engineering, lyrics, mixing, production
- Vox Day (1992–1995) – composition, lyrics
- Michael Larson (1992–1995) – samples, percussion
Discography
Albums
| Title | Release date | Label | Songs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demo | 1992 | Unreleased | Sex Me Up, Cosmic Trigger, Down to the Ground |
| Psykosonik | US: 1993-02-02 Japan: 1993-11-01 |
Wax Trax!/TVT Japan: Polystar |
Silicon Jesus, Welcome to My Mind, Technojihad, Shock on the Wire, Neutropia, Down to the Ground, Krank Phreak, Rhythm of the Rage, Acid Hammer, I Am God |
| Unlearn | 1995-11-06 | Wax Trax!/TVT | Secret Life, Unlearn, Need to Die, Eye of the Mind, Vacuous, Breathing Room, Alone, Imagine, Ride, PGP, Chromagnum, Dreaming Real, Within, Maurautius |
| Spiritual Machine | 1997 | Unreleased | |
| Additional songs | various | Wax Trax! / Unreleased | Count to Zero, Chiba City Blues, Sunyata |
Singles
| Song | Release date | Album | Notes | Label | Billboard chart rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Silicon Jesus" | 1993-05-25 | Psykosonik | Released as four-track vinyl and six-track CD. | Wax Trax!/TVT | 37 |
| "Welcome To My Mind" | 1993-11-23 | Psykosonik | Released as five-track vinyl and seven-track CD. | Wax Trax!/TVT | 26 |
| "Unlearn" | 1995-08-08 | Unlearn | Released as five-track vinyl and ten-track CD. | Wax Trax!/TVT | 11 |
| "It Has Begun" | 1997-04-12 | Mortal Kombat: More Kombat | Wax Trax!/TVT | 16 | |
| "Panik Kontrol (PQM's Deephead Pass)" | Unknown | Mortal Kombat: Annihilation | Released only as a white label promo. | Wax Trax!/TVT |
Movie and Game Soundtracks
| Song | Release date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Various | 1993 | X-Kaliber 2097|Activision |
| Various | 1994 | CyClones|Strategic Simulations, Inc. |
| "Unlearn (Josh Wink's Live Mix)" | 1995 | Mortal Kombat |
| "Theme" | 1995 | Marathon 2: Durandal |
| "Theme" | 1996 | Marathon Infinity |
| "It Has Begun" | 1996 | Mortal Kombat: More Kombat |
| "Panik Kontrol" | 1997 | Mortal Kombat: Annihilation |
See also
References
External links
- Psykosonik at Discogs
- Psykosonik at Last.fm
- PsykosonikLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). discography at MusicBrainz
- Daniel Lenz on Myspace
- Paul Sebastian on Myspace
- Basic Pleasure Model on Myspace
