Galia Durant’s story began in a household running amok with records, art and books. Galia’s mum collected protest songs while her dad is a professorial art historian with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Indian classical music. Galia “loved it all,” finding no real distinction between Woody Guthrie peacenik anthems, Sarangi etudes and her elder brother’s acid jazz albums. After struggling to learn violin and piano (she preferred her 1988 vintage Casio SK-8 sampling keyboard, which the band still use), at 8, Galia graduated from a more-ideas-than-action ‘band’, “GO”, formed with her brother.
Carim Clasmann’s musical youth was spent in German recording studios learning the alchemical business of faders, compressors and microphones. A self-professed failure at the school recorder and a frustrated guitarist, he dabbled in music-making while cutting demos for other people. Quickly rising through the Cologne studio ranks, Carim learned his chops recording bands like Einstürzende Neubauten and Die Toten Hosen and even worked at Can’s famous Inner Space studio, always dallying with music of his own on the side. He moved to London at the close of the ‘90s, working and then taking up residence at the King’s Cross studio/house he and Psapp currently call home.
Carim met Galia through mutual, musically-inclined friends who would often gather at the studio. For a year or so the duo experimented, united by an eclectic taste for Tom Waits, the Cure, Erik Satie, Duke Ellington and “anything that’s silly and uses stupid noises.” Their own ‘silly noises’ married to Galia’s sultry vocals and perspicacious lyrics produced recordings of shimmering originality and nascent charm - an opinion shared by the handful of labels to which Psapp, as they’d by now christened themselves, sent demos toward the end of 2002. A litany of recordings duly followed. Early 2003’s debut EP for Melodic called, instructively, Do Something Wrong was followed by a single, "Difficult Key", the following Autumn. After seeing a live show by Morr Music electronicists ISAN and befriending the band’s Robin Saville, Psapp’s next recordings would appear on Saville’s own Arable imprint, with Winter ‘04’s Buttons And War EP attracting rave notices.
Around this time several Psapp tracks found their way to US music consultants who were universally wowed by the band’s evocative charms. The duo’s music seemed to chime with the TV zeitgeist and their music started to seep into primetime dramas (not to mention a very high profile Volkswagen advert), culminating in the track Cosy In The Rocket being chosen as the theme music to hit ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, which premiered in March 2005. At a stroke, burgeoning inquisitiveness about Psapp turned into an eager US fanbase. Meanwhile, in King’s Cross, dust wasn’t being allowed to settle. A Japanese EP, Northdown appeared in March 2004, swiftly followed by a vinyl-only 4-track nugget, Rear Moth for the discreet Wiaiwya imprint – some tracks from which would appear on the band’s debut album for Arable (also licensed to Leaf for the US and Canada, Third Ear in Japan and Gronland for much of Europe). Released in February 2005, Tiger, My Friend consolidated the burgeoning interest in all things Psapp. MOJO magazine’s four star review – “Arresting, childlike pop confections… effortlessly carved pop sophistication…” was typically hyperbolic. With Psapp duly rising, the major labels soon came a-courting but by autumn 2005 Psapp had spurned their fevered advances, preferring to ink a deal with Domino.
Toward the close of ’05 Psapp embarked on their first live ventures. Translating their records’ layered complexity to the stage was never going to be easy, but with the multi-instrumental Galia and Carim joined by Gwen Cheeseman (violin, floatation toys), Eshan Khadaroo (drums, lumps of wood), and Jim Whelan (bass, keyboards, ashtrays etc), (joined in 2008 by Matt Jones (keyboardist, Ultrasound, Minuteman)), Psapp took to the road around the UK and Europe, eventually honing an exhilarating, ‘in the flesh’ version of their incomparable recorded sound. Initial touring forays successfully completed, Psapp set about buffing their second album to lustrous perfection, pausing only to head down to the Dorchester Hotel to pick up the BMI Award for 2005’s Best TV Theme Tune for ‘Cosy In The Rocket’.
Psapp are known for their humour on stage, throwing cats (hand-made by the band) into the audience and their highly eclectic music videos.
King of You
Psapp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where's these things of mine?
Pack them up, put them out
Coz there's not much time
Oh, I didn't know
That you had feelings, too
Oh, I never thought
Where's the shame in my case
As I've fallen down
To the drug, to the floor
In an eager pout
Oh, I didn't know
How alone you'd be
And I never knew
How much I'd have to need
The opening lyrics of "King of You" by Psapp could be interpreted as a call to action. The singer seems to be looking for something - "the bone" and "the sack" - and urging someone to pack them up quickly because there isn't much time. There's a feeling of urgency and a sense that something important is about to happen.
But as the song continues, the focus shifts from this external search to something more personal. The singer acknowledges that they didn't realize the other person had feelings, too. This could suggest that the singer has been self-absorbed, perhaps in pursuit of the things they were searching for at the beginning of the song. The line "Oh, I never thought that I was king of you" adds to this sense of egotism.
The next verse addresses a personal struggle: the singer has "fallen down" to drugs and feels a sense of shame. They also seem to be aware of the impact their behavior has had on the other person - "How alone you'd be" - and how much they themselves need help.
Overall, the lyrics seem to be exploring themes of personal transformation, self-awareness, and the importance of human connection. The use of vivid imagery (the bone, the sack) adds an element of mystery and intrigue, while the chorus provides a memorable refrain that emphasizes the central message of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Where's the bone, where's the sack?
Where are my possessions?
Where's these things of mine?
Where are my belongings?
Pack them up, put them out
Get ready to leave quickly
Coz there's not much time
Because time is running out
Oh, I didn't know
I was not aware
That you had feelings, too
That you also have emotions
Oh, I never thought
I never considered
That I was king of you
That I have control over you
Where's the shame in my case
Why do I feel ashamed?
As I've fallen down
As I have failed
To the drug, to the floor
To substance abuse and depression
In an eager pout
In a state of longing
Oh, I didn't know
I was not aware
How alone you'd be
How much you would feel isolated
And I never knew
I was unaware
How much I'd have to need
How much I would rely on others
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II, RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind