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.
Scissory
Psapp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If no one else can see
Take time alone
Get out of the tree
There are things to sample
So, treat them as such
No need to look through others
Brother says I shouldn't suffer
With no need to
We lurch around, don't touch the ground
I want to find the new
These wise things come from every mouth
Dad says edit well
Select and run with what you get
And let the wise things swell
So the frost of all their love
Has shown me, wrap up warm
Take some clothes from everyone
Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend
Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend
Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend
Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend
Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend
One interpretation of "Scissory" by Psapp is that it's about finding your own path and following your instincts. The first verse speaks to the idea of not caring about other people's opinions and taking time alone to reflect. The second verse suggests that there are many things to explore and experience in life, and that it's important to approach everything with an open mind and not be swayed by others. The third verse seems to be about wanting to break free from convention and find something new and exciting, and the singer seems to be encouraged by the advice of the people in their life - their mom, dad, brother, and sister.
The repetition of "Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend" at the end of the song reinforces the idea that there are many influences in our lives and that we can learn from all of them. The song's final lines - "take some clothes from everyone" - could be interpreted as a metaphor for taking the best parts of everyone's advice and incorporating them into your own journey. The line "let the wise things swell" suggests that we should listen to the wisdom of others, but ultimately trust our own instincts and take our own path.
Overall, "Scissory" is a song about finding your own way in life and not being afraid to forge your own path, even if it goes against convention. It encourages the listener to be open to new experiences and perspectives, but ultimately trust their own judgment and follow their instincts.
Line by Line Meaning
Mom says it doesn't matter
Mom believes that things don't always have to matter.
If no one else can see
If other people cannot see or understand what you do, it does not matter.
Take time alone
It is important to take some time alone to think and reflect.
Get out of the tree
It is important to look at things from a different perspective.
There are things to sample
There are many things to try.
So, treat them as such
It is important to treat these things with care and respect.
No need to look through others
Do not always rely on the opinions of others.
Don't value that too much
Do not place too much value on what other people say.
Brother says I shouldn't suffer
Brother thinks it is not necessary to suffer unnecessarily.
With no need to
There is no need to suffer, as it is not necessary.
We lurch around, don't touch the ground
We move around aimlessly, without any real direction or grounding.
I want to find the new
I want to explore new things and find what is different and exciting.
These wise things come from every mouth
Everyone has something wise to say.
Dad says edit well
Dad thinks it is important to edit things carefully and thoughtfully.
Select and run with what you get
Pick what you have and work with it.
And let the wise things swell
There is value in allowing the wise things to grow and expand.
So the frost of all their love
The coldness from their love.
Has shown me, wrap up warm
This has taught me to protect myself and be prepared for potential coldness.
Take some clothes from everyone
Take a little bit of wisdom from everyone around you.
Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend
There is wisdom to be found in all loved ones.
Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend
There is wisdom to be found in all loved ones.
Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend
There is wisdom to be found in all loved ones.
Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend
There is wisdom to be found in all loved ones.
Mom, dad, brother, sister, friend
There is wisdom to be found in all loved ones.
Contributed by Lillian K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.