Creative experimentation
Experimentation is one of the main philosophies of Psy’Aviah. This is portrayed by both incorporating different genres into their own sound and by the different collaborations they have done over the years: from poetry with Suzi Q. Smith and Jean-Luc De Meyer (Front 242), to EBM power-pop with Jennifer Parkin (Ayria), trip-hop & lush warm vocals by Kyoko Baertsoen (ex-Hooveprhonic & Lunasxcape), covered by Chaos all Stars ft. Mona Roukachi, and even to Enya-esque reminders with Kristell Lowagie.
Due to this varied pallet in both music and lyrics, the band fits well on different stages: from main-stream pop, rock and electronic festivals, as well as more gothic, EBM and experimental oriented shows.
Track record…
Formed in 2003, but mainly focusing on experimenting and playing live shows, the band really took form in 2007 when they released their first album “Creationism”. Shortly after that release Psy’Aviah was signed to “Alfa Matrix” records and with them they released the albums “Entertainment Industries” (2008), “Eclectric” / “Eclectricism (2CD Limited Edition)” (2010), “Into The Game DJEP” featuring Ayria (2011), “Introspection ~ Extrospection” / “Restrospection” (2CD Limited Edition)” (2011), “Contraspection” (Digital Only Release) (2011) and “OK / Virtual Gods DJEP” (2012) with remixes by Jan Vervloet, M.I.K.E., Radical G, NUDE, and more…
Renewing their contract in 2012 the band worked on releasing the concept (mini)-album "Future Past" (2013) and a single/remix EP "Our Common Future ft. Kyoko Baertsoen" (2014) to mark the new "Era" of Psy'Aviah: collaborating once again with a lot of new artists to bring variety in the vocal palette. At the moment Psy'Aviah is working on a new full length album.
Members
The band was initially founded in 2003 by producer and composer Yves Schelpe. In 2007 he was joined by vocalist Emélie Nicolaï and guitarists Kristof De Clerck (2007-2011) and Ben Van de Cruys (2011-...). From 2013 on with the album "The Xenogamous Endeavour" the project moved away from a tradition line-up, and Yves focused back on inviting guest vocalists and musicians on the songs, thus returning back to the roots.
Some facts
* Played with acts such as Subsonica, IC 434, Emilie Autumn, Implant and 32Crash.
* Played various festivals including SONFest, Delta Festival Hague, Gothic Festival and BIMFest.
* Collaborated with Jean-Luc De Meyer (Front 242), Jennifer Parkin (Ayria) and IC 434 (Geert de Wilde).
* Banned by YouTube for supposedly explicit content in their videoclip for “Moments feat. Suzi Q. Smith)”.
* Asked to participate in the Microsoft Windows 7 marketing with the song “Tired”.
* Played live inside an internet-banner for a DEXIA campaign with the song “Tired”.
* Music (“Fear”) used for footage of the “Dirty Dancing” fashion show with clothing of Nicky Vankets, Othello and hair products of Paul Mitchell.
* Scored a top 20 entry in the “BBC Next Big Thing” contest. Among the judges were Tori Amos, Nina de Man and Nitin Sawhney.
* Won the weekly Studio Brussel’s demopoll in 2003 with the unreleased song “The Future of The Sun”.
Sites: MusicBrainz, Wikipedia, Facebook, MySpace and http://PsyAviah.com
Ophélie
Psy'Aviah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sur l’onde calme et noire où dorment les étoiles
La blanche Ophélia flotte comme un grand lys
Flotte très lentement, couchée en ses longs voiles
II.
On entend dans les bois lointains des hallalis
Voici plus de mille ans que la triste Ophélie
Voici plus de mille ans que sa douce folie
Murmure sa romance à la brise du soir
Le vent baise ses seins et déploie en corolle
Ses grands voiles bercés mollement par les eaux
Les saules frissonnants pleurent sur son épaule
Sur son grand front rêveur s’inclinent les roseaux
Les nénuphars froissés soupirent autour d’elle
Elle éveille parfois, dans un aune qui dort
Quelque nid, d’où s’échappe un petit frisson d’aile
Un chant mystérieux tombe des astres d’or
III.
Et le Poète dit qu’aux rayons des étoiles
Tu viens chercher, la nuit, les fleurs que tu cueillis
Et qu’il a vu sur l’eau, couchée en ses longs voiles
La blanche Ophélia flotter, comme un grand lys
The lyrics of Psy'Aviah's song Ophélie are actually an adaptation of a poem by French author Arthur Rimbaud called Ophélie. The poem tells the story of a woman named Ophelia who drowned herself in a river after being rejected by her lover. In the first stanza, her body floats slowly on the calm black water, while in the second stanza, the poet describes how her ghost has been wandering the river for over a thousand years, still murmuring her romance to the evening breeze. The third stanza describes how a poet has seen her collecting flowers under the stars, still floating like a white lily on the water.
The song is a beautifully melancholic reflection on lost love and the tragedy of unrequited affection. It captures the haunting, ghostly image of Ophelia floating on the river, and emphasizes the idea of her being stuck in a state of perpetual mourning, unable to move on from her death. The music contributes to the somber mood, with its slow, mournful melody and the haunting vocals of Marieke Lightband. The combination of the poetry, music, and vocals makes for a truly moving and evocative piece.
Line by Line Meaning
Sur l’onde calme et noire où dorment les étoiles
In the calm and black water where the stars sleep
La blanche Ophélia flotte comme un grand lys
The white Ophelia floats like a big Lily
Flotte très lentement, couchée en ses longs voiles
She floats very slowly, lying in her long veils
On entend dans les bois lointains des hallalis
One can hear, from far away in the woods, the sounds of horns
Voici plus de mille ans que la triste Ophélie
It's been over a thousand years since the sad Ophelia
Passe, fantôme blanc, sur le long fleuve noir
Has been passing, white ghost, over the long black river
Voici plus de mille ans que sa douce folie
It's been over a thousand years since her sweet madness
Murmure sa romance à la brise du soir
Whispers her romance to the evening breeze
Le vent baise ses seins et déploie en corolle
The wind kisses her breasts and unfolds her veils
Ses grands voiles bercés mollement par les eaux
Her big veils gently swayed by the waters
Les saules frissonnants pleurent sur son épaule
The shivering willows weep over her shoulder
Sur son grand front rêveur s’inclinent les roseaux
On her big dreamy forehead, the reeds bow
Les nénuphars froissés soupirent autour d’elle
The crumpled water lilies sigh around her
Elle éveille parfois, dans un aune qui dort
Sometimes she awakens, in a sleeping alder
Quelque nid, d’où s’échappe un petit frisson d’aile
Some nest, from where a small shiver of wings escapes
Un chant mystérieux tombe des astres d’or
A mysterious song falls from the golden stars
Et le Poète dit qu’aux rayons des étoiles
And the Poet says that in the rays of stars
Tu viens chercher, la nuit, les fleurs que tu cueillis
You come to pick the flowers at night
Et qu’il a vu sur l’eau, couchée en ses longs voiles
And that he saw on the water, lying in her long veils
La blanche Ophélia flotter, comme un grand lys
The white Ophelia float like a big Lily
Contributed by Nathan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.