Psychoda swing by for a deep dive into the writing and recording process and gear rundown around their new single ‘Waste’.
Last month, we were blessed by the pure rock revelry that is ‘Waste’, the latest single from Australian band Psychoda.
Brimming with thunderous drum rolls and ear-splitting bass, the track is a masterclass in cathartic noise, and was described by bandmate Mike Montgomery as “the fully-fledged sound” of Psychoda.
“It’s the first time where years of planning was used,” Montgomery told us in an interview “no time or money spared.”
So feverish was our reaction to ‘Waste’ that we simply had to catch up with the band for a deeper insight into its writing and recording process.
Montgomery offers just that below, with a gear rundown of the tools and instruments used to craft ‘Waste’. Catch all these insights below, and scroll down to listen to Pyschoda’s latest single.
The foundation of Waste was written around early 2021, I was trying a new approach to writing riffs at the time. I already had the verse parts but needed something a little different for the chorus parts.
What I would do is get my guitar and tune all of the strings way out so you can’t play any normal chords. Here, you need to move around the board until you hear something you like.
I’d work on it for a bit and then record it on voice memos. Later, I’d transpose this to the original tuning and learn how to play the progression.
Most of my favourite riffs have been birthed this way. After having the verse and chorus, the rest of the song just fell into place naturally.
When I usually write vocal parts, I’ll create the riff or chord progression and just hum over it until I can find a strong melody.
Words don’t really matter as much to me vs having a strong melody. I was inspired by King Buzzo (Melvins) as he uses a similar approach.
Then, I’d write down some lyrics that would fit the tune and tweak them over time until I was happy with them.
Starting to get the song down pat: I first recorded the basics of the song on a demo at home, here I was able to get down the 101s for how the song would turn out.
Next, the band jammed on it (the demo was all me). Once we had it down solid, we went out to Shoe Horse Sound in Beechwood, NSW to get a demo of it. After a year of playing it live and making some tweaks, we decided to feature it on the EP.
Recording at the Brain Studios, Sydney: Alright, time to nerd out a little here…
Having fully opened possibilities into getting the perfect sound with Clay & Angie at The Brain, we took extra time to make sure we were all happy.
Here’s the gear we used on ‘Waste’:
Amps:
– 1997 Marshall JCM900 SL-X (heavy rhythm parts)
– 1982 Marshall JCM800 2203 (distortion rhythm tones)
– Matamp GT2 MK2 (clean guitar & lead parts)
– Ampeg HSVT-CL (bass)
Guitars:
– 2012 Gretsch MIJ 6128TVP (all rhythm and clean parts)
– 2019 Gibson SG Standard (heavy rhythm parts)
– 2006 Maton Mastersound MS-500 (lead parts)
– 2017 Warwick Streamer LX-4 Germany (bass)
Pedals:
– Keeley compressor pro
– Keeley loomer reverb
– TC Electronic Sentry
– Boss Equalizer GE-7
– Proco Rat 2 w/ modded LM308 chip
– Abominable Sunbather DI (in JCM900 FX loop)
– Fortin Zuul Gate
Cabinets:
– Matamp: 2×12 w/ Celestion T5953 90w Alnico Creamback speakers
– Marshall: 4×12 w/ Celestion G12T-75
Mics: (Eric Valentine technique)
– Beyerdynamic 201 (on matamp & marshall cab)
– Sennheiser 421 (on matamp & marshall cab)
– Coles 4038 (room)
Desk:
– Quad Eight 2082
