Consciousness-expanding sound enriched with a string section. The essence of psychedelic spirit. Ageless. All colours at once! Read our discussion with The Polychromatics.
All of the colors at once
Describe your sound in 3 words
Psychedelic, Lush, Layered
You incorporate orchestral strings in your arrangement in a very creative way. Tell us a few things about Sequences from the Punch Dimension 5 tracks EP and how it differs from your rest of your catalogue.
Sequences was a thought experiment of John’s to show the Polys audience a more vulnerable component to his compositions, the lyrics for the majority of the songs are simple and in plain language, and the compositions themselves are rudimentary. The goal was to incorporate strings as the flourishing intricate counterpoint to these simple song structures!
What made you gravitate towards psychedelia?
We’ve all had psychedelic experiences in one form or another and we find it a natural vehicle to express ourselves. There’s an odd intersection between serenity, panic, introspection, humor, and love that can be found in those experiences, and we attempt to emulate those experiences through our sonic palate.
Which band leads the (neo)psychedelic sound/scene today?
Double Suede
Delay 77
Bird Furniture
The Riko and Whaler Collective
Mindwipes
In which place or state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
Any state of mind really, we don’t know if we desire our audience to be whacked out of their mind while listening to our music, but if they are that’s quite alright with us.
John would probably say he’d wish that the audience viewed the works as a holistic thematic flowing piece. In the way that we’re conditioned to view movies as a sum of its parts.
How do you relate to the music scene of Philadelphia? And what do you love/hate about Philly?
We relate to the people primarily, an amalgamation of wayward people in either early college who have for the first time found an interesting collective off the beaten path, or people who have stayed in the scene for years and have grown roots, appreciating those who are coming up the curve from those initial house shows.
We love that everyone is willing and able to accept those who have the courage to stand up in front of a crowd and present art. It’s very open and facilitating!
This isn’t something we necessarily hate but we would love to see more Psych bands carve out a substantial portion of the scene, primarily it’s been relegated to the bands mentioned above who are trying to build a community in that vein of music. Polys have been trying to do it since 2017 or so and we are starting to see that scene develop for sure!
How Did You Meet?
John pulled each member from the cosmic aether in some form or another.
Jordan and he attended the same music studio and the first time he heard her voice he immediately asked to play. They developed some songs writing in their basements and the rest was history! Jordan’s been with John from the beginning and their vocal meshing really is the foundation of the emotional center.
Jimmy was pulled in through the same music studio, he was a mutual student of another. He showed up to The Polys practice space and we asked him if he was familiar with Interstellar Overdrive – Pink Floyd, and he said “…yeah I think I can play that.” He crushed it.
Isaac and John had a mutual friend in college and they met in the student lounge between classes. Isaac looked the part of a musician and John went out on a limb to see if he was. The gamble paid off, the two practiced at Isaac’s family home where he played drums. After about 3 hours of the duo John said “Well. We already have a drummer…do you want to play guitar?” Thankfully Isaac obliged!
The quiet man Gisli was also mutual friends with one of John’s and he was roped in to play bass on our very first gig back 2017, John invited him to play but the timing wasn’t right, after needing a substitute bassist for a show roughly a year later Gisli stood in and afterwards just kept coming to practices and shows…John has been eternally grateful!
Our newest addition Cory came to us through John’s girlfriend, Emily! She and Cory worked together and when a spot opened up in the roster Emily got them connected. Cory’s had some extensive experience performing, including but not limited to multiple record label deals, performing Warped Tour, and playing all over the country. Why he threw his hat in the ring with us we’ll never know!
What is the story behind your name?
The Origins of our name must remain a mystery to keep ancient gods from collapsing our dimension
If the music of The Polychromatics was a colour, which colour would that be?
All of the colors at once!
Thank you!
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