October 20, 2016, at 5:39 a.m.
Powercyan may not be from the Earth that you and I share. It’s possible the entirety known as Powercyan may be from Saturn, like other famous musicians, such as Sun Ra. The fifth release, first feature from the artist Powercyan caught our ears. It is a masterpiece of the heavy new techno sound some people call SYNTHWAVE. Heavily influenced by digital sounds of the 1980’s and jam packed with some ferocious guitar work, CYBERNATION, is a very strong effort indeed.
Powercyan was kind enough to answer a few questions for Slickster Magazine. Enjoy.
#synthwave #powercyan #newmusic #EDM
Interview With Powercyan
Slickster: CYBERNATION is awesome! (That’s not really a question.)
Powercyan: Thanks for your interest in my music.
You’re welcome. CYBERNATION is your fifth release correct? Can you describe a few ways in which you’ve grown as a musician over the course of the five releases?
Yes, my first album, after releasing four single tracks. It started out in the overall EDM/electro genre but moving slowly towards my own blend of styles which is what you hear in the Cybernation EP.
CYBERNATION is fairly guitar heavy. Do you play guitar? If not, who plays the guitar on the tracks?
Guitar was the first instrument I’ve learned in this lifetime.
How do you get those really meaty guitar sounds? Is it a tube amp or all guitar software plugins?
I’ve used a tube amp for a while but I get a very good sound now from digital processing only. The quality of the guitar itself and the pickups are important here.
Some of the guitar solos, especially at the end of the album are super shred fests! How do you keep your chops in shape?
I workout. 😉
Let’s get away from guitar for a moment. Can you give us a quick rundown of the other gear/software you use to craft your tracks?
Everyone has their tools, and you get used to them. I can say though that I have moved to Bitwig as my main DAW [Digital Audio Workstation] and it has been wonderful since then.
Cybernation was produced entirely with it.
Some people call your genre of music, “SYNTHWAVE.” Is that a fair term? If not, what would you call it?
Synthwave, futurewave, electro rock… Like many artists, our work has many influences, but I can say that is a ruling genre, yes.
Why, in your opinion, has there been such a string resurgence of 80’s influenced music coming back into style?
The massive influence of the 29-years cycle of Saturn certainly plays on the creative and emotions of humans.
Name your top five 80’s movies. GO!
There’s just too many… Blade Runner, Terminator, Robocop, Back to the Future, Tron, Aliens, etc. Well, you know.
How has YouTube played a role in building your fanbase? Do you feel they treat artists fairly?
I haven’t been really active on the YouTube platform but it is certainly there for good.
Some channels were kind enough to publish my work. I find that it is much more relevant to visual artists than musicians.
What do you have upcoming that you’d like to promote? Any live shows, special edition releases, etc.?
I’m working on something very cool that you’ll see before the end of the year. Also a second album with.
Last question: What, if anything, would you like to say to the world about POWERCYAN and CYBERNATION?
I want to say that a revolution is coming…