After years of musical collaboration, Psylo, a New York-based duo, is releasing their debut single named 'Moonchild.' The song is a victorious representation of the duo's common vision and philosophy. The team consists of rapper Ziggy Zombie and producer Otto Boas, and they have a year of outstanding releases planned.

The two musicians bridge the gap between the past and the future with production evocative of 90’s Bristol trip-hop and East Coast hip hop (something becoming popular amongst artists such as Kendrick Lamar in his new album 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers').

As a sonic descendent of Kendrick Lamar and Erykah Badu, Ziggy Zombie, one half of Psylo, takes you on a journey with his ethereal lyricism. Otto Boas' sound is heavily influenced by the music of the late 1960s and early 1970s woven within a tapestry of 90s hip-hop and trip-hop production.

The duo's decision to refer to themselves as a group rather than a one-off collaboration exemplifies their consistent ambition for making progressive yet eternal music. All of this lends to the clean but rough canvas of their music.

'Moonchild' sets the conceptual framework for an upcoming album, which they describe as an exploration of inner-space. In an interview with Coeval Magazine, they showcase their beliefs and concepts, explain the Psylo world and give us an insight into their superstar future.

How are you guys finding the music scene? Is it what you expected?

Zig: I thought that the concept of Psylo and the talent of me and Otto would be enough for this to have blown the world up already. But, going through this and working on all of this for this long, I have realized there is much more to the industry. I'm trying to find out this deeper thing, figuring out how this is much more than just a song, it's a movement. - and requires effort and work, rather than just being good at what you do.

Otto: As for myself, I have always been tangentially around various scenes, but I am so in my own world in terms of music. So, it was hard to find people who jel with my taste and share the same vision both aesthetically and philosophically - and I tend not to work with people who don’t share this. But, at the same time, I have been pleasantly surprised by the scene here in New York the past several years… people seem to be coming back around to the types of sonics I’ve been working on for years. I feel like the timing is great for us, especially with “trip-hop” resurfacing in the conversation… for instance Kendrick's new album featuring the likes of Beth Gibbons. People are receiving things well, and that's allowing us to find like-minded artists to connect with. We are based in New York, but really… we consider ourselves based on Earth. We’re excited to explore and connect with other scenes, in London, Paris, LA… really all over. What we do is so particular, so we are excited for people who resonate with it to find us, and for us to find them.

Tell me about the journey both of you have gone through, were you both exposed to music as a child?

Otto: Good question, Ziggy what you got?

Zig: I got introduced to music at a very young age. My step-dad is a writer and producer, he did 'turn the beat around'. So, I was always exposed to music as a kid, then when I linked with my biological father he was a huge hip-hop fan. I always say one of my first musical memories was riding around with my dad in his big blue Ford Expedition, cruising through Harlem blasting WuTang and Dmx, Jay-Z etc. I was only about 4 or 5, but I knew this feeling was infectious. I was so addicted to that energy of headbanging in the car, getting lost in the sport of rapping.. All the artists I was introduced to at a young age were real characters, with perfected personas. I was always determined to be not just a poet, but a rap star, there's a difference to me.

Otto: I grew up in a house with a lot of appreciation for music and art in general. My dad grew up in the 60’s British invasion era and Beatle mania - that was such a phenomenon when he was a kid. When I was a kid he saw music as cultural education, for instance, my sister and my Christmas gifts were always CDs of music he felt we should be educated on… Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Aretha and a lot of Motown, stuff he was into as a kid which he then plugged us into. From there I have always loved and gravitated towards the late 60’s and early 70s eras. Then when I got to high school and college I started getting deep into 90’s hip-hop like Gang Starr for instance… realizing I knew this source material they were sampling from inside out and that this type of production was a way for me to modernise and recontextualise the late 60’s, early 70’s music I loved without simply recreating it.

Where did the name PSYLO originate?

A combination of psy as in the latin route for psyche and silo as in a missile silo, meaning the mind is a weapon.

The new single 'Moonchild' showcases a gritty 90s NYC hip hop vibe, is this a signature sound we should keep expecting?

Otto: There is definitely a foundation there… but looking at 90’s East Coast hip hop through the lens of “trip-hop” (a term understandably derided by its de facto creators) I realized there was still so much room for innovation in this type of production. I never wanted to just recreate Premier or Rza beats. We want to keep our sound moving forward into the 21st century. We obviously have a lot of influences from the past, but we are trying to take things into the future - aiming for a feeling of retro-futuristism.

Zig: I feel like 'Moonchild' is where it starts, it's a song that brings me back to those “head banging” moments with my dad. I want to develop more in the science of what music does to people. How melodies affect souls, and I want to be able to tap into these people in different ways. So, yes we are always going to be open to exploring different sounds.

Otto: Yeah, we wanna be as progressive as possible… while staying true to our roots. We have a wide frame of references and so we try and incorporate all these elements into a cohesive whole. 90s East Coast-style production is definitely part of the foundation of Psylo’s sound… but not the end goal.

What are the main inspirations behind the single?

Otto: When I was in college I got deep into the study of the physics of consciousness. It was mind-blowing learning about ancient cultures going back thousands of years that have belief systems now being validated through modern science… which considers consciousness as a field, the substrate of all reality. The crazy part is before I even spoke to Zig about any of this, it was already exactly what his lyrics outlined. And that's the basis of 'Moonchild'.

Zig: With me and Otto, we wanted to give people an insight into our concept of reality, with a punch. We want to punch people in the mouth with consciousness. I think 'Moonchild' does a good job of that, the production, the words it all punches you in the mouth. Being beat up by consciousness. We wanna provoke thought! I am the Subconscious rapper getting people to just simply think.

Otto: Yeah, that's it Zig - Once the foundation for the beat was there he laid down the lyrics and we knew we were on to a vibe, it just came together so naturally.

You have an album coming out, can you let us into any details from this future body of work?

Otto: There are 14 tracks on the album, one thing we want to make clear is it's a coherent body of work, a cohesive project which we have put loads of thought into. We were determined to make an actual album not just a collection of songs. I always appreciated art whether music, film etc… where if you took anything away it wouldn't be complete and if you added anything more, it wouldn't be necessary and would be superfluous. Our first track 'Moonchild' has really laid out the concept for the whole album, it's the starting point, and establishes the foundation of Psylo both aesthetically and philosophically.

How would you like your music to develop even more over the next couple of years?

Otto: I have always liked the concept of the early Gorillaz stuff, particularly their 1st and 2nd albums. They created their own world with different artists who would be put together in unpredictable ways. When they would feature an artist it was them stepping into the world of Gorillaz. I would love to create future work with features in that vein, a complete collaboration as artists we love to step into Psylo’s world and conceptual framework.

Zig: I imagine Sunday Service, minus Kanye, minus so much Religion. Add spirituality and consciousness - boom!