On Yer Psyche

“I dropped out of university and pursued the dream,” says Psyched promoter Ben Cattell. “I’m always in a state of disbelief that I’m in a position to book artists me and my mates would be getting noise complaints and disciplinary meetings for playing.”

While Ben’s penchant for UK garage probably won’t be missed by the Bristol Uni wardens, his passion for music has found an appreciative audience elsewhere. Having served an apprenticeship with Fear of Fiction, Love Saves The Day and In:Motion, Ben decided to go it alone. Eighteen months later Psyched has one of Bristol’s busiest promotions schedules, with recent bookings for Coki, Yung Lean and Ifan Dafydd as well as a birthday bash for garage pioneer Scott Garcia featuring DJ Luck and MC Neat, Sunship and Congo Natty.

Next up for Psyched is a night headlined by Rustie, who stops off in Bristol during a world tour for his second album Green Language. “Rustie has always pushed the sonic boundaries of electronic dance music,” says Ben, citing early releases Jagz The Smack and Zig Zag, which blended dubstep and hip-hop with synapse-destroying synths. Ben regards Rustie’s 2011 debut album Glass Swords as “one of the greatest electronic albums ever made – After Light should be dropped in every set ever.”

A mood-swinging affair compared with its endlessly sparkling predecessor, Green Language has – perhaps inevitably – met with a more mixed reaction from critics. “Every artist explores new sounds, and Green Language is a clearly an exploration down a slightly different avenue,” says Ben, adding that it has “bangers aplenty… just wait until Raptor drops on the 17th.”

Main support comes from Bristol’s own Joker, the purple prodigy who rose to fame with anthems like Gully Brook Lane and Digidesign. Like Rustie – his collaborator on 2008’s Play Doe – Joker has recently dropped a second LP. “I was down at the album launch last Wednesday,” says Ben. “Let’s just say it’s something forward. He’s really taken it to the next level”.

The launch was at Who Cares, which Ben describes as “the best midweek night in Bristol – just an amazing atmosphere. It’s great to see so many Bristol heads coming together to create a night that special.” Also on the bill are fast-rising grime artist MssingNo – “easily my favourite upcoming producer of the last few years… this guy’s made for big things” – and Plastician, the original grime and dubstep godfather who continues to push the boundaries of bass music via his passionately curated Terrorythm imprint. 

Also this month is a rescheduled show for Lone, the Nottingham-based cult hero whose music – drawing on ambient, techno, hip-hop and pretty much everything else – makes him a natural successor to the vintage UK electronica of artists like Aphex Twin, Black Dog and Autechre. Support comes from fascinating newcomer Romare. “His new album’s just been released on Ninja Tune”, Ben enthuses, “and it’s really, really good.”

So where does Psyched go after that? “At the moment I’m taking it one night at a time,” says Ben, “but all I can say is June 5th.” As for the night’s general direction, he’s keen to avoid being restricted by genres: “I could never be held down to one sound as there’s so much amazing stuff out there to be explored, and I want to bring the best to Bristol.”

Psyched X NNTS present Rustie at Lakota on Tuesday, March 17

Psyched presents Lone (live) and Romare at Start The Bus on Saturday, March 28

For more information visit Psyched