Tokyo-born, Sydney-based electronic artist Nyxen releases her new single ‘PXNK’ (pronounced “punk) out now via BMG/Tank Top Records. The single comes alongside the announcement of her debut album of the same title, PNXK, set to be released Friday, July 1 and available now for pre-order here.
Known for her intricate synth work, Nyxen has carved a unique space for herself at the intersection of dance, indie, and pop music. A beautiful execution of Nyxen’s ambitious sound design, ‘PXNK’ is a skillful blend of lively arpeggiated basslines, sultry vocals, and groove-riddled melodies.
STREAM HERE https://nyxen-music.lnk.to/PXNK-single
What inspired this last release?
PXNK (punk) is inspired by the sounds and visuals of Cyberpunk movies.
Images of a smoke filled 2080 drove the backbone of this instrumental and it was important for me to nail these scenes sonically in order for that to meaningfully translate to the listener.
The song is littered with rave stabs, static broadcasts and low arpeggiated bass lines to pull you deeper into that high tech, low life world.
What is something you can’t live without?
I don’t think I could live without my Prophet or my Godin electric guitar. Both have been the backbone of almost all of my releases so it would be very hard to part with them.
The Prophet was a terrible financial decision haha, I was a bit broke after that one but I soldiered through because I didn’t want to give it up.
The first day I had the Prophet I stayed up all night and wrote the synth parts to my track ‘Insomnia’ and the synth parts to a song that will soon be released with my album, finally calling it a day when the sun started to rise, a habit I haven’t been able to kick. I’m always the most productive in the middle of the night, perhaps less distractions and more time to fall down the rabbit hole.
Any funny anecdotes from the time you were recording or writing this?
I don’t think anything particularly funny stands out, the writing happens in my home studio, usually in the middle of the night. The funny stuff probably happens when I jump into fine tuning the tracks with Frank Xavier at his studio. We’re always having a laugh, I took my dog along quite a bit and he usually has a packet of cheetos waiting for me to munch on.
What’s your favorite thing to do besides music?
Music has always been my number one hobby, tinkering on my synths, playing guitar, annoying my neighbours with obnoxiously loud DJ sets in the middle of the day, deconstructing old songs and reproducing them to figure out how they work. If I’m not doing this stuff I’m probably playing fortnite (badly haha), fishing, trying to cook something delicious for friends or taking my dog somewhere fun to run around. I started teaching highschool students how to produce a few years ago, it’s always something I look forward to. I’m always so impressed with what they create and it really inspires me to see young people discovering music the way I did when I was their age.
What’s a record or artist that shaped your creativity?
Emily Haines is probably the number one artist that shaped me. I remember the first Metric song I heard was “Help I’m Alive”. I was watching Rage (a music video show in Australia) and the song just pulled me in, I was so taken back by the sound and soon dug into the rest of their music. I don’t think I know and love that many songs from another single band or artist.
I used to have my guitar amp next to my bed, hooked up to my ipod and I’d play their music on repeat every night, constantly asked to turn it down until it was almost a whisper. I’d sleep as close to that amp as possible, falling asleep and waking up to their music.
Who is an artist or band you look up to today?
John Carpenter! I always loved his films and scores but hearing his album ‘Lost Themes III: Alive After Death’ gave me such a different view of him as an artist. The album is like listening to an orchestra of synths and guitars, he has a talent for capturing the themes and emotions he’s portraying sonically. Such an obviously talented person, with an enviable synth collection.
What excites you the most about what you do?
It’s the process of writing for me. When I start writing an idea that I love, it’s like an addiction. I could sit in my studio for hours just figuring out where it’s going. I feel like once you finish a song, you start to get anxiety and worry about how the song will be perceived which is natural for anyone but it’s the process that I love, you’re not really worrying about anything other than what the song needs and how you feel about it.
