Who are Mystic Peach?

Southampton based Psych-Rock band Mystic Peach recently released their latest single and first music video, "The Eye and the Twitch," a single that reflects a very real and personal life relationship.

We sat down to speak with lead vocalist and guitarist, Curtis Gale, to discuss the bittersweet truth behind the band's decision-making process, working with George Murphy, the hard realizations of everyday life choices, and where the band is headed in the new year.

How would you describe your sound to someone who had not yet heard of or is familiar with the band?

Curtis: If I tried to describe it, I reckon it would just be a load of nonsense. Other writers and publications have described us as psych-punk, which I think is fitting to the sound of the band.

Mystic Peach is based in Southampton, but you are associated with the Portsmouth Psych scene. Does Southampton not have much of a music scene to get actively involved in?

Curtis: There is a scene within Southampton, but I don't think it's as pigeonholed as other areas. There are little pockets within Southampton that mingle together; everyone is sort of into multiple different bands. There's a scene, but I couldn't describe it, it's just a bit of everything! Not your typical/usual scene.

With Portsmouth Psych Festival, especially when we first started, it was easier to migrate to that specific scene within Portsmouth as it was easier to gather a crowd due to the sound we were playing and the other bands that were there.

What do you hope that people take away from your live performances?

Curtis: Hopefully, they're entertained; to want to come watch us again! That’s what any band would want.

Your first single ‘Downtown’ came out back in 2017. I’ve read you all felt the single was a bit rushed. If you were to do things over again, would you have held onto that release until you all felt more confident with the release?

Curtis: We would of all, in hindsight, wanted to have held back a bit, but at the same time, if we hadn't released the single, we wouldn't have figured out what we really wanted to do.

Obviously, looking back, not that we're ashamed of the song, but it did seem a bit rushed. But, I don't think we would have got a good start if we hadn't as a lot of people did like it. It’s bittersweet. It was our first single; I don't think at that time, we knew what we wanted to do.

You worked with George Murphy (The Big Moon, Yowl, HMLTD). How was that experience approached? What made Murphy the perfect person to help produce your tracks?

Curtis: Our manager, who also manages with Hotel Lux, had set up a session with Murphy for them. Around this time, we were trying to figure out what was best to do for our production, mainly me, as I was a bit stubborn back in the day. I wanted to keep it as DIY and local as possible; I wanted a knit tight community around us. Our manager showed us the Hotel Lux single, which sounded great, and we decided to go ahead and work with Murphy.

Ever since the first sesson, we've always stuck by him; he lets us just get on with it, and he truly understands what we're going for. He allows us to be experimental and not as experimental as we want. He sticks us in a room and allows us to go mental. In the end, he produces absolute magic to our ears, at least! That what makes him perfect for us.

Gale, you seem to take the lead when it comes to writing. What sort of things captivate you and give you inspiration?

Curtis: I guess I do take the lead, but at the same time, I am sort of just the guy that brings the spine in, and the boys will capitalize on that, and we all make the song together. Even on later dates, I will ask Joe to help me out with lyrics when my brain is fried.

Anything inspires me; day-to-day stuff, relationships, the things I have suffered, and or are suffering from, the cliche millennial problems. Things that make me sad, happy, or whatnot. I never try to force anything out; just let it happen really.

You’ve just released ‘The Eye and the Twitch’ through Gigwise, which you’ve said is about a lack of sleep, confusing fantasies, and mood swings. Was this something that you were facing in your everyday life?

Curtis: It was definitely something I was struggling with at that time. It was a weird time; I wasn't suffering, I grew to like the feeling of not sleeping; the erratic mood swings, and the erratic behavior. It then led to me becoming quite selfish at times; instead of helping myself, I was making it worse. I made my relationship with my girlfriend quite difficult.

When I wrote the song, it was on Valentine's day. My girlfriend had come over to drink some wine and spend the night with me, and she had to sit on my bed and watch me be completely selfish with my time and write this song. I was conscious of my actions, but I didn't really care. I turned around to her, and I could see she was mad, and that's where the course comes from. It all piled into that.

It was definitely something I was facing in my everyday life, but that doesn't mean it was a negative impact either.

What was it like to work with Katia Ganfield?

Curtis: Especially as it was the first music video we had ever worked on that scale and a tight budget; bless her, she made it work so well. She used the funds that we could give her. She was excellent and so patient with us. She, again, sort of let us get on with it. She'd say 'record' and let us do what we do. She's a wonderful person, and for anyone that is struggling to think of a video or is a bit nervous, I would definitely suggest working with Katia. She knows what she's doing, and she knows what to get out of you.

Will your up-coming releases reflect a similar style/sound?

Curtis: There will definitely be a similar sound; our sound is our sound, I don't think that will change much. You'll hear different influences and different ways of how we approach songs. It's not just the same structure as before.

You developed a really strong roster of bands that you have opened for (Lumer, Yowl, Black Lips, Crows, etc.), what’s been one of your favorite bands to play with? Any good stories to go with that?

Curtis: A lot of these shows were mid-week, and we all work, so it's hard to stay out for the whole gig, especially if it's up in Leeds or something out of town. We played with YAK fairly recently, which was a local gig for us. YAK is basically our idols, so for us, this was a wonderful experience. It was a one of a kind show for us.

What have you got planned for the New Year so far? Any goals that you’re hoping to achieve?

Curtis: The usually start of year things like book a couple of gigs here and there. We are going to New York in March for the New Colossus Festival, which will be fun! I believe we're playing in France during the summer; this next year will be more gig focused than in previous years, just gigging, releasing, and less on the creative side. By the end of the year, I think our goal is to gain a bigger following, get more songs out on Spotify, and just have fun with it, not take it too seriously!