Psykhi is a London-based Ghanaian artist who emerged earlier this year with the debut single “White Picket Fence”, with the promise of a debut EP coming soon. We still don’t know the details of the EP, but we have an excellent new song and video called “Rat Poison”, about which he says:
“It’s a horror story in a song. I wanted to paint an intense scene that is reminiscent of gothic literature; to create a sense of wonder and terror, mirrored by the chaos and harmony of the guitars.”
Considering the theme and Psykhi’s affirmation that it’s a “horror story”, you will probably be at first taken aback at how light and breezy the guitars that introduce “Rat Poison” are. They lure you in with a summer vibe, Psykhi’s voice tripping in a natural way as he scuttles through images that you might find hard to catch but seem to illustrate a mind in turmoil, which is soon underlined by a blast of fuzzy guitar that reflects the true aggressive nature of the character. Throughout, he returns to the refrain “tell ’em all about me”; this character is all about murdering for the reputation it’ll bring them, and somehow that makes them all the scarier – but doesn’t stop “Rat Poison” from being an absolute bop that could sneak onto your summer playlist.
On the video, creator Peter Spanjer says:
“With the Rat Poison video, I was really interested in the juxtaposition between the themes of the lyrics and the lightness of the sound which made me think about the role I wanted (red) light and darkness to play against each other. Within that, I started to discover and play with the shapes of Psykhi’s body, which wasn’t planned but became a focal point of the video and part of the story.”
Watch the video below or listen to “Rat Poison” on streaming services.
Psykhi’s “Rat Poison” is out via Globe Town Records with an EP following soon. You can find him on Instagram.
