PSYCHÉ - Psyché II

Three years on from their remarkable debut (Psyché, 2023), here comes the Naples band's second album, which from the title alone ties back to their previous work. But while in the first record the Mediterranean backdrop to their psychedelic jazz-funk was mostly a mythological and historical suggestion, on this second effort the geographical element feels more tangible and up-to-date, thanks to Arab, African and Middle Eastern inflections, as well as South American and Balearic ones. A Mediterranean as a bridge between cultures, with Naples at its centre, a crossroads of countless influences, near and far, across time and especially across space, shaping hypnotic grooves.

Some know Psyché as the rhythm and backing section for Nu Genea live, but that's only one of the many experiences that Marcello Giannini (Guru, Nu Genea, Slivovitz), Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu, Nu Genea, Funkin Machine) and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea) — joined here by Roberto Porzio (Parbleu, Bassolino and the Nu Genea Live Band) — bring to this project. 

This new record also makes room for prestigious collaborations: Ziad Trabelsi, a Tunisian musician associated with the oud and Arab-Mediterranean music, on the second track "Hurriya (We Must Resist)", a single released last year; and Merve Daşdemir (aka MERVE), a Turkish singer and musician best known for her work with Altın Gün, on "Yallah". Both guests lend their voices to the Psyché sound, adding here a vocal component that was absent before. In doing so, they also enrich, or make more explicit, the political meaning the band wants to channel through its music, starting with themes of freedom and resistance.

Without any official explanation we're aware of, we can still trace some of these thematic threads through the track titles: "Nyama", which opens the album, is a West African word tied to a vital, spiritual force. "Hurriya", meaning freedom in Arabic; "Sabir", the ancient lingua franca of Mediterranean ports. And from there, moving across the map, "Yagé", the name used in parts of South America for ayahuasca, "Cumana dub", where Cumana could be Cumanà in Venezuela, the Cumana railway around Naples, or even the Cumaean Sibyl. Right up to the final return in "Sahra Azul", desert and sky, desert and sea (Azul, blue in Spanish and Portuguese).

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

20/10/2026