Sabine Holler (of Psymon Spine), Sending Love

Arts

Feb 12

Featured

Whether leading the mathy Jennifer Lo-Fi or playing bass in dreamy indie outfit Barrie, Sabine Holler’s amour for composition is rooted in a passion integral to herself. “When I first fell in love with music, it was a platform of expression and self-discovery,” the artist explains. “I started writing songs as a form of therapy and the immediate response was surprisingly positive. It was where I found my community, allowing music to become a life path.” 13 years after her first release, Sabine expresses gratitude for the transformative connections and travels along the way. “Music has definitely embellished my life and given me a sense of purpose.”

Psymon Spine, with fellow Barrie contributor Noah Prebish, has been another adventure in the throes of adaptation. Joining in 2019 with ⅓ of the newest album already penned, Sabine was “more than happy to be given the space and the opportunity to create on such a wonderful and fun music landscape”. With a string of songs slowly revealed (most recently “Channels”), the “Jumprope” video was an innovation in distance, filmed in Berlin where Sabine has been residing since the COVID restrictions as the rest of the band nestles in Brooklyn. Lush with mutant no-wave funk, historically eponymous to the band’s stomping grounds, Psymon Spine’s sophomore Charismatic Megafauna (Northern Spy) arrives next Friday February 19th with delectable contributions from Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT and Barrie Lindsay.

With a roster as prolific as Sabine’s, her musical sensibilities rely on openness above all. “Just like any relationship, I believe that when we create with people, we exchange a bit of who we are and get a bit of the person in return,” she shares. “Every musical collaboration I've ever done has contributed to building my artistic identity.” The Brazilian/German singer and musician shimmers both solo, exemplified in "Hot Sauce", while adding immeasurable value to an explosion of other projects, including Ema Stoned, Mawn and the works of Sessa.

Her lengthy experience in a men-dominant industry has been complimented by many of the “talented sensitive men that I got to meet through music”. As a queer musician, however, the external social dynamics have been an additional challenge: “Most prejudices come from a place of disinformation. I am always very proud to be who I am, and I am always very open to talking about it, and I don't let anyone judge me incorrectly because of who I am.”

Psymon Spine’s youthful energy met with 2020’s surreality has yielded quite the learning experience. Through and through, community has been the glue. “I deeply love my friends. Some friendships took a different shape in the pandemic, and even being far away, I call some friends once or twice a week just to have a beer with them on FaceTime,” Sabine says. “It's important to help each other emotionally to go through all this madness. We definitely need more romance in the world, regardless of its frame.”

In honor of platonic love and beyond, Psymon Spine shares some of their favorite queerrific jams with WUSSY, just in time for the weekend: