A jubilant and bustling cinematic explosion of gypsy ska and western hues arrived recently via In My Mind, the new single from Perth-based international six-piece collective The Witchy Djypsies.
Instantly erupting with pulsing beats and prowling basslines, In My Mind careens into moody yet mischievous terrain as it balances smoky western backdrops against punchy brass, deep harmonies and a sprinkle of string shedding (“I’m surprised we didn’t melt the strings,” shares drummer Jimmy Marelich). Drawing inspiration from prominent yeo-tone ska act Madness, as well as the likes of Strangely Arousing, The Cat Empire, Doe Maari, Zoufris Maracs and Mano Negra, In My Mind is a euphoric and eclectic immersion for the senses that defies time and genres; something The Witchy Djypsies are fluent in, with the fever dream qualities in the track also stemming from some real-world experiences.
“I wanted to write a song about overthinking and feeling everything all at once,” says vocalist and instrumentalist Joana Lavole. “I was sitting outside at about 2am in a dead silent night witnessing the endless train of thoughts and overwhelming feelings that come with it. I wrote the intro then and had a bit of a concept. I brought it to the band, and we shaped it together! We actually worked on that track while touring up north in 2022. We had just done our last gig in Exmouth and we all got COVID. We were stuck on a campsite and I do believe the fever brought out the best of us!”
Teaming up with some of Perth’s finest, The Witchy Djypsies recorded In My Mind at Hopping Mouse Studio with Hunter Percy (Saturated Analog) and Stu McLaughlan, with mixing by Nathan Bell (Bell Acoustics) and mastering by Rob Grant at Poons Head Studios. “We always bounce ideas with our long-time friend and FOH engineer Zak Johnson too!” adds Joana. “The track was produced by us in-house, but especially by Dennis, our bassman, who poured a lot of energy in this whole process!”
Bringing together six talented artists and their musical backgrounds, with members hailing from France, Guadeloupe, The Netherlands and Australia, The Witchy Djypsies have been casting musical spells since vocalist and instrumentalist Joana Lavole first crossed paths with guitarist Sam Ukkola in 2018, leading to jamming, busking and, ultimately, a makeshift band of travellers settling in Western Australia and turning their gaze to writing songs together – and they’ve never looked back. Now consisting of Joana and Sam as well as backing vocalist and bassist Dennis Kooij, backing vocalist and saxophonist Christopher Best, drummer James Marelich and guitarist Leo Ollivier, The Witchy Djypsies fuse Latin beats, cheeky gypsy jazz and brass-infused ska rhythms with refreshing ease, also armed with a potent live presence that has seen them charm at Nannup Music Festival and Blossom Festival, as well at their own headline shows.
While In My Mind takes centre stage now, there’s still a whole lot more in store for The Witchy Djypsies in the near future, with even more new music and live shows on the horizon – get your dancing shoes at the ready!
“We’ve had In My Mind in our pockets for a while!” reveals Joana. “We’ve worked hard on this track and it’s been a pretty long process. We’re excited to put it out there in the world! We’ve got more tracks in the bank that we are hoping to release in the next few years. If you haven’t seen us yet, you’re in for a wild surprise. And if you live on the East Coast, start stretching now coz we’re coming in hot!”
In My Mind is out now
To celebrate the release of the band’s latest release ‘In My Mind’, they kindly pondered a few questions for us
Tell us about your latest release and plans for rest of the year
Our latest release is ‘In My Mind’, is a cowboy inspired journey into the never ending land of thoughts bursting out of an overstimulated mind. It’s been a super fun process writing, recording and releasing it! We’ve just topped it off with a huge sold out show at Mojo’s Bar in Freo which was absolutely crazy! For the rest of the year we would love to be branching out towards the East Coast, travelling some new frontiers, writing more songs and also releasing our new single Chasing the Sun.
Your dream collaboration?
Madness, The Cat Empire, Deluxe… but that really depends on who you ask in the band! We all love different genres, everything from Jazz to Metal!
What are your main music making tools?
Our instruments…Okay serious answer, probably the best tool we have is actual time together haha! Devoting time for the band where we go somewhere all together and just have the goal to hang out for a week and write some music actually ends up being incredibly productive for us!
Also, a bit corny but the love we have for each other and the fun we are having together!! This band is a family and that is a serious ingredient in our song writing process. Each of us having different influences and backgrounds coming to the table definitely makes for an interesting mix in the cauldron when it comes to writing our music!
What’s on your gear wish list?
In Ear Monitors! PLEASE! Sound check always sounds so good but as soon as we jump on stage for the show we all wish we had in ears. And a very strong fan for Chris and Leo. Our sets are like loud and sweaty workouts hahaha
Craziest merch idea?
Full set bed sheets with Dennis’s face on it saying “FASTER!!”
We have this one song that drives people nuts because it goes faster and faster and Dennis yells at the people and the people yell back “faster!” way too many times hahaha. We get people just saying that at random moments in between songs and we know that’s them asking for that one song in particular!
Where do you generally find inspiration for your music?
Our songs tell stories of the life we live, the people around us, love, mental health… The great human experience in general! In terms of sound, I think the big diversity of music taste we have in the band makes our music really unique! We want to create a musically exciting experience for ourselves and our amazing public. The biggest inspiration for us is to have fun together and transmit this energy to whoever is listening!