Myco

Myco‘s self-titled EP is part prog rock soundscape, part David Bowie hook worship, and entirely a trip down a psychedelic wormhole. The EP covers a lot of land despite its five songs–it bounces from lyrically driven psych pop to solo filled atmospherics, from funk inspired grooves to droning tones. That these styles can come together over such a short span of time is nothing short of musical magic.

The self-titled EP begins with the track “Contact.” A mix of droning didgeridoo-like sounds and weirded electronic tones set the groundwork for Myco’s guitar riffs. Musically, the song, and the EP as a whole, occupies the same realm as Bobby Beausoleil’s psychedelic masterpiece Lucifer Rising. Slowly building lush sound collages, Myco is able to create a surprising amount of depth to his songs. “Contact” is a hazy, smoke-filled introduction to the record’s progressive twists and turns.

But to get hung up on the band’s instrumentals only is to miss some of the great vocal melodies that punctuate Myco‘s solo-saturated aesthetic. Blending David Bowie’s odd and uber-catchy phrasing with Roger Waters’ whispered gruffness, Myco uses the voice to color some of the songs with more pop flourishes. The result is an EP that constantly fluctuates between genres. At some moments, it is heavy psych and at others it’s weird pop at its finest.

At the center of the EP is “Shower,” a dazed track that uses reverb and echo to blend its melodies together. Landing further on the electronic side of the continuum, “Shower” balances the danceable and the solo with ease. With a chorus that is as catchy as anything you would find on a major label release, the song bubbles with a pop tension that acts as the perfect counterpoint to the EP’s woolier elements.

But the internet and wax are not the only places to hear Myco unfurl their rhizomic melodies. On December 15th, the band will play a release show for this EP at Davey’s Uptown Rambler’s Club. Joined by Mind Galaxy and Bane Union, the show is sure to be a night of tasty psychedelic licks and progressive jams. But if you can’t wait the month to see these guys tear it up on stage, you can pick up Myco’s EP at Mills Record Company in the Local section.

The EP culminates in the 9 minute epic, “Need Some Space.” The track begins as a divided whole–bass tones churn under twinkling keys–, until the guitar sutures the two ends of the sonic spectrum together. “Need Some Space” constantly expands as its rhythms and melodies increase in complexity and nuance. This song seems to combine the fragments of the previous tracks into a solidified whole. One can hear elements of psych, funk, jazz, and prog being threaded together as this monstrous track unwinds. - Mills Record Store

In these posts we take a look at some unique members of the OpenBazaar ecosystem. Today we interview Kyle from the band Myco, which released their new EP exclusively on OpenBazaar for the first week. You can find the Myco store on OpenBazaar, and on Duosearch as well.


Tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Kyle Henry, I’m from Kansas City and started Myco in 2015 after moving back to Kansas City from Hong Kong, where I lived between 2013 and 2015 and taught English as my primary job.

Before moving to Hong Kong I studied botany and mycology and discovered how amazing fungus really is. It is essentially the backbone of ecological systems on land and acts as a decentralized network or internet for organisms on the earth. Plants and fungus form symbiotic relationships and communicate through these fungal networks.

A few years later after I had begun my scientific studies I got involved with bitcoin in 2011 when I started mining them with my GPU. The next year it became pretty much impossible to do so, but I mined about 15 before that happened. While in Hong Kong I continued promoting and using bitcoin and talking to Hong Kong natives about it where ever I went. I found that many people in the tech field there were already aware of bitcoin but most weren’t involved in it. While living there I used bitcoin to transfer money between my bank accounts in the US and Hong Kong. Instead of paying ridiculous fees to do such a thing through my bank I used exchanges and often made a profit when transferring funds.

I ended up moving back to Kansas city in 2015 and started on my project. I’ve been a musician since I was about 14 and I had never officially released anything but music is my passion so I set out to make a project that embodied my beliefs of everything being interconnected and how decentralization and specifically blockchain technology can free us from our slavery. After writing and recording everything I set out to find band members to play live shows and I’ve gone through many members but eventually asked a good friend of mine Andrew MacIntyre to play drums for me. Then I found an amazing guitarist named Jesse Rodriguez and a bassist named Cory Yeager online who have helped me complete this project.

Myco Band OpenBazaar Store

The first song we released is called “Myceliated” and is essentially about fungus and the effect it has on the universe and the human experience as well as decentralization and how bitcoin can end wars. We released this single with a bitcoin qr code on the cover and had a tremendous response from the bitcoin community. We also put a digital download of this song on OpenBazaar once OpenBazaar went public. Months later after a lot of practice the band is ready to start playing shows and we decided to release our debut 5 song EP exclusively on OpenBazaar on September 22 2016 to show our support for decentralization and freedom. The self titled EP will be released globally on most music platforms in fiat currencies on September 26 2016, but we prefer being paid directly in bitcoin.

What do you make / sell?


Original psychedelic rock music.


Why are you selling your product on OpenBazaar?


We want to support innovative platforms that make free trade and liberty possible in this ever increasing statist world.


How has your experience been with OpenBazaar so far?


Openbazaar and it’s community has been great to us so far, we have heard nothing but praise from those who have purchased our music and if we have need help with setting anything up or doing anything on OpenBazaar there has always been incredibly helpful people.


What changes would you like to see to OpenBazaar to make it more useful for you?


I would love to see a feature that allows us to setup a digital download automatically so we don’t have to manually enter everything for every single order. Also, I think it would be great if there were anonymity features built in for other users.. this I believe would push OpenBazaar into the mainstream as it would allow for free trade without the worry of government locking you in a cage.


Anything else you’d like to say?


My favorite author Aldous Huxley once said in the foreword of his book Brave New World “Only a large-scale popular movement toward decentralization and self-help can arrest the present tendency toward statism” When he wrote this in 1932 there was no such movement but now with bitcoin and blockchain technology we have such a movement. Our goal is to spread the message of freedom through decentralization and push the movement further into the mainstream. - Openbazaar

Ever since OpenBazaar was released, content creators immediately took a liking to this decentralized marketplace approach. For smaller artists and creators, monetization has always been a struggle. This is particularly true in the music industry, where competition is relentless and far too many middlemen want their cut.
OpenBazaar Is An Option For Artists

Any artist who wants tor reach or expand upon a global audience may want to take a closer look at OpenBazaar. Myco, a group that can also be found on Bandcamp, has posted their new EP, Vinyl, and CD up for sale on OpenBazaar. Although they are not steering away from more traditional platforms just yet, expanding one’s horizon is never a bad idea.

The Kansas City-based band is not necessarily a good fit for the lover of classical music. Myco’s style of music is all about expressing the psychedelic dream of life. What is intriguing is how their music also wants to empower the message of freedom through decentralization. In a way, it was only a matter of time until they ventured into the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

On the self-titled debut EP, there are five different tracks. All of these songs revolve around the power of the human mind, life, love, and enhanced experiences. Although “psychedelic” may have a negative ring to it, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Music is designed to put people in a different state of mind, and psychedelic rock can achieve that goal perhaps even better than any other style.




It is also worth noting Myco’s first single – titles Myceliated – was released completely free of charge. The band also put a Bitcoin QR code on the cover art, through which they received a few minor donations. All of this goes to show the group is planning to keep accepting Bitcoin payments for future releases.

Right now, their EP digital download is listed on OpenBazaar free of charge. A physical Vinyl will cost users 0.042 Bitcoin, whereas the CD will set users back 0.017 Bitcoin. All of these prices are very cheap, yet the full return will go to Myco themselves. With OpenBazaar and Bitcoin, there are no middlemen involved in the process, reducing overhead costs to a minimum. - TheMerkle.com

Sometimes the best way to come up with new music is to dive back into the past and cherry pick what stood out years ago. Taking this and putting your own new spin on it creates new original music with that vintage feel that music lovers always crave. Our recent discovery Myco has done this quite well.

Myco

The musical project is the brainchild of Kansas City musician Kyle Henry. He likes to put his mind and knowledge of science into his work. In fact the name Myco is the scientific term for fungi. Myco seeks to have people think for themselves and break free of what the power that be are force feeding down their throats.

The debut single release by the Myco project is “Myceliated”. The theme of the song is decentralization, there is even a bitcoin qr code on the cover art to try to help people see how easy it can be. The song is a mix of psychedelia with the classic sounds of 80’s new wave that has been making a strong comeback recently. The winding melodies along with a strong vocal performance lets the listener enter into this exotic world and stay as long as they wish.





Keep up with what is coming next from Myco at:

https://mycoband.bandcamp.com/releases

https://soundcloud.com/mycoband/myceliated-1

https://twitter.com/Mycoband

https://www.facebook.com/Mycoband/ - IndieBandGuru

Kansas City, MO (PRWEB) September 26, 2016

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kyle Henry at mycoband@gmail.com

Mind-Bending, Mushroom-Inspired Band Myco Releasing Self-Titled Debut.

Four-piece psychedelic outfit Myco has released its self-titled debut EP today, for purchase via bitcoin on OpenBazaar.com and through Bandcamp as a 12” vinyl album, CD and digital download. Myco will also be streaming on SoundCloud and YouTube. This breakthrough release will be celebrated with a series of shows in the Kansas City area in October and November 2016.

Myco is a collection of five tracks that illustrate the power of the human mind and showcase psychedelic music trailblazer Henry’s skills as a songwriter and composer. His skills as a multi-instrumentalist shine in each song; he brings out and balances the distinctive and powerful musical voices of bass, piano, guitar and vocals through crafty melodic, harmonic and rhythmic interplay. The album strongly reflects the strengths of Myco’s inspirations, which include ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s prog rock and artists like Pink Floyd, The Doors, ELO, Alan Parsons, Frank Zappa and David Bowie. Myco features a combination of instrumentals and songs with lyrics that highlight perspectives on life, love, enhanced experiences and the joy of letting go.

Myco’s stand-out track “Myceliated” provides insight into the psychedelic experience and was previously released as a single. It encapsulates elements of the band’s central message, that science, spirituality, technology, freedom, everything is interconnected and that decentralization can end the state and wars: “War plane flies to save our lives/Don’t believe these lies/Decentralize.”

Crafty Kansas City, MO-based trio Myco reinvents mind-bending music that swirls together dynamic textures of rock and electronic into a brand-new sound that invites listeners to trip through the stimulating and limitless depths of the human imagination. Keyboardist, vocalist, songwriter and psychedelic visionary Kyle Henry crafts clever lyrics inspired by his own trips through the world of magic mushrooms. He illustrates his personal experiences and explores themes of science, philosophy and spirituality with the help of drummer Andrew MacIntyre, guitarist Jesse Rodriguez and bass guitarist Cory Yeager. Marked by vivid keyboard melodies, infectious guitar hooks and intoxicating grooves, Myco’s intricate recordings show the band’s obsession with fine detail and passion for experimenting with different styles and genres, including psychedelic rock, electronica, new wave, metal and jazz. The band’s live performances are a funk-filled, groovy thrill-ride into its soul, a personal invitation to escape from the world into a bold and expressive alternate universe.

The idea for Myco hit lifelong musician and creator Henry in his late teens and early 20s. Moved by the cerebral and vibrant ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s prog and experimental rock, he began writing songs and playing in a variety of bands while expanding the limits of his own consciousness through the use of psychedelics. Henry’s experiences helped shape his life philosophies and principles, rooted in the idea that everything is interconnected. Ever curious about science and nature, his exploration of psilocybin mushrooms also sparked a fascination with mycology and the idea that fungi are decentralized organisms. As he dove deeper into the music industry, he started to explore bitcoin and blockchain technology, which to him represented the key to living in a free, interconnected society. Henry soon decided to launch Myco, calling on the talents of his long-time, like-minded friend and musical collaborator MacIntyre. The two invited Rodriguez and then Yeager into the fold to play guitar and bass and to take the sound to a new level.

Now, Myco’s mission is to create music that expresses the psychedelic dream of life while spreading the larger message of freedom through decentralization.

For more information about Myco and upcoming performances, visit the band at https://mycoband.bandcamp.com. The album is purchasable with bitcoin on OpenBazaar (https://duosear.ch/@MycoBand) and available for download, 12” vinyl and CD on Bandcamp (https://mycoband.bandcamp.com). It can also be streamed on Spotify (spotify:album:5vM7XHuOimE1ieOrYBVkcC) YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmC8t1vRFlrJP4EJ7hzvNpQ) and SoundCloud (https://soundcloud.com/mycoband). - PR Web

On Jan. 30, Myco became the first band in the United States to launch its own cryptocurrency, MycoCoin. It serves a few purposes: first, it acts as a tool for the group to raise funds for future releases, but it’s primarily a vehicle to engage its audience. Anyone who purchases the cryptocurrency essentially owns part of the content Myco releases, and revenue and royalties can be shared with token holders directly. Find out more about it here, and join the group tomorrow night at Californos with The North Fork. - Michelle Bacon