Madame Psychosis' brand new track “Kapow” is high energy and gritty right out the gate. It hits hard through the thunderous drum kit, pummeling guitars and catchy rhythmic textures. We love the overall theme of the track, being in pursuit of someone you’re interested in and ultimately being shot down. That initial “KAPOW” or rejection is captured perfectly throughout the infectious track. “Kapow” is aggressive, yet charmingly relatable for anyone brave enough to admit it. We love bouncing melodies that are reminiscent of the cat and mouse chasing pursuits of Tom and Jerry, Tweety and Sylvester, and Roadrunner and Pepé Le Pew. The heart-dropping anthem leaves us craving more from the indie rock collective, we can’t wait to see what they deliver next!
Madame Psychosis is a five-piece alt pop & indie rock band from Toronto. Members include singer Michelle Mondesir, guitar players Bret McCaffrey and Rene Ip, drummer Jaina Tharakan, and bass player Giovanni Paola. Madame Psychosis just released the “infectious earworm”, “Kapow”, on July 8th, 2019. The band also released a music video for the song, and are now preparing to showcase their work during their TV appearances on Global’s The Morning Show and CHCH’s Morning Live. You can find their debut album and latest singles, “Kapow”, “Crashing Down” and “Just Wanna Be Myself”, on all major streaming services.
Check out “Kapow” here and read more with Madame Psychosis below!
Hello Madame Psychosis! Can you start by introducing yourselves and describing how you met?
Hello Buzz Music! Thanks for having us! We’re a five-piece alt pop and indie rock band based north of the border in Toronto (go Raptors!) How we met was serendipitous and very unlikely. Our drummer Jaina and guitar player Bret were in a band prior to Madame Psychosis called Howl Your Heart Out. After that band came to an end, Bret and Jaina continued to get together to jam. Then came the infamous wedding that spearheaded what eventually became Madame Psychosis. It all started during a conversation where a mutual friend of two of the eventual band mates, Bret and Gio (bass), suggested a jam session a few days later while she was still in town. At first we thought, “sure, why not”, assuming it was never going to happen. But much to our surprise it did happen, and that’s where Bret introduced Jaina to Gio. Following this session, Bret and Jaina invited Gio to come to their weekly practice. They continued to jam, writing songs in the process. It took well over a year to recruit Michelle, our singer and lyricist, who shortly after introduced Rene (guitar), having just moved to the city, to the band.
How long have you been making music together?
As a full band, we’ve been performing and making music together since March of 2016. If you include the time before Michelle and Rene joined the band, well, that goes back to late 2014 after the wedding we just described.
How does the writing process work as a group?
The writing process has been fairly consistent with the band so far. Our guitar player Bret will come to the band with an idea or chord progression in mind. We’ll jam to it together as a full band, developing the structure and transitions over several weeks and months, while each band member further develops their own part at home. Once we have a solid concept for a song, Michelle will work on the lyrics and develop a vocal melody. It’s always exciting when Michelle comes to band practice with new lyrics and a vocal melody because at that point we’ve probably been playing the instrumental for weeks if not months. It’s a welcome change to hear the vocals! We’ll continue developing the song, adding solos and other parts as time goes on.
Though we’re very comfortable with this process, we are showing more signs of expanding it. For example, Michelle wrote keys for a few tracks on the new album. This is new territory for us since keys were not on our debut album. There’s also a song on the new album called “Not Supposed To Be Here” that Rene initially developed and introduced to us. We’re excited for people to hear the new tracks!
Can you tell our readers more about the meaning of “Kapow”?
“Kapow” was inspired by the chasing pursuits of Saturday morning cartoon characters like Sylvester and Tweety, Tom and Jerry and so on. The song highlights the “chase” or the pursuit that lies at the heart of getting someone you are interested in to give you a chance, and the heart-dropping moment of being rejected.
What inspired you to write about the uncomfortable subject of being rejected?
Though it’s an uncomfortable subject, rejection is something that everyone goes through at some point, whether in relationships, at work, or between friends - and this is exactly what inspires most of Michelle’s writing: personal experiences and the world around her. At some point, everyone faces rejection, and so inevitably, it’s going to end up in a song. Michelle’s lyrics truly capture the world around us, writing in a way that everyone can relate to that speaks to the human condition, whether it’s life’s highs or its lows. We’re all just trying to survive the obstacles that life throws our way.
What’s next for Madame Psychosis?
Most notably, we have a new album coming out on September 20th, and yes, there will be a huge release party. We can’t explain how excited we are for people to hear it. We’re all very proud of the new songs. Outside of preparing for the album release, we’ll be spending the next year promoting the new album, playing as many shows as possible along the way. We have a few upcoming TV appearances to help kick-start this promotional period. Of course, we’re always writing new music. We’ve talked about a one-off single release later in the fall or winter, but the point is we’ll definitely be working on new material. We can’t stop that. It’s who we are.
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