About PsyAmb


Hi. I'm an Australian dude living in Japan. No, I don't practice sumo or throw ninja stars.  What I do have in my life is a beautiful wife, an amazing son, and awesome friends. I feel blessed to  have a job I love and enough free time to run this blog and share all the amazing music and art that comes my way in this world. 

My Story

Many years ago I worked in a 9 to 5 job which, like so many jobs in the software industry, was far more hours than 9 to 5 ! Something was telling me this is not the way to live. Maybe it was my ever increasing waistline fueled by a diet of pizza and cola ( the programmers diet ), sleepless nights and inept managers frustrating me no end. Something had to change. 

After 10 years in the IT industry I decided to pack my bags and head off traveling. I landed in Thailand for a short stay and ended up staying a year. After returning to Australia and working in IT again ( what was I thinking ? ) I realized I couldn't do it anymore, my heart wasn't in it. So a lifestyle change beckoned. Once again I packed my bags and headed to Japan to try my luck at teaching. I had always felt good about explaining things to people, informing them and guiding them on how to do stuff. Teaching became my new passion and I've been loving it ever since. Almost 10 years now and going strong.


So Why The PsyAmb Blog ?

All my life, as far back I remember I have been surrounded by art and music. As a kid in the late 1980s, I sort out more eclectic tunes to what my friends were listening to. This wasn't always easy - there was no internet back then ! In the mid 90s I discovered early goa-trance sounds which then led me in later years to psychedelic ambient music.

Something about the more laid back side of psychedelic music really resonated with me and I began collecting more and more of it. At festivals, while my friends were having a great time on the main stages dancing away to pumping goa-trance/psy-trance I would often just hang out in the chillout zone and listen to what was on offer, trying to recognize each tune in turn. I know - what an otaku ( nerd ) as they say in Japan.

I picked up some CDJ CD mixers and began practicing mixing ambient sounds at home. After submitting some demos to various psychedelic music festivals I was lucky enough to be offered some spots at a number of Australian events such as Earthcore, Tribeadelic and Rainbow Serpent Festival.

After my move to Osaka Japan, I discovered the psytrance scene here had long died out and psychedelic ambient music along with it. That's Japan for you - if something isn't new anymore, it's just not fun. So with no outlet for my mixing I gave blogging a go as I knew it had the potential to reach a global audience. The blog began life as a simple upload of my mixes and has since expanded to encompass reviews, videos, art discussion and more. You can check out all my mixes online at the archive page here.

All of this is made possible by you guys. My reader base in awesome and you are awesome too. I read every comment on the blog and try to answer as much as possible. The Facebook,Twitter and Google plus followers also remind me everyday that the world is full of so many wonderful people who love this music and art. I can't thank you all enough for all the great feedback and encouragement ! 

Thankyou for taking time to read this and I hope to see you on the blog sometime soon.

Cheers,

PsyAmb