Previously the singer and guitarist of Unmute, a psychedelic rock/shoegaze outfit that used to frequent productions like Furiosa in Mow’s, Em Yoo has redefined and rebranded herself as Psycho Silver, and she has released her first solo single, “Superbia.”
“Superbia” is a chill and dreamy film noir-inspired electronica track co-produced by Francis Lorenzo (The Ringmaster), whom Yoo met while distributing tikoy during a Furiosa show around Chinese New Year before the pandemic. Years later, she decided to start her solo project and got in touch with him. “Without that tikoy, this venture wouldn’t be possible,” she jokes.
Psycho Silver photographed by Trish Shishikura
“He elevated the sound that I was going for and fleshed out my visions that I thought wouldn’t be possible,” she says in a press release. “His inputs to the songs were like placing the pieces to my missing puzzle. And he understands my music language that a rare few can only decode. And vice versa.”
Psycho Silver photographed by Trish Shishikura
A music video for “Superbia” was also filmed to accompany the single’s release. Directed by Kyle Quismundo (Cheats) and assisted by his brother Kiel, the video shows Psycho Silver frolicking in a deserted cinema, among other outdoor locations. “It was like being with the Duplass Brothers,” she says about working with the Quismundos, comparing them to the filmmaker brothers behind the HBO series Togetherness and Room 104, among other shows and movies.
Yoo plans to release more singles and videos this year and the next as Psycho Silver, with Lorenzo as her collaborator, “depending on our work pacing,” she adds.
Listen to “Superbia” below: