8 reasons why you should see Psychic Migrations

Words by Jed Smith | All photos courtesy Volcom

Tomorrow night in Sydney, Volcom’s new film Psychic Migrations premieres to a full guest list. It’ll be one of the best surf films to land this year, and a must-see. Here’s eight (of many) reasons why…

1. It’ll fuck your shit up.
I was just given a secret screening of Volcom’s new film, Psychic Migrations, and it fucked my shit up. Seated alone in a back room at Volcom HQ in Manly, I propped a computer on cardboard box and watched ‘Rainbow’ Ryan Burch scream down a Peruvian point break with all the freedom and speed he could dream. I saw galactic patterns in the sand, tangled tree roots from ancient times, incandescent underwater reefs, felt cosmic vibrations, and grokked waves. Waves…

Burch, out of a time warp…

2. The mad visionary Ryan Burch
As important a section of surfing as you’ll see this year. First wave til last, Ryan Burch is on a different plane; fading, soul arching, zipping through high lines, hooking with speed, blasting with conviction, tubing and grooving. He is the first truly post-modern surfer, a talent that combines every generation of surfing that’s come before him, often on a single wave, though with a speed and flow edge that’s all his own. “He was ripping,” recalls Ozzie, who was there to see the carnage firsthand in Peru. “I was just loving him. I’d scream at him every time he took off, ‘YOU’RE A FREAK!'”

… And into a new world.

3. Waves!
Volcom’s really outdone themselves here. These are not the ripples your average earthly humanoid ever gets to cast their eyes on. The idea seems to be: get our chargers in their dream set ups and let’s see what they can do. They do not disappoint. There’s the Peruvian point break groove-a-thon featuring the cosmic dream team of Ozzie Wright, Ryan Burch and Nate Tyler. Dusty Payne and Honolua Bay come together like ham and cheese. Alex Gray asks questions of the gods from deep in the biggest, baddest, Tahitian bowl. Ozzie and Coleborn dance with a devil slab in mythical Salt Bush. Kid Coffin cooks himself in never-ending Kanduis. A big, bearded man bear-handles a steaming beachie in Cen-Am beach, and much, much more.

4. Twin-fins.
Ryan Burch’s celebrated rainbow creation is a thing to behold. The man who cut his teeth shaping logs under the influence of Joel Tudor came of age alongside Rob Machado during his experimental phase (the three of them all hail from Cardiff); stunned the world with his aptitude on a finless slab of foam; and showed us another level of speed and control on his futuristic asymmetrical, returns to his roots with a couple of Simmons-inspired twin-fins. And they will blow your mind.

Psychic Migrations includes a welcome dosage of Carlos Munoz.

5. Per-per-per-personality.
It’s a rare sight these days. Top line surfers lighting up waves with not a logo insight. But you know it’s Ryan Burch. It’s unmistakably him and he’s unmistakably Volcom so why even bother? Psychic Migrations also gives us the perfect platform to compare the latest hype machines, Yago Dora, Carlos Munoz, and Andrew Doheny, as they push their thrusters to find the next increment in performance surfing. Versus the style gurus, Gavin Beschen, Ozzie, and Burch, whose career longevity has come on the back of signature body positioning, stylish wave-reads and pure personality.

Mr Coleborn and the south of Australia.

6. Coleborn’s Back.
Death drops and stand-talls mark Coleborn’s return in Psychic Migrations. Filmed at a secret and very sharky spot in Australia’s martian-looking Salt Bush, the Sunny Coaster is stupidly at ease in the heavy water. The mind boggles at the drops he’s sticking, let alone the calm nerves as he negotiates multiple sections of thick, boiling tube.

Oz, and a photo that could’ve been taken 12 years ago – in a very good way.

7. Ozzie’s Testimonial.
Who knows where Ozzie’s career is headed and how long it will last for, but if this were to be his testimonial it’d be a good way to go out. From his first wave in Peru, on a curious step-up, to his last on a polka-dotted stump at his favourite Indo left, we’re given all the pop, punk and fun we’ve come to expect from one of the most iconic surfers in surfing. Is there a funner man to watch on the planet?

Yin above, and yang here. Coleborn, close up.

8. Politics.
With a depiction of the natural world sitting somewhere between Jacque Cousteau, Gaspar Noe and a David Attenborough documentary, Psychic Migrations gives us a snapshot of Mother Nature at her bizarre and majestic best. And not a moment too soon either, with the world about to bring out her inner-bitch. It is an important film in that way. Without a word being spoken I left Volcom’s headquarters determined to stab the next prick in the throat who tossed a butt in the drain.