Artist Of The Week #162 - PHOEBE ∆X∆
This week’s Artist of the Week is Phoebe ∆X∆ - who has just released her debut EP ‘Wisdom Teeth, Pt. 1’ via Awal Recordings. A coming of age soundtrack from a collection of songs Phoebe wrote between the ages of fifteen to eighteen that is filled with musical curiosity. She took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Hey there Phoebe, how are you? So your debut EP is out now - how does it feel to have it finally out there?
Hellooooo, I’m feeling good how bout you?
I feel like I’m finally sharing a journey I’ve been holding onto for a while, so I’m really looking forward to people hearing the project as a whole and digesting it in their own ways.
It is titled ‘Wisdom Teeth Pt. 1’ - what is the meaning behind that?
Wisdom Teeth Pt.1 as a whole is essentially a collection of songs that I’ve written and produced, dotted over the past five years. ‘Young Blood’, I wrote the lyrics for when I was 15 and it’s gone on a journey production wise since then, melody wise and on stage. I feel like I’ve taken it everywhere with me. These are the songs that represent a period of learning for me - the elements of childhood through to adolescence and the growing you do in that time, it all became a metaphor through the idea of wisdom teeth. The teeth that you start growing when you’re supposedly maturing - the pain and awkwardness of them, and how most people end up pulling them out anyway. They fill your whole mouth with pressure, give you headaches, mess up the growing you’ve already done. Things are crowded while you’re in that pivotal point of life, like how your mouth gets crowded when you start growing your wisdom teeth.
Where was the EP recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
I recorded the EP at home - that’s where I’ve produced all of my music since I started. ‘Wisdom Teeth (Pressure)’, the song, was a bit of a weird one to write because the whole reason it came to life was because one of my wisdom teeth was actually coming through. Nightmare. So I was actually in a lot of pain when I sang that chorus - some of the backing vocals I was really shouting because I had tooth pain. That song took weeks to get right because I kept leaving it out of frustration haha. ‘Hurts a Little Less’ was an all nighter, I wrote the whole song on piano and then immediately jumped into production. Went to bed at 7am. Naughty.
There is an almost curious ‘coming-of-age’ tone to the EP, was that your intention?
I think that was always going to come across in these songs because of the stages I went through whilst writing them. I’m doing so much growing at the moment and I was doing even more so then. I used these songs to detail those crashes and breakthroughs. ‘Things’ is chronic paranoia, over-analysis, going round in circles and having insecurities consume you whilst ‘Young Blood’ is rose tinted glasses, freedom, friendship, lust for life and comfort. It’s that roller coaster feeling of growing up where nothing stays the same. I’m asking a lot of questions.
What are your fondest childhood memories when it comes to music?
My mum would always play music around the house - Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac - everything. So there was never a time where there wasn’t a song playing. For me, it’s actually really simple. It was all about CDs. I would sit in my room for hours listening to them from start to finish, reading all the little booklets, memorising the lyrics. That was my happy place. I was also lucky enough to see a lot of live music and it triggered an obsession with performance and working on stage presence.
The video for the track ‘Young Blood’ looks at the effects of Covid-19 has had on the entertainment industry - can you tell us a bit more about it?
The ‘Young Blood’ music video is a nod to ‘the show must go on’. It’s directed by my sister, Ariana Xeno. We really wanted to flip the song’s meaning on its head - because yes, it’s all about human connection, friendship and togetherness but that’s something that we’ve lost for more than a year. The aim was to communicate a feeling of hope towards the eventual resurrection of our lost entertainment industry and how they are all giving the same message of “we’ll be back”. The idea that together as a whole, the entertainment industry is a power - the nervous excitement in your stomach before the artist comes on to deliver that universal message, the epic applause at the final bow of a theatre piece. Art is what keeps us young and it will always flow through in the end.
How has it affected you personally?
Honestly, I know I’m not alone when I say it was shit. I’m definitely a people-person. But it’s been a time to re-evaluate and reflect and also a reminder not to take anything for granted. I’m lucky I was able to continue my work from home.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
Growth. The exploration of identity. The conscious and subconscious. Duality. Mental health. Overthinking. Overall I’m asking a lot of questions, ruminating and trying to find resolutions, almost seeking reassurance. The idea of being a child and an adult, fear and elation, being near and far, having order and then change, being lost and found, my dream world and the real world. I was really influenced by ‘Youth’ and ‘Home’ off of ‘Glorious’, an album by Foxes that I absolutely rinse throughout my teen years. I’ve always been influenced by Jack Antonoff too and synths of the 80s. This EP is definitely the product of my influences and experiences throughout my teens and childhood.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
That’s actually a really hard question. I always change my mind about what lyrics mean to me and I try to leave them open to interpretation each time. But I’ll pick one for today from ‘Young Blood’: ‘and all the colours in our eyes, said we’ll never get it right, we’re walking home’. That’s about the mood of hopelessness and frustration when it feels like nobody is listening. The colours are the demons we collect growing up - only colourful when we choose to own them. They also represent naivety and the idea that the darknesses that exist in the world aren’t in our heads when we’re young. They say we are unprepared, which we are.
Now the EP is out there - what’s next for you?
I am beyond excited to get back on stage. It’s my favourite thing in the world. So I’ll be performing in various places, including my first proper headline show at Omeara on June 24th. I’ll always be writing new stuff too… I’ll be living life again :)