FEATURE:
Spotlight
PHOTO CREDIT: Sara Carpentieri
Phoebe Green
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I think we can all agree that anyone called Phoebe…
is pretty kick-ass and cool. To be fair, I can only think of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Phoebe from Friends – who, to be fair, is fictional. That said, Phoebe Green is a very cool artist that you need to follow! I am basing my recommendation off of her music and, with Easy Peeler and Dreaming Of out in the ether, Green is already turning heads. Although she has only put out a bit of material, the impact of her music and power of her personality has made her an artist to watch closely – NME named Green as one of their one-hundred to look out for this year. I am going to include her music in this feature but, as I am not overly-familiar with her background and ambitions, I am going to source from a few interviews. Forgive a lack of strict chronology, as I am going to go back and forth a bit. I want to, first, source from an interesting BBC article published last April, where we learn more about her upbringing and how she values the power and importance of lyrics:
“Born and bred in the small Lancashire seaside town of Lytham St Annes, Green - who is studying in Manchester - has just released her debut single, Dreaming Of. It's an uptempo indie pop track whose breezy production by Mercury Prize nominees, Everything Everything's Alex Robertshaw, masks some biting questions about issues of identity and self-worth.
You don't get to choose what makes me blue / I don't want to compromise myself for you / You always find a way back in / You creep, you crawl under my skin.
PHOTO CREDIT: Sara Carpentieri for DAZED
Green puts "everything, literally everything" into her lyrics, she explains.
"I find it so hard to write anything if it hasn't happened to make me want to write it. So I only really write about stuff that is actually going on and people that I actually know. I really want to explore more, because I'm just a very opinionated person, but I only seem to write about what I'm actually feeling.
"I think I do want the music to be a lot more representative of me, the person and my world views and stuff like that."
She started trying to write songs from the age of 12 but went one better than most when, aged 17, she recorded 02:00 AM; a 10-song mini-album, which she self-released on Spotify and which has accumulated more than three million streams without a record label or distribution deal.
"I basically could never, ever sleep when I was in sixth form, I just had really bad insomnia," she says.
"So, I just started writing down my notes on my phone, like every little thing that was going through my head. And then if I came up with any melodies or anything like that, I would just kind of like hum them really quietly into my phone, because everyone else would be asleep”.
I love the fact that Phoebe Green is an original artist who refuses to compromise. I can never understand why big Pop artists are all over the place, and the best artists out there – i.e., the new ones who do things differently – are not more celebrated.
Maybe that is the way things will always be, but I do thing Green will rise her way through the ranks and be a mainstay of the future. When it comes to new artists like Green, there is that air of mystery that you do not get with mainstream artists. I only discovered Green a couple of months ago, but I have been intrigued by her sound. Easy Peeler has a slightly drawled-yet-cool vocal, and there are these brilliant stabs of electric bush that rush and take the song in a new direction. Green and her band are super-talented and tight, and they create songs that strike instantly and readily, but the lyrics keep you coming back as you try to get to the bottom of them. Green has been involved with a few interviews, and one learns something new from each. When she spoke with the guys at DAZED in August last year, we learn more about the importance of Manchester, and where her ideas come from:
“How has Manchester impacted your approach to art?
Phoebe Green: It’s made me more appreciative of other genres and styles, massively. I’m a lot more likely to actively seek out bands and artists that don’t fall into the same category as me, so that I don’t get complacent and find myself within a scene where all the bands sound the same. Manchester has an incredible queer art scene as well, with it being a pretty small city it’s definitely exposed me to work that I otherwise might not have come across. I’m lucky to have artists and musicians as friends that are so creative and talented.
Where have you been getting your ideas from recently?
Phoebe Green: I’ve been writing a lot about changes within myself, and therefore changes in my relationships as a consequence. I find that kind of thing really interesting. I like writing about the way I perceive others and the way they perceive me, and how we treat each other as a result.
Are there any other artists you’re excited by that you want to shout out?
Phoebe Green: My good mates Witch Fever are one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen. They’re a feminist punk band that are so unapologetic with their rage, their sexuality, and their emotion. Their performances are incredible. Alex Rave & the Sceptical are a new band fronted by my boyfriend, they put on a really good show, along with our friends Document, who I share a guitarist with and are doing dead well, and Bleach Boy, another really amazing band. All of them are unique, but make such a cool, eclectic scene”.
There are a lot of great acts out in the world at the moment and, understandably, it is difficult narrowing them down and keeping everything in mind. Phoebe Green’s music is clever and cool; it has a filmic quality to it, and her and the band stir this incredible potion that emanates so many different emotions and visions. It is best to listen to her music but, as one can do that and glean so much about Green, I want to source from a couple of other interviews.
In a pretty cool feature in NME back in September, Green was asked some pretty ‘interesting’ questions:
Scenario: We’ve given you a shit load of money to make a big budget video – what do you do
“Probably like the ‘Easy Peeler’ video, in the whole ’50s noir, gangster/glam style but a full film following a lead character (me) with a big catharsis, probably a gory death, and a big romantic ending. Really beautiful cinematography, maybe with a narrator and all. Obviously full of my own musical numbers.”
What do you want to achieve with your music?
“I really want it to be the soundtrack to all kinds of memories, I of course want people to connect with my lyrics, but also I just want to write really cool, interesting songs that capture the person I am and the world I‘m in at particular points in my life.”
If your tour bus was hanging over the edge of a cliff and you needed to throw out one band member as ballast, which member would it be and why?
“It’d probably end up being me because not only am I incapable of making minor decisions, I can see me throwing myself out with the stress of the situation”.
I am not sure what Green has planned for the rest of this year, but many people are keen to see how she follows the amazing music she has put out already and whether there will be an E.P. or albums. Critics are already on board, and her music has won praise from both sides of the Atlantic. Pitchfork sat down to review her track, Dreaming Of, and were suitably impressed:
“Phoebe Green styles herself on social media as the “shirley temple of the north [of England]”. But in case you missed the sarcasm, the Manchester-based singer-songwriter is no one’s little darling. “I don’t want to compromise myself for you,” she announces over shuffling drums on her debut single “Dreaming Of,” a synth-filled indie-pop song that grows ever more biting. (She sighs on the chorus: “You make me feel like I’m anyone/Does it make you feel less insecure?”)
On her self-released 2016 mixtape 02:00 AM, Green showed an uncanny ability to move between power-anthem choruses and moments of tenderness. “Dreaming Of” offers more of the same with a self-reflexive twist: Despite the song’s uplift, her lyrics reflect on how bittersweet it is to finally get what you want, only to discover that it’s not as perfect as you imagined it would be. For Green, though, this is empowering: As she sings the final chorus, the band swells to a new size and her radiant voice fills the enormous space around her. In a world that attempts to make young women feel small, Green finds the fuel to make herself sound huge. Or, as she put it on Twitter: “she is releasin a fuckin tune”.
I do know that Green and her band have some gigs upcoming, and it will be a great chance to see this captivating new talent in her element. I did say how I am not sure whether there is more music coming soon but, in October, Green spoke with DORK . She was asked about sources of inspiration, but there was also a bit of discussion about future recording plans:
“Is there anywhere or anything you find yourself repeatedly looking to for inspiration?
I think I draw a lot of inspiration musically from seeing my friends playing and going to see new bands as often as I can, but my favourite sounds definitely come from old artists like the Beatles, Shangri Las, Bowie etc. Very cliché, I know, but I like not to be too pastiche about it but rather to take elements from past records and incorporate modern lyrics to create something more current and accessible. Then you have the familiarity and comfort of that retro sound but the relatability of the modern-day commentary.
Do you have a bucket list of things you’d like to achieve? What do you reckon’s next to be ticked off?
I’d love to sell out a few venues around the UK this year, but I really wanna do a European tour in the next couple of years, even if it’s a support slot. I’m already over the moon with supporting Swim Deep in October, they’ve honestly been one of those bands I’ve listened to for years, mum and dad were well happy, it’s one of the only CDs we have in the car that they voluntarily listen to. But yeah, more tours and festivals would be nice. And an album, obviously, which I don’t think I’m too far off”.
Get involved with Phoebe Green and keep an eye to see where she goes next. I have included social media links below, so you can get you fix of Phoebe Green news and happenings. Go see her perform and check out her music, because Phoebe Green is…
ONE of 2020’s most promising artists.
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Follow Phoebe Green
