Interviewed By Amy James
If you love the sounds of Lennon Stella, Holly Humberstone and Sody you'll love Phoebe Hall. With only three songs officially released you will get a front row seat to watching this talented singer go to sky-high.
Talking on her inspirations behind songs to how they starting writing music, I got to talk to Phoebe (below).
Hi Phoebe! Welcome to the Blog. To start off with, how old are you? Where are you from? & What kind of music would you say you create?
Phoebe: Hi! Thanks so much for interviewing me for the Blog! I am 21 and originally from York but I now live and study in Edinburgh. I’d say the music I create is bedroom/indie pop and the lyrics are fairly introspective and explore my identity and relationships with others.
From your latest music we feel you give off an indie/soft pop inspired sound. Would you say you are inspired by any artists & their style of writing? If so, who inspires you?
Phoebe: I’m inspired by a lot of artists both lyrically and musically and I really found that helped with the writing of ‘Runaway’ and my other new music to come. I have been writing with a production duo called SOAP. and I created a playlist of inspirations for us to bounce off from drumbeats and lyrics to even just the feelings that some songs provoke. With the projects that are set to drop this year I’d say the main influences have been Japanese House, Holly Humberstone and Maisie Peters from both production and lyrical points of view. Lorde is also always a reference point for me as she is my favourite artist and I think you can hear some of her energy and influence in how I perform and in this new music. I’ve always been inspired by the music I grew up with like Kate Bush and Radiohead and I think they will continue to motivate me - to create anything like them would be a dream!
When did you start making music? Did something inspire you to start writing?
Phoebe: I have always performed at school in choirs and groups, and I think a big
breakthrough moment for me was when I realised how free and confident this makes me feel and that’s when I decided that this is what I want to do. I think I started to write more seriously when I began to get more anxious at around 16/17 and I found it a really good outlet emotionally. I actually remember writing my first ever full song after I had my first panic attack. I met one of my best friends, Jonny, through music a couple of years ago, and now we perform and often write together. Thanks to him I’ve pushed myself further and my writing is constantly developing.
In December 2021 you supported ‘Quiet Houses’ at their gig in Edinburgh. How was this experience for you? Do you want to have your own gigs at some point?
Phoebe: Honestly it was the most fun experience! I had lots of my friends there and just absolutely loved performing and hearing people sing my songs with me. It was my first ever gig and I’ve definitely got the bug for it! I know Quiet Houses and I’m honoured to have been able to support them as they’re so talented. I have gigs lined up over the next few months including a headline in February which I’m super excited about and I’m planning to do as many as possible as I just want to do it all the time!
Your latest release is your song ‘Runaway’ (out 28th January) which we are super excited for. What was the process of writing this song? Did something in everyday life influence you?
Phoebe: So ‘Runaway’ is the first song that I wrote with Karl and Josh at SOAP. (a production duo from Manchester) and we started with a beat and went from there. I’d posted some clips of some new music on my Instagram and Josh reached out and I went to their studio in Manchester and we all just worked so well together.
I sat down with them both and we chatted for ages about musical influences and just what we’re about and we got onto relationships. I sat and rambled about my past relationships and the idea for ‘Runaway’ came from there. I remember we had a whiteboard, and I was just writing down sentences and words that we kept bouncing off. We managed to write pretty much the whole of the song that day which is very cool considering we met that morning! ‘Runaway’ is about knowing a relationship is over and just wanting to get out and not see that person again because you know you’re both better off without each other.
I wanted to explore how it feels to have no hard feelings towards someone but still just wanting and needing to cut all ties and move on.
"I think my queerness has massively influenced this too and there’s hints to this and the often-forbidden quality of many relationships of this kind in the song.
To any artists out there who are looking to start releasing music - is there any advice you would pass on?
Phoebe: I’d say one of the most important things is to create music you really love, not what you think you should make! This sounds so simple and obvious, but I’ve found that imposter syndrome is definitely real and it’s so important to make sure you’re really loving what you’re doing, otherwise you won’t have the motivation you need to keep going. That said, it’s so fun to work with other people whether that’s writing or production too! For me, I get inspired by how other people’s writing styles, and this improves my own music making.
What has been your favourite moment on your music journey so far?
Phoebe: There have been so many things that have happened that I can’t quite believe! The Quiet Houses gig has to be up there as I really didn’t know I could perform like I did, and I think that’s so freeing and exciting. Starting to write with my mate Jonny has also been very fun and performing with your best friend is just the best. Getting my track ‘Just the Same’ played on the radio was also so exciting, I cried A LOT.
The most surreal moment has been my work with SOAP. and having Josh reach out to me and ask me to write with them. I’ve has the best time with them and hearing the full EP that we made has got me so excited for the year ahead. So, lots of favourite moments, I can’t really pin one down!
Apart from the release of ‘Runaway’ are there any projects or new music we need to look out for? Where can we find it? (Ie your socials)
Phoebe: Yes! So ‘Runaway’ is set to be part of an EP which I’m hoping to drop later this year. I am so excited for this as it explores some feelings I haven’t expressed before; I just hope people love the songs as much as I do. The new music will be out on all streaming platforms which I will share on my socials. I’d say Instagram and TikTok are the best places to go to get the most up to date information and announcements, but I’ll link all of my other socials as well below!
Instagram: phoebe_emusic
TikTok: phoebe_emusic
SoundCloud: Phoebe Hall
Facebook: phoebehallmusic
Twitter: PhoebeHallmusic
YouTube: Phoebe Music
My favourite question to ask is what is your favourite joke to tell?
Phoebe: What a question! I’m not sure if this classes as a joke but my best mate Rachel and I like to refer to the word ‘joking’ as ‘Joe King’…. So, when someone says ‘I’m joking’ we’ll follow with ‘Joe? Joe king? But you’re (insert name)’. It’s not funny at all but it really makes us laugh… I think that’s probably the worst answer you’ve had to that question, but I tried!
We can't wait to hear more from Phoebe Hall! Make sure you check out her socials and of course her brand new single 'Runaway'!
28th January 2022