Nov 15

Nov 15 Rebecca Phillips

Combining film, theatre, contemporary and experimental sound, lyrics and the latest technology including VR visuals, Rebecca forms storyscapes and experiences where audio and visual coalesce. ‘Etherized’ EP begins by making sounds with her mouth and recording them – some of them become instruments within the track, melodies etc and some of the vocals are just processed to make new sounds and instruments.

Rebecca, what does music mean to you now that 2023 is about to end?

Music is a place I’m able to go or a space I find that defines something that until that moment felt beyond my reach. Music is vital to me.

You started your journey almost 5 years ago with ‘Burnt Peach’ single and now the ep ‘Etherized’. What has changed for you as an artist?

The main change has been my familiarity with my creative process - a deeper understanding of how I work.

What ‘Etherized’ is all about? How did it start and what influenced and inspired you?

I wanted to create a mad trip into a tantalising world of emotional excess where the only way to survive is to surrender. The title of the EP Etherized comes from the T.S. Elliot poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock where he writes: “Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky / Like a patient etherized upon a table”. This image captivated me because it seemed to evoke the helplessness of my speaker in the EP, who embarks upon a hedonistic journey where they effectively sacrifice their sanity to submerge themselves in what they can’t resist.

Have collaborated with Drew MacFarlane for this, How did this all come together? Please take us through the process.

A lot of my music in Etherized and beyond begins through making sounds with my mouth and recording them - some of them become instruments within the track, melodies etc and some of the vocals are just processed to make new sounds and instruments. My instrument is my mouth and Drew contributed so sensitively and incisively to my vision, he has been an all-round amazing creative partner. He is an incredibly talented composer and classically trained musician. He understands my sonic world and therefore responds with complete openness to the ideas I’m trying to define - it all came together organically.

You have always been experimental and innovative with your approach when it comes to creating. I wonder what all you get inspired by? Any book or movie you have recently gone through?

Thanks! I get inspired by the complexities - fascination with people and how they function - I am interested in that darkness. Regarding any recent books or movies - I think the most recent piece of work that got to me was Camus’s, The Fall.

As you self-direct your videos and are multidisciplinary, will you be able to take us through your creative process? How did ‘Teriyaki’ happen?

My aim is always to make the most vivid experience for my audience. I aim to create an all-encompassing and hopefully multi-faceted world with whatever I make. I think because I have a background in storytelling, having done a lot of acting and playwriting, I like things to be realised in this way. With the videos, they are another channel to engage with the music, in the tense that I don’t aim to ever ‘tell the story of the song’ there are multiple stories or ideas that can be extrapolated from each song. In other words, the videos are never referential they are intended to be pieces of work in their own right. Teriyaki was a mad one - we were going to make a visualiser but we were all very into the idea - it turned into a video with multiple looks!

Tell us about ‘quicksand’ what it is about and how you go about labelling names and giving life to your music.

Quicksand gives voice to the experience of being utterly subsumed in a passionate entanglement to the point where it almost feels like your skin is being ripped off with the intensity of the attraction, connection and physical act. It explores the simultaneous feelings of physical power and energy that can stem from passion while acknowledging the unsettling and intoxicating paradox that what makes you feel more alive is never something you can control and may lead to your downfall. Naming my tracks is quite an unconscious process.

What is it that makes you do this? What is the purpose or the intention?

I don’t know how to answer that.

What message do you have for the readers?

Thanks for taking the time to engage with my work.

Last but not least, Anything new that’s brewing, What should we be ready to expect?

If anyone is in Milan on Saturday 25th of November I would love you to come to my release party gig at Studio Isciān. Doors are open at 7 pm and this is the address: Viale Bligny, 42, 20136 Milano MI, Italy. The show will incorporate a visual poem of projections by Melissa Schwarz, inspired by the themes in Etherzied. I am hoping to develop this gig set-up, and take it back to London and beyond so please keep an eye on my socials for any further announcements. Thanks!