Philippa discusses new Sloth Boogie EP

Philippa's previous ‘Rainy Nights’ EP went down a storm on SlothBoogie Records, so of course the crew got to work with lining up another one as soon as possible.

Currently Berlin-based but New Zealand born, Philippa's new EP is called ‘Port Chalmers’ which is named after the little Port Town in NZ that is close to her heart.

Whether it’s the Rhodes heavy grooves of ‘Better World’, the driving dancefloor focused 'Runaway', the beating jazzy soul of ‘Lot To Learn’ or the romantic harmonies and seagulls of ‘Port Chalmers'. These four expertly crafted tracks showcase her talent for sound design, sampling & creating a vibrant soundscape to get lost in and revisit time and again.

Here at nightclubber.ro we're excited to do a track talk session with Philippa and learn about the production, inspiration and meaning behind each track of the EP…

1. Better World 

With Better World, the lyrical content really struck me as something we need to hear today. I’m not sure much has changed in the last fifty years in the West - we like to think we’re modern and advanced, and sure we have these mini computers in our pockets (which is dope!), but we’re still struggling with class, racial and gender based inequality, war, political corruption - a whole bunch of bs. This track expresses a counterpoint to the hopelessness we all feel sometimes. I wanted to reference the fact we’re all trying to live life as best we can in times that are quite stressful - and the dance floor should, I think, acknowledge this stuff from time to time. Otherwise we’re a bunch of vacuous morons, right? So the track is a nod to our collective hopes and dreams, and perhaps we can dance our way into a better world, one funky drummer at a time. 

2. Runaway 

I absolutely fell in love with this vocal the first time I heard it, and immediately felt a vibe I knew I could make use of. The track references an absolute need to get away from the world - an emotional craving for escape and oblivion which can totally be found in a great dance floor moment. I’ve also been thinking recently about the emotional space that house music operates in, and that it’s often the emotionally darker moments that do it for me. House has the potential to be boringly two dimensional emotionally speaking - happy and celebratory. There’s nothing wrong with those emotions per se.. but personally I like it more complicated than that. I like full spectrum emotion - I want to be able to access and express it all. 

3. Lot to Learn 

Again the lyrical content was the driving force behind this one. I think this feeling is something we can all relate to - we’re all trying to learn and do better, right? We all experience those moments where you realise you’ve come up short. There’s a longing-ness to this vocal that really struck me. I was pretty sure I could turn it into a track which takes that feeling and processes it into something warm and embracing, something that has a sense of resolution and reassurance to it - that it’s all going to be ok. 

4. Port Chalmers

I’ve been talking about this one a bit on social media. Port Chalmers is where my mother lives , just outside of Dunedin, down the bottom of New Zealand - and I visited when I was back in NZ over Christmas last year. Port Chalmers is obviously right on the water, so I’d go walking around the bays every day while I was there. The port has a specific shimmery, hazy, salty vibe to it - with lots of seagulls. It’s pretty laid back. So I tried to take that feeling (with the help of some field recordings) and recreate it. Hopefully you’re also transported to a hazy, shimmery vibe of a day with it. Cheers Nightclubber RO! X

Buy/listen to Philippa’s ‘ Sloth Boogie EP here

Keep up with Philippa on Soundcloud, Instagram, Facebook, Bandcamp and Spotify

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