Interview: Phosphene

Phosphene deliver dreamy indie rock on their upcoming album Lotus Eaters. The Portland-based band — made up of Rachel Frankel (guitar/vocals), Matt Hemmerich (drums), and Kevin Kaw (bass) — has been making tunes for almost a decade after meeting in the Bay area and bonding over their love of The National.

Lotus Eaters is a shoegaze-tinged daydream with influences like Neko Case, Interpol, and Sleater-Kinney. The album features 10 tracks that serve as social commentary and explorations of escapism, mental health, and relationships. “The writing and recording process of this album took place preceding and following the 2016 election, when extremism and bigotry prevailed across the United States and world at large … Lotus Eaters emanates a fervor that we want to resonate with each listener. And as turbulent as these times can be, we hope this album can be a source of comfort and inspiration for those seeking,” explains the band in a press release. Lotus Eaters is available July 7 and pre-orders are available now on Bandcamp. A quarter of the proceeds from every album sale will go towards the Black United Fund of Oregon and National Bail Fund Network.

Below are some highlights from my conversation with the band ahead of the album’s release.

Lotus Eaters was born out of a turbulent time for you guys. Let’s talk about the writing and making of the album. 

Rachel: The end of 2016 was so harrowing and terrible. It was a struggle to feel motivated to do much, but thankfully music always remained that place of solace. Whether it was jamming out or working on new tunes, it was always cathartic and we all found a release in it.

Matt: The motif that came through with Lotus Eaters was a bit of escapism and just different ways of coping with times. Without being pretentious, I was drawn to the idea that there are these people who are trying to daydream their way out of reality because reality is shit. Some subject matter in there — whether it’s mental health or depression — has a general sense of escaping the world. But then there’s also a little bit of levity and some humor, like the last song “Skyscraper Shade.” I was surprised they let me get away with those lyrics because that’s basically my critique of San Francisco. I got to write about pigeons with gout. Rachel changed it to “wilding out” because gout was too much. I think sometimes people get this notion that we’re a sad sack kind of band. I think with our chords, melodies, and lyrics, people think that we’re just like soggy potatoes and in our feelings. And I don’t feel that way.

What’s your favorite track from the album?

R: I’m really proud of how the opening track “Incinerate” turned out.

M: I think “Incinerate” is a really fun one. I love it because there’s so much purity from how it was written. This happens often in our practice space where we have two, maybe three sections of the song done, but there’s this unspoken rule of just ride it and keep playing something. That was one of those songs that we just burned it out and I love the way it unfurls.

R: I think another favorite that I come back to, and one I didn’t expect to be a favorite because it’s so different from anything we’ve done, is “Cocoon.” That was another one that started to take shape in practice, sort of unexpectedly. It’s just kind of a weird song. The vocal style is pretty different from most of the other tracks. The way it ends is very unexpected and different. I’m proud of that and how that turned out. When we started showing it to friends and different folks, a lot of them kept coming back to that one.

M: I really like “Incandescent Plumes.” We did a literal musical chairs on that one. For the opening and the verse, I wrote on guitar, Rachel was on bass, and Kevin went on drums. Then for the chorus, everyone switched back to their own instruments. I love that one because I think it shows how our songwriting has evolved. We trust each other. Each of us is very different with our musical stylings and the kind of education we have. So I think it really helps make a song a little more interesting.

What drew you to make music?

R: I think music is one of my earliest memories of being fascinated by something. Even from being very little, I was always really interested by the piano in particular. My great grandmother had one and I always used to tinker around on it. Eventually, I found my dad’s old acoustic in the garage. I was probably 13 or 14. I started teaching myself guitar to the best of my ability. I actually didn’t play in a band until we started one, really. In college, I did some open mics and a little bit of songwriting on my own. I’d say music has always been a huge passion of mine — both listening to and playing.

M: As a kid, I have some terrible memories of music. My dad used to be a big music head, but there wasn’t a lot of sound in the house growing up. I had to look in the living room to find a collection of old vinyl my dad got from The Clash, Sex Pistols, and AC/DC. The only time music would be on — and it just tortured me — it was like “Red Red Wine” by UB40 or “Brown Eyed Girl.” So I just grew to really hate those songs. I was forced to play sax as a kid, so that wasn’t my favorite part. Sax is amazing and I love it now, but being forced to play the Titanic theme song in front of your family in the living room kind of ruined it for me. In middle school, that’s when pop punk was really taking off with bands like Blink 182. I picked up a copy of Dookie and then I became a metal head, punk kid in high school. By the time Rachel and I met, we traded influences. I got her more into Interpol; she got me into Neko Case and a whole bunch of other artists.

Throughout our conversation, we’ve mentioned Portland, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles. How have these places influenced your music and songwriting?

R: I didn’t really gain a proper musical history of LA until I got older. I was too busy in high school being into really terrible music. No Doubt was great for a time and I was also into whatever genre Orgy was in. I was just trying to figure out what I liked in high school and eventually kind of settled on indie rock and folk. I started getting really into bands like Rilo Kiley. Then I discovered Elliott Smith and the album Figure Eight, which he recorded in LA. I feel like that would be in my top five records that really impacted my style of guitar playing and even my vocal style. If I had to pick something to represent LA, he would probably be it for me. Portland too — he had a lot of roots here.

M: We moved to Portland after the record. I’m a believer in your environment impacting your music, your art, and you as a person one way or another. On a lyrical level, my experience in the Bay definitely informed some of the songs. There are songs like “Skyscraper Shade” where I’m taking shots at the worst parts of that city. Songs like “Frames” come from the mental fatigue of the hustle style in the Bay where everything was becoming so much more expensive. We literally kept having to move out further east. There are some icons I really loved from the Bay when I was growing up in my formative years like Dead Kennedys and Green Day. Those are Bay Area heroes. Then I got turned on to more stuff in high school like Interpol, Metallica, and Rage Against the Machine. I was late to the Radiohead party. I didn’t really gravitate to it until In Rainbows came out. I don’t care who gives me crap, that’s their best record. It’s my favorite record personally. I’ve always enjoyed melodic music. Even if you look at Metallica or Slayer or even Rage Against the Machine, there’s a hook in the melody or the riff.

What’s your favorite album to listen from start to end?

M: In Rainbows. It continues to give in different ways. It’s something where I put it on and I have to listen to it front to back. It’s also something I need to be prepared for emotionally. Your favorite music is so close to your heart, you know it’s going to trigger things.

R: Tyler, the Creator’s Igor has been a mainstay for me. Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone is a longstanding favorite. I listened to that several, several times through when I was in college. The Woods from Sleater-Kinney is a really tight album end to end.

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