She’s witty and funny and a dab hand at creating masterful songs that people want to hear. And hear her we have! Phoebe recently played the Main Stage at Electric Park, sharing the bill with Manic Street Preachers and Razorlight. She’s been on a stage or two since as well (all of them to be precise), from intimate gigs, parties and events to a rather beautiful wedding destination off-island.
Her music is sincere, fun, lively, lovely (as in, her voice is so damn sweet, it’s golden and gorgeous – like honey), her lyrics are clever and sassy and a little bit bad assy and now I’ve listened to Rehab about four hundred times, I really am looking forward to her next release! Phoebe Over can create a soundtrack to fill any space, just give her a guitar.
Give us words that describe your music?
A splurge from the heart
How does Phoebe Over write a song? Do you have a process? Do you keep a note book with you at all times? Is there a particular circumstance that gets you writing? What comes first, the melody or the lyrics?
I wouldn’t say I particularly have a process. Its usually a case of sitting down for 15 minutes, usually going with the first chord pattern I create, recording on my phone and typing the lyrics on my laptop as I go. I find recording a voice memo the easiest way of not missing some good melodies but most of the time I never re-listen to them anyway – haha! I find it a lot easier to write a sad song than a happy song – I always think I’m being too cringey happy and therefore scrap most of the songs! The melody definitely comes first for me, I’ve always struggled to just write lyrics because I would end up writing loads and loads of words in one sentence and struggle to fit them in. However, everyone is different and there is no wrong or right way. I’ve enjoyed writing songs with other artists too as you pick up different styles and push the boat out more with ideas.
What would be your dream location in jersey to perform?
Jersey has some very nice places to visit. I think it would be cool to play in one of the old fort towers if it was decorated and lit up perfectly. It’s out the way, no noise complaints and people would’ve made the effort to come out that way and listen to music. Although, I’ve been in situations where there’s been a load of musicians passing a guitar round in the beach at sunset, and it is very, very beautiful.
I would also love to play the opera house!
What’s been your biggest moment so far?
I have 2 big moments, it’s hard to choose. One is playing the main stage at Electric Park. I was backstage with the artists, played on the biggest stage ever with loads of smiley faces looking up at me and genuinely felt like a rockstar! The other biggest moment was releasing my single, Rehab! To finally have a track that people can listen to at home or wherever they are is so fun and cool. I had people sending me videos of them listening to it in the car or at their Uni dorms in the UK. It’s shareable beyond the live gigs and that night of release with my friends was amazing.
What’s been your biggest bogan moment so far? As in… cringe/hated it/never again/OMG why am I doing this… kinda vibe..
Ooh this is a tough question! I can’t think of a particular moment off the top of my head, but I am known to just get really nervous on stage and talk some absolute rubbish. I either speak too much or go mute and don’t say anything at all. I am also very clumsy and tend to trip over myself, stand on the cables, whack the guitar when I’m moving etc. Most times when I’m speaking on stage, my inner voice is like ‘stop talking Phoebe. You’re talking too much, nobody needs to know this much detail’ – haha.
We’re catching up in 15 years. where are you and what are you doing?
Hopefully touring the world as a rock star! In 15 years time I will be 34 and it’s hard to imagine what can happen in 1 year, let alone 15! I would’ve hopefully travelled the world, done some awesome gigs in other countries, made new friends and released a lot more music!
Pick a song lyric of yours that lights you up most when you sing it… what is it, and why does it do that?
The lyrics that light me up in a good and powerful way are lyrics from my new unreleased song
“Kinda love the girl I’m becoming, never felt this kind of self loving”
When I have played this live, I feel like it’s very different to my usual stuff and I get this attitude/sass that I’ve never had before!
Another set of lyrics which are very emotional and deep but I feel when singing are:
“I know the relapse comes worse at night. So bring me sunshine so I don’t ever lose the light.”
It’s about not wanting to go back to how things were and knowing you have to stay strong and not reminisce on old times. I think a lot of people feel most lonely at night and that’s when mistakes are more likely to happen, so it’s praying that the night time never comes to stop that feeling of loneliness. It’s very deep but it hits hard and it’s one of my favourite lyrics.
Where can we see you next….?
I’ll be out and about gigging at various events, pubs, weddings etc. Look out for where I am on my Instagram @phoebeover and listen to me on Spotify!
