Phoria

A voice appears out of a sound: a golden shape, a texture, a mixture of sunlight and sculpture. Music as spectral as this makes you lose yourself in the right way; deep in sound and light. Imagine the music of Sigur Ros, or James Blake, or Aphex Twin, but travelling somewhere else instead. As you do, pay attention as your eyes and ears adjust: open up, come alive.

Their debut album ‘Volition’, bursting with vibrant sounds throughout, from opener Melatonin’s electronic washes to Emanate’s organic clicks and claps, to the epic string section finale on ‘Yourself Still’, which brings a colourful parade to end the record. Phoria's songs aren't what you'd call conventional. Trewin never wanted to be a storyteller - he says he subscribes to the model of saying very little to say a lot. ‘Red’ is inspired by a conversation Trewin had with someone about lying to people, while ‘Evolve’ is a mash-up of ideas about evolution and the future of society. The other songs on ‘Volition’ take in various themes in the form of love, art, science, the way people touch and change and move each other, sex, mortality, scale, insignificance, morality, pain, joy, fear, obscurity, the surreal, the absurd, and beauty. The lyrics usually come out in one recording altogether, and they feel whole, multi-dimensional, and real.

2020's ‘Caught a Black Rabbit’ recorded at Abbey Road Studios with a string ensemble took the band into a neo-classical world.  This is the album that although a departure from the sound of ‘Volition’ just had to get made.  It reflects a struggle with nightmares about the enormity of the world and encompasses the entire breadth of human existence, from birth (a band member’s first child) to death (a cello inherited after a young owner’s demise). The music bends down to despair and stretches up to delight. 

2023 saw the release of Phoria’s third studio album ‘River Oblivion’. The album weaves through enthralling layers of electronics that sometimes sink into darkness – like the glacial edge of ‘Portland’ – or find glimmers of hope in their upbeat melodies – as on the fancy footwork of ’S.U.Y.B.’ – all intertwining with their creator’s feelings about “the oblivion I see in the world”. Where Howard needed to let go to find his path forward, he sees society as needing to do much the opposite – to cling on tightly. The record’s title was inspired by the frustration he was experiencing about how much “was being lost and forgotten” in the world, and its contents were fuelled by the idea that we “need to fight really hard to preserve what’s precious and to fend off what’s nonsense”.

Although the world and music industry has changed vastly since Phoria first emerged over a decade ago, in their own sphere some things have remained constant. Although there have been opportunities to take a different path, they’re still independent and still signed to their first label home of Akira Records – a reflection of Howard’s priorities for his music.