PENELOPE TRAPPES

creaking of a floorboard I’ll get right into recording the space that I’m in, adding lots of reverb. It’s quite spontaneous, which is why a lot of my field recordings are taken from my phone, but I do own a Thomann Zoom H5. Sometimes I’ll be grabbed by a moment, whether it’s a street performer in Berlin playing an instrument I’ve never heard before or the birds in my back yard. I have so much admiration for artists like Kate Carr who makes these amazing pieces of music specifically from field recordings.”

Does the computer play a limited creative role?

“I work in Logic and that’s where I’ll initially get the basics down. I’m self-taught and probably a little late into the game, so there’s a whole universe that I’m still exploring. My go-to reverbs are the Mikron Reverb and the Valhalla VintageVerb. For synth pads and basslines I’ve found myself using the Full Bucket FB-3300 and the Waves H-Delay analogue plugin, so it’s simple stuff. There’s so much more I could do in the box in terms of pitchshifting and vocoding, but I try not to complicate things too much.”

Being quite a tactile producer, it’s surprising that you don’t prefer to use hardware reverbs

“It’s obviously a little easier with software but I do quite like the tactile element of using hardware. On the Penelope Two album and during my live shows I’ll tend to use the Mr Black Eterna Gold Shimmer reverb pedal, which is made by a company out of Portland. It emulates a church-like ambience and the shimmer effect is great. It can be a bit dominant, but happy accidents can come out of that clash of reverbs.”

What’s the wooden device next to what looks like a tuning fork?

“That harkens back to my esoteric nature and connection to earth vibrations. For some reason the Western world decided that we would tune everything to 440 hertz when it should probably be at 432 and the tuning fork is tuned to 432. Sometimes I’ll just give it a tap and start a song at that tuning range.”

You’re almost using it as a tuning metronome?

“Yep, you can definitely use it that way – I’ll just take one hit from it, loop it and create a meditative drone that creates a whole other vibe. I found the other piece of wooden gear at a thrift store. Again, it’s not tuned or anything, it’s like an earthy little trinket. I like having these things around me that give energy from other people – you play one note, run it through some effects and the next thing you know you’ve got some sort of strange drone you can pitch down.”

Are you a proficient guitarist or just plucking notes to create resonance or a starting point?

“I wish I was a proficient guitarist, but essentially it’s just another resonating instrument that creates sound, moments and mood. Just the sound of scratching the plectrum on strings can be really interesting and I rented a cello recently and really enjoyed exploring the textural sounds I created with that. I’m a massive fan of anything early 4AD and love those bands that created a chorus effect using a couple of reverbs.”

What else is integral to your creative process?

“I’m just laughing because I made a note to mention how much I love plants. One thing that I did play on a piece recently was my cactus. I was field recording the sound of plants and took an object like the tuning fork and recorded the sound of it running down the cactus spikes. When you slow it down it creates this fascinating sound because a cacti is very fluid on the inside. But I do love the techy side of music and intend to continue exploring what it can do to the original idea, whether it’s a voice, string instrument or cactus.”

Is your Yamaha Reface CP used as a controller?

“It’s somewhere between a synth and a piano. It can be used as a controller but I’m actually using it to try to emulate a piano in a live setting because it’s very mobile and has enough keys to cover what I need. I’m a stickler for the organic sound and have used a few plugins to emulate live piano that work better than the Yamaha, so for recording I don’t really record the Yamaha sound. Hopefully I can find a natural piano for studio and live.”

You’re using the Synthstrom Audible Deluge as your main sampler/sequencer…

“It’s brand spanking new and I’m currently in the midst of fully exploring its majestic capabilities. I prefer to use samplers for live work rather than

“I took a tuning fork and recorded it running down the cactus spikes”

compositional recordings, although I definitely want to explore recording sequences of organic sounds and vocals in the studio using the Deluge. In the past I used the Korg Electribe live, and I’ll continue to use that because it’s an awesome little tool and you can use the pads to trigger things but it doesn’t have enough memory, which left me having to sample tiny snippets and have them on a loop. Now I’m looking to make the Deluge the brain of my live show because I want to try to find ways to emulate the sound of my field recordings on stage and it has an endless amount of sample time.”

Your tracks are mostly beatless, so how are you using the Boss RC-202 Loop Station?

“I predominantly use the Loop Station for live vocals because I like the fact that it gives you the option to have multiple tracks running. Now that I’m planning to have other musicians on stage with me, I feel I can explore that capacity to loop live vocals more. It’s as if I’m going back to my jazz improvisational head space. The last show I did was opening for DjRUM at the Queen Elizabeth Hall where I started with these basic backing vocals, looped them and came up with all these new harmonies indicative of the moment and the space I’m in. I also did some harmonies and layered them using the Shimmer reverb pedal running through a bunch of effects and some of the things that happened when I did that took my breath away.”

You’re music is non-conformist. If you were to give advice to anyone making music, would you recommend that as being non-negotiable?

“Obviously, as personalities we find our own tribe of people to resonate with and belong to, and our music or art will tend to sit alongside that, but you also have to be honest with yourself and shouldn’t compromise on that for anything. People are becoming a bit more aware that the lure of fame and money is a false promise and a diversion from their own sense of self. Hopefully more people will acknowledge that you can sit down with an instrument and not have to play it like everybody else. Things have got a little stale and I feel we’ve reached a stage where we need a more left-of-centre approach where we can challenge ourselves and the stories we listen to.”

Is the Eel Drip EP a taste of what we can expect from your third album next year?

“The Eel Drip EP is definitely a mood that will segue into Penelope Three, which will be the final part of the trilogy. There’s a story running through the albums. In the first two, I allowed more space for ambient instrumentals, but the third album is really the icing on the cake. I explored vocals a lot more as a reaction to being a live performer and that allows the story to come to its natural fruition.”