‘Rain’ is the first single from Manchester alt-pop duo, Phellotape. Not only that, it also happens to be the first song Alice ever wrote. It was a hot,sticky day in June 2023, and Alice was sitting in a cafe when a thunderstorm hit, immediately drenching the al fresco brunch crowd and battering the canvas awnings. The whole scene felt rather cinematic, and the stifling heat of the last few days was replaced with a welcome freshness. Alice took out her phone and filmed some of the goings on around her…people laughing as they wrung out their sodden T-shirts, rushing to gather up their waterlogged breakfasts and retreat inside to watch the storm. She filmed some of the action on her phone to send to her ex-partner, but on watching it back she realised the video hadn’t captured any of the magic of the moment. This precipitated an unexpected outburst of emotion - in 2020 her partner Reece became severely and chronically ill at the age of 29 and, after two and a half years of caring for him, she ended the relationship. She knew she had to choose between a life with the person she loved, or a life that made her happy. Alice and Reece are still close, and keep in regular contact as they navigate their grief. 

Alice wrote the lyrics to ‘Rain’ over the next few days, which she attached to a bluesy double bass line that had been living rent-free in her mind for several months, and so the first iteration of ‘Rain’ was born. 

Later that year Alice met Twem and ‘Phellotape’ was born. The folky, acoustic arrangement of ‘Rain’ didn’t sit comfortably with the music they were producing together, so one night Alice sat down at her piano and started re-working the song. At the time she was listening to a lot of Robert Glasper, and you can hear the influence of his track ‘Better Than I Imagined’ in the laid-back, neo-soul stylings of the keys. She brought the new version of the song to Twem and he began to work on it, adding a trip-hop tinged bass line and an insistent guitar pedal note to the piano and vocals. Ada Francis (Morning Company) provides the distinctive sound of the harp and the rain sounds that bookend the song were recorded from out of Alice’s bedroom window during a similar summer storm the following year.

Rain

Have you ever heard birdsong..?

(Birdsong - 3min 24sec, written and performed by Sean Fleming)

Birdsong

Sticking sounds together since summer 2023. 

‘Phellotape’ comprises two Manchester musicians, vocalist and double bassist Alice Phelps and multi-instrumentalist producer Thomas ‘Twem’ Twemlow, who met whilst playing for queer alt-rock band, The Irrepressibles. 

The duo draws on a wide range of sonic influences such as Massive Attack, Zero 7 and Feist. Tracks are sometimes intricately woven with harp, piano and dreamy harmonies around Alice’s warm and intimate vocals, other times they are heavy with layered synths and Twem’s driving electric guitar. Alice’s lyrics explore the complexities of love, desire and living with loss with a nod to the song writing styles of Carole King and James Taylor.

Rain

Phellotape

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