WATCH: Penelope Trappes – ‘Fur & Feather’

Inspired by Celtic mythology, the on-going journey towards self-autonomy and a sense of inner peace, Australian-born Brighton-based artist Penelope Trappes has shared her latest single ‘Fur & Feather’. Taken from her upcoming album Penelope Three, which is set for release on 28th May via Houndstooth, the track is a deeply soothing listen led by tentative keys and Trappes’ beguiling vocals.

“I wrote ‘Fur & Feather’ after becoming inspired by the Celtic tale of The Selkie, which is about ‘homing’ – returning to a sense of self,” Trappes explains about the track. “I found this treasure within the well-known book Women Who Run With Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkes Estés. In preparation for the inevitable day that my sole daughter would leave home after 18 years, I carried a great sense of bittersweet loss in my heart. The Selkie reminded me of how I always knew the time would come when I’d be physically and emotionally alone and because of this I have always kept my own identity intact.”

Accompanied by a beautifully shot self-directed video in collaboration with art collective Agnes Haus, ‘Fur & Feather’ sees Trappes find contentment in a spiritual and physical sense, exploring lush woodlands as her calm vocals act like a deep exhale, dispersing her fears of loneliness and reassuring herself that the inevitability of change can be embraced and enjoyed with the right mindset.

Watch the video for ‘Fur & Feather’ below.

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Photo Credit: Agnes Haus

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Track Of The Day: Penelope Trappes – ‘Nervous’

A graceful, evocative soundscape that tentatively traverses the inner thoughts of an anxious woman, Australian-born Brighton-based artist Penelope Trappes has shared her latest single ‘Nervous’. Taken from her new album Penelope Three, which is set to be released on 28th May via Houndstooth, the track ripples with a sense of mystery and disquiet, both of which are beautifully reflected in the accompanying video.

Forming the final part of her musical trilogy, Trappes’ upcoming album reflects on healing from grief while harnessing the unique power of her voice to tell tales of resilience and the restorative power of love. Utilizing her lived experiences as a mother and swiftly defying the limiting ageist and sexist industry ideas about women’s creativity, on ‘Nervous’ she masterfully layers her clear vocals over sparse beats and atmospheric electronics to hypnotic effect. “I’m digging up the underworld with visual motifs, and a mystical, gothic darkness that symbolises my struggles,” Trappes says of her new music, exhuming her feelings and finding joy and liberation in expressing the darker aspects of the emotional spectrum.

“In mid 2020 I began renting a strange and unique house in Brighton…I used the odd space and time to film the video for ‘Nervous’,” Trappes explains. “It delves inside the mind of a nervous smoking woman, which takes the form of an oppressive strange house. Inside, she is confronting the balance between the masculine and feminine within her, which take the form of two spirit characters. Outside there are expansive but liminal moments of reprieve from the claustrophobia, but she invariably gets drawn back into the anxious loop of her own mental entrapment.”

Watch the video for ‘Nervous’ below.

Penelope Trappes UK 2021 Live Dates
13 May The Great Escape, Brighton *Live Stream*
23 Sept The White Hotel, Manchester
24 Sept The Alchemy Experiment
25 Sept Future Yard, Birkenhead
26 Sept Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester
30 Sept The Rose Hill, Brighton
21 Nov St Pancras Church, London
24 Jul SNNTG Festival, Hannover
*supporting Leifur James

Follow Penelope Trappes on bandcampSpotifyInstagram and Facebook

Press Credit: Agnes Haus

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut