Tempo Talks: A Conversation with PB
THE RELEASE
London-based singer songwriter pb makes her “own way” on her new album, “neither prose nor poetry”. Released May 31st, the album demonstrates not only pb’s exceptional lyric writing, but also her ability to seamlessly blend genres into something that melts beautifully into her warm and effortless vocal performance. Produced by Samuel Williams and recorded at 3Sixty Studios and Urchin Studios in London, the album brings together the delicate touch and ingenuity of a plethora of artists, all led by pb’s clear and refreshing vision.
Compiled of 10 tracks, “neither prose nor poetry” is a journey through pb’s mind; or possibly her journal. With lyrics ranging from deeply intimate and heartfelt (“it’s only you who makes me feel feminine” she sings in “Out of My Element”) to quirky, slice-of-life moments (“I even copied how he cooks his eggs: scrambled with two shakes of paprika, placed on top of toast” from “Parts Of Me and Parts Of Others”), it’s clear that pb has a strong grasp over her own artistry, and has something to offer for everyone. “Found”, the album’s lead single, features a dark and contemplative soundscape that washes over listeners with folk-like string melodies and dramatic, reverb-washed percussion, all of which set the scene for pb’s longing vocals, in which she sings of fear but demands to be heard.
You don’t want to miss out on pb’s call. “neither prose nor poetry” is a deeply tender and expressive work that allows listeners to connect with pb like an old friend. Read what pb has to say about the album in our interview with her below:
THE INTERVIEW
For your album launch party, you were joined by a full band. What does that feel like and how does performing live with a full band compare to the experience of collaborating with other musicians during the recording process?
This was a double first for me- both recording with other musicians, and playing live with other musicians! I come from a vocal background and have sung in choirs and a cappella groups as well as doing vocal arrangements for groups of 16-20 singers, so I was used to working with others musically but never for instruments/parts that I didn’t already play myself.
The recording process was great fun- I had rough ideas of what I wanted for each instrumental part, but besides for the melodic parts of strings and clarinet which I wrote out, I didn’t have the language for what exactly I wanted for guitars, bass and drums. Luckily, I was working with musicians who I trusted and who were my friends, so for each part I would tell them roughly what I was after, and they would play out their ideas. From there I would give feedback and we’d refine the parts together- it all ended up being very straightforward and easy!
Performing live with a full 8 piece band was a crazy experience, and I was a little intimidated to do it! Especially for the rehearsal process, I didn’t want to tell someone what to do when they played an instrument that I don’t know how to play! But the band were all so lovely and were there to support the journey of bringing my songs to life on stage, so I was very lucky to have such talented musicians around me who were also so easy to work with!
It was especially a blessing that the band who played at the gig were all the same musicians who recorded those parts on the album- the launch party was a natural way to conclude the recording process, getting to perform with everyone who was involved.
Can you talk a bit about the decision to choose Found as the lead single?
'Found’ is the most recently written song of 'neither prose nor poetry’, and is also the song that contains the lyrics that the album is named after. As the album is made up of songs from a span of 10 years of my songwriting, I guess you could say that ‘Found’ is where my songwriting is at now, and is the direction I want my songwriting to continue going in.
All of the songs in the album are about my true experiences, but ‘Found' in particular is about a constant experience I have in my life. Lyrically, ‘Found’ speaks of finding a place for yourself in the world, but more specifically for me, it is about being a songwriter in a world full of so many others, and my biggest hope and fear surrounding that- wanting to be seen and heard.
For these reasons it made the most sense for ‘Found’ to be the lead single (as well as it being one of my personal favourite songs!!)
You explore a lot of different sonic identities throughout the album. What or who were some of your inspiring forces for its creation?
Honestly I don’t think there were particular influences for all the different sonic identities! I don’t set out meaning to write in different styles, but I think whenever I write a song, although it always starts as only voice with either ukulele or piano, I immediately have a very strong picture for what I want the full arrangement to be.
I suppose elements of the musicians and songs I listen to end up in the final arrangements of my own songs, although I find it hard to pinpoint what and who exactly!
On the title, “neither prose nor poetry”: do you find freedom in not being confined to one or the other, or is there some difficulty in existing in a gray area outside that binary?
n school, English was my least favourite subject because I didn’t like the way we were told to write, and I never thought I was a very good writer. It was only in songwriting that I realised I enjoyed having to express exactly what I was trying to say in the confines of some rule I had already established for the song structure, whether that was a rhyming scheme or just choosing the right words to fit into the length of a line. The title ’neither prose nor poetry’ is not so much about rejecting the structures of prose and poetry, but more feeling that my writing, songwriting, doesn’t quite fit into either category.
The album exists around a core of incredibly strong and heartfelt lyric writing. What does your songwriting process look like? Do you usually start with lyrics when you begin a new piece?
The way I write has changed a lot from when I first started. Melodies and harmonic progression have always come natural to me, so my earliest songs like ’Not As It Seems’ and ‘My Own Way’ which I wrote at sixteen/seventeen started with playing chords I thought sounded interesting and singing a melody with nonsense words over the top. Actual lyrics were the last step, but I found it extremely challenging to find words that I liked and that fit the song’s vibe, let alone whether they then gave the song overall meaning. Most songs I wrote as a teenager are cute and I like how the music sounds, but I hate the lyrics- ’Not As It Seems’ and ‘My Own Way’ are the anomalies there!!
From there, the songs I’ve written in my twenties (which make up the majority of the album) would focus more on lyrics first and melodies/chords to follow. It feels like more of a task for me to write this way, but it result in songs with meaning and lyrics that I'm prouder of. But that doesn’t completely stop a melody popping into my head every now and then! ‘Found’ for example, I couldn’t help but have to work from the melody first and find the lyrics to follow- I think ‘Found’ is my rarest success for writing in that way!
What’s next for you, PB? How does this album set you up for future endeavors?
For now, I’m enjoying the release of this project! All I ever wanted with this album was to put the songs I’ve been sitting on for a long time out into the world for others to hear, so I’m happy to have achieved that! As for what’s next, I’m still songwriting, and whenever I write a song I really like I tend to get excited and want to record it so… expect more releases I suppose!!
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