Emily Perry, better known as Pem, has been making waves in the indie music scene, and her brand new EP which released on June 7th is already turning heads, drawing even more attention to this brilliant new artist.
The new EP – cloud work – boasts five melancholic but beautiful tracks. The opening song, ‘gulls’, is an excellent set-up for the overall tone of the EP – it’s a bit ethereal, and soft; diaphanous might be a good word to describe it – it’s light and delicate, and almost otherworldly. The rest of the EP follows in a similar fashion.
The highlight of the EP is undoubtedly ‘gut health’ – which was released as a single in May of this year. It’s a calm-sounding track that uses a number of water-based metaphors. These work very well in the context of the EP, and Pem herself suggests that the body of work is supposed to feel almost like being submerged under water, in a calm, almost dream-like space. The lyricism on this track is masterful, showcasing Pem’s unquestionable ability to tell stories through her music.
The lyrics across the entire EP pack a punch – they’re deep and beautiful, exploring the intricacies in Pem’s life. When asked, Pem explained that the lyrics on cloud work are a little bit different to those on her other releases – in that they’re more inspired by her own life and thoughts, rather than her romantic relationships.
With vocals reminiscent of Maisie Peters, Pem captivates the listener across the twenty-or-so minutes of cloud work. The tracks work together perfectly, and allow you to feel as though you’ve been submerged into some calm, still world – below the surface of the water, or perhaps above the cloud cover. It’s dreamy – tranquil, perhaps, despite the sadness present in some of the lyrics.
In anticipation of cloud work, Pem spoke to WAX about the EP’s inception, inspiration, and the song-writing process.
What was the process of writing the songs on this EP?
The EP’s all about my dad, really, because he passed away last year. I wrote the collection of songs about that, and one of them, ‘grips’, I wrote several months before when he was in care. I started off by writing that one, and all the others came after he passed away. ‘gulls’ came quickly, after, and so did ‘awe’, and then the others followed.
My label and I agreed on five songs for the EP, and these were the ones that worked, naturally, and fit altogether as a unified body of work. I suppose it happened quite organically, really.
So there are other songs that you’ve written that didn’t make the EP?
Yeah, there were a few others I’d written that didn’t seem to fit as nicely as these five. The ones we picked seemed to feel the most complete, and seemed to fit nicely as a collection. They’re all sort of related to the same thing.
There are two additional tracks on the EP as well after ‘awe’, ‘grips’, and ‘gut health’ were released as singles, right?
They’re actually my favourite ones, really. One of them is really stripped back – it’s a really sad song, and it’s just piano and vocals. It’s definitely the most raw one of the five, and I like how sparse it is.
The other one feels really personal because it’s got a lot of field notes and sound recordings I took. It’s quite gentle and atmospheric. To me, they feel like the most intimate ones, on the EP.
So you saved the best for last, then?
I guess we picked the songs that were the bigger ones, as the singles, and then the gentler ones were nice to keep back – as a treat.
You use a lot of different metaphors – does that happen organically, or do you set out thinking about the ones you’re going to use?
I think it happens quite organically. I mean, the ones that were present on this EP were pretty natural, and they were ways of processing losing my dad.
The reason it’s called cloud work is because, when I found out what was happening, I was on a plane, and the plane was landing. When I got the news, the sky looked really strange. I’d never seen the sky look like that – the clouds were really thin, and the sky was sort of purple. I remember thinking something weird was going to happen, and when I turned my phone on, I got the news. Now I have a strange relationship with clouds, so they became the idea that unified it.
A lot of the EP is about flight and height – it’s to do with birds, and going up, and lifting. I like to think of my dad as a bird, and it was the first thing I saw in the window, after he passed away. One of the songs is called ‘gulls’ and the other is called ‘martin pêcheur’ which means ‘kingfisher’ in French, so those two are explicitly about him. Those symbols are quite helpful for me. It’s a nice abstract way of writing about something really personal.
Would you say the metaphors are a bit like a defence from being too explicit?
A bit, yeah. I think it’s a way of ascribing meaning to make it more manageable. There’s a bit of a separation, and that can help, sometimes.
Would you say this is one of your most personal works?
Oh, definitely. And, as well, I think it’s really nice to write about things that aren’t explicitly about romantic relationships. That’s normally what I write about. So it was interesting to have something not about that.
Who are some of your influences? Musically, lyrically?
Lyrically, when I was younger I was really into Elliott Smith and Joni Mitchell, and also people like Jeff Buckley and Mazzy Star – swoony and sad, you know? Then as I got a bit older, I started listening to a bit more soul – people like Dusty Springfield and Billie Holiday – Eartha Kitt, too. Slightly more husky, vibrato tones. That kind of informed my sound, and the way I sing, the way words come out.
The artwork is great – do you play much of a role in that?
Yeah. I’m a bit of a control freak with all that stuff. The artwork is done by photographers that I’ve worked with pretty closely. I made extensive Pinterest moodboards for them.
How do you feel seeing the finished EP, now?
It feels weird. It’s been such a big build up. It’s all been really busy, and there’s been so much going on with it, that it’s strange that it’s done. It’s overwhelming thinking about the fact that it’s finished.
Words: Rosie Smith // Photos: Genevieve Reeves (cover) & Sandra Ebert
‘cloud work’ is out now via Fascination Street Records. Stream and download the EP via Bandcamp.