Penelope Trappes on music, location & collaboration

Since then Trappes has gone on to add Penelope Two and Penelope Three to form an otherworldly triptych of ambient albums which bring together musical worlds that are as much shoegaze pop as they are surrealist soundscapes.

In February Trappes places her work in the hands of the London Contemporary Orchestra for a collaborative concert as part of our Purcell Sessions series. Ahead of that event, we caught up with the artist to discuss her music and the importance of collaboration.

How would you describe your music to someone new to it?

Dreamlike – driven by the power of the voice and the drone – Immersive.

How important to your music is where you’re now based?

Environment definitely impacts my work. Since moving to Brighton, I am deeply inspired by the tides of the sea and by the hinterland of the South Downs. I often go on long meditative walks, while making field recordings. Being very ‘present’ in my environment often inspires a mood to come up to the surface which triggers a lot of my compositions.

What led to you working with the London Contemporary Orchestra? And what about this project excites you the most?

I was honoured that LCO approached me and asked if I would like to collaborate with them. I am beyond excited by the idea of exploring different vibrations and sounds of more classic instruments and connecting with the energy of the people who will be playing. I can’t wait to see how this connection and experience translates my music into something completely new.

What do you look for in a musical collaboration?

For me it’s the intimate human connection and the bonding that happens beyond the music. It is like making a new friend, finding a new love. The mutual respect amongst the collaborators creates an internal freedom and a deep trust from which novel and unimaginable ideas can resonate.

‘The intimate human connection and the bonding that happens beyond the music is what I look for in a collaboration. It is like making a new friend, finding a new love.’

Aside from this collaboration, do any of your previous collabs really stand out to you, as being especially important to your musical development?

In 2019, with the help of Houndstooth, I was beyond fortunate to have my album Penelope Two reworked by ten artists that I adore and respect. The formation of the project, called Penelope Redeux, came about by asking each artist to choose a piece that stood out to them the most, that inspired them to consider a new life for the song. I gave them complete freedom and total trust.

Some of the most beautiful and bizarre reworkings of my album were developed by Mogwai, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Nik Colk Void, Poppy Ackroyd, JFDR, Aasthma (Peder Mannerfelt & Par Grindvik), Felicia Atkinson and others. Hearing what choices were made and how the artists transformed them was essentially a whole new universe opening up to me. 

And if you could work with any musician at all in a future collaboration, who would that be and why?

After working closely with the cello over the past year and connecting on such a deep level with the resonance of the instrument, alongside my total admiration for her compositions, I would have to say Hildur Guðnadóttir.

I have been to Iceland a few times and, like many, I feel I have an incredibly deep emotional connection to the land. To work with her on her land would be an absolute dream.