Tokyo based Japanese artist, singer, and analogue electronics improviser Phew is a generational talent and influence within the global experimental music landscape. Ahead of her performance at Club SAW this Sunday, October 13, one of only a few shows part of a rare Canadian tour, we are excited to share a playlist curated by Lamb Fatale of essential Phew tracks, such as “SIGNAL” and “Our Element”. Check out the playlist below:
From the beginning of her musical explorations, Phew has a deep history within the punk and hardcore genres. After seeing the Sex Pistols perform live in England in 1977, where she was quoted telling Biba Kopf in a 2003 feature published in The Wire: “I realized this was not something you were supposed to watch, it was something you were supposed to do.”
From starting as the front woman of Japanese avant-punk psychedelic rock group Aunt Sally, to the her most recent release New Decade (“a haunted and strung out set of barely-there vox and submerged synths” - Boomkat), Phew has maintained an incredible track record ranging from improvisational avant-garde to electronic analogue, keeping the spirit of punk at the forefront of her projects.
After leaving Aunt Sally in 1979, she continued working as a solo artist and collaborator, and released a collaborative single with Ryuichi Sakamoto in 1980. In 1981, she released her first solo album, “Phew”, recorded with members of German krautrock group CAN, Conny Plank, Holger Czukay, and Jaki Liebezeit. From there, her collaborative practice brought her to working with Neubauten guitarist Alexander Hacke and DAF and Liaisons Dangereuses’ Chrislo Haas on her album Our Likeness released in 1992 (reissued by MUTE last year); Project Undark was a trio with Dieter Moebius and author and artist Erika Kobayashi, and 2018’s Island is a conversation with The Raincoats’ Ana da Silva.
While she is quoted criticizing her own work as being unchanging, she is recognized by fans as a pioneer in punk, kosmische, experimental vocal and electronic music.
For more in-depth listening, tune into Heavy Friends this Saturday at 8pm on CKCU 93.1FM to get a taste of her discography, hosted by Zoë (Lamb Fatale) who will be supporting Phew alongside SUBR صبر on Sunday night.
Don’t miss Phew, supported by SUBR صبر and Lamb Fatale, this Sunday, October 13 at Club SAW. Tickets on sale now.
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Legendary Japanese singer Phew makes her London debut, The Wire, 20/09/2016, https://www.thewire.co.uk/news/43627/japanese-singer-phew-makes-london-debut
Biba Kopf, Phew, The Wire, 08/2003, http://www.thewire.co.uk/shop/back-issues/issue_234
Peter Margasak, A Guide to the Music of Musical Experimentalist Phew, Bandcamp Daily, 26/10/2021, https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/phew-discography-list