Meet Phoebe Sinclair, who brightens hard times with her new single, OMG

Over the last few years, we've become well-accustomed to the world of sad-bangers and what exactly that means. We've interviewed the queen of them - Robyn - at a time when she was releasing an album encapsulating the idea, and thrown our love towards musicians that have paved the niche genre since its inception: Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Kate Bush and the list continues. As a result, it brings us great joy to see artists blossom and emerge through spotlighting the sound and its healing, cathartic energy, and no different is Phoebe Sinclair - a newcomer doing some great things within the sound.

Her new track OMG is a song that encapsulates this into a concise, three-minutes-thirty of pop brilliance that stands out from a scene dominated by new, emerging names every day. Backed by an all-female four-piece choir, it's a single that bursts out from the get-go with positive, uplifting attitude, with an attention-grabbing production blaring as it battles against Phoebe Sinclair's vocal, which is amongst one of the catchiest local choruses for the year with its strong, earworming hook.

For the Brisbane-via-Gold Coast musician, it's an introduction to her sad-pop energy and the sounds it encompasses, with Phoebe taking some pretty hard themes and masquerading them underneath empowering moments of pop that really hide the therapeutic release underneath. "Every poor decision I’d made suddenly needed to be held accountable, and it fell out of me in the means of this song," she says on the track, which she worked on alongside producer Blake Malone, rising musician MDWS and her co-writing partner Lara Frew.

There's plenty more to love and learn on the single, but for now, dive into OMG and better introduce yourself to the rising star while you're at it - it's an easy one to fall in love with.

Tell us about yourself?

Hello, I’m Phoebe. I am an emotional-wreck turned songstress.

What’s the vibe music-wise?

I make sad-bangers (or sangers) about all the uncomfortable situations I’ve found myself in. As I mentioned earlier, I can be kinda self-critical, but I figure if I can write a song to boogie my way out of self-loathing it’s a pretty swell way to cope.

I write about these less-than-ideal situations with an upbeat mindset. It took me a while to figure out that writing deeply depressing songs didn’t make me feel empowered about having made it through the bumps I’d experienced. Maybe it’s the Lizzo effect, but I decided I deserved better from myself, so even if I wanted to write about the hard times, I still had to do it with a four to the floor kick drum behind me.

What are your production and writing processes like?

I love pop music and am fuelled by clever songwriting, catchy hooks and girl power. I have a few go-to collaborators that each brings something wonderfully special to the tracks we work on. I’m lucky enough to be a part of a songwriting duo called ‘Middleman’ with my long-time songwriting bud Lara Frew. Together we write and topline for other artists & producers all over the world. Having spent a couple of years doing this now, I feel like I have a newfound understanding of my own writing, what I stand for, and how my music can really connect.

I’m most often inspired by real-life events and think it’s because I simply feel too much. A blessing and a curse, at least I’m never out of material.

Can you tell us about your new single, OMG?

Oh my god, I’d love to. I started writing OMG after a moment of clarity. I was sat parked in my car and hindsight hit me like a ten-tonne truck. Every poor decision I’d made suddenly needed to be held accountable, and it fell out of me in the means of this song.

I worked on the track with my beautiful producer, Blake Malone, who’s the sweetest possum in the biz. We made up a gazillion versions of this song and nothing felt quite right. Around version gazillion-and-one he decided to bring MDWS on board. The boys worked their magic, pulled the song apart, restructured it and boom, it was finally right. This left me two days to re-write my newly restructured song before tracking the final vocals. I took what I had to Lara and we both chipped away; in a matter of hours, we had an even better song than what we started with. It was pressure, but pressure makes diamonds baby.

Any tour dates coming up?

I’m lucky enough that I’ll get to play a few shows in the New Year with my kick-ass all-girl band. We can’t wait!

What does the rest of 2019 – and beyond - have in store for you?

This single has some cool videos and extras to accompany it and I am ridiculously excited to share everything!

I’m about to head off to Sydney for a songwriting trip, and I’m sure that’ll play a big part in the 2020 plans. I’ve got some more sad bangers of my own in the pipeline and am itching to play more and more shows.

2019 has been a super year, the best yet. I’m hoping to make it tradition and level up again in 2020.

Where can we find more of your music?

Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

Follow Phoebe Sinclair: FACEBOOK