A powerful EP can have the ability to completely take you somewhere else, and PHIA does just that with her debut French Riviera EP, which whisks us away to a world of lush synths and immersive lyrics. From the pulsing ‘Talk To Me’ and confessional ‘Everything’s Not Fine,’ to the flirty ‘Friends Don’t Kiss’ and the mystical ‘French Riviera,’ the project details a relationship’s downfall before things eventually pick up and a new love blossoms. Along the way, you’ll fall in love with PHIA’s descriptive storytelling and inviting voice!
After stealing our hearts already with her writing for stars like IVE, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, and aespa, we’re so excited to see PHIA step into her own spotlight. And to make matters even more exciting, we got to ask her all about releasing her debut project, her creative process, and more! Press play on the French Riviera EP, then keep reading to learn all about it from PHIA herself!
Hi PHIA, congrats on your French Riviera EP! We’re so excited to check it out – how does it feel to be releasing the project into the world?
Hi! Thank you so much. It feels so exciting having it out, but also nerve-wracking because these songs are so personal. In a way, though, it feels liberating as I really feel they are my real experiences put into music, which is kind of like a form of therapy for me- and I hope people can resonate with it!
Which song from the EP are you most excited for fans to hear and why?
‘French Riviera.’ I think it’s because it’s the start of summer and everything about this song (the sonics, lyrics) makes me feel like I’m in a summer romance novel or driving with the rooftop down in the sun or something haha. I just love the easy breezy feeling of it, and I think people will appreciate that, especially in summer. It’s also the “love” song of the EP, which is nice because a lot of the time I write about heartbreak.
Which song means the most to you, if you could choose just one? We know, it must be like choosing a favorite child!
This is such a hard question haha. Because all 4 of the songs mean a lot to me in different ways. I’m going to go with ‘Talk To Me’ because it was the first one we put out and I feel like that one takes you on an emotional rollercoaster but you can dance to it at the same time.
How did you know that now was the right time to release your debut EP?
I have been writing for others for a while now and along the way, I ended up writing these songs that felt so special and personal to me, so I thought I had nothing to lose by putting them out into the world.
Growing up, my favourite thing in the world was listening to a song and relating to the lyrics so much that I almost felt like the song was written just for me. So to be able to do that for just one person who listens to it would mean the world – and I can’t do that if the songs are sitting on a hard drive haha.
Ahead of the release of the EP, fans had already heard songs like the summery ‘French Riviera’ and the cathartic ‘Everything’s Not Fine.’ How did you choose which songs to release as singles before the EP?
It was a process, but I feel like the seasons kind of helped with choosing. For example, in ‘Everything’s Not Fine,’ there’s a lyric about Christmas in the first line – so that felt right to release at the end of last year. And ‘Friends Don’t Kiss’ is kind of the moodiest track, so we released that in March before summer. And obviously, ‘French Riviera’ is super summery. I kind of like the idea of the songs taking you on a journey just like the seasons.
If you could spend a day on the French Riviera doing whatever you wanted, what would the agenda look like?
I am such a coffee girl- I would definitely start by going to a cute cafe in the early morning and people-watching, it’s literally my favourite thing. I feel like I would try and make friends with someone with a boat hahaha, because I love the sea but I’m scared of swimming in it. I love walking around so would definitely do some exploring. I’m not really a big party girl so my perfect day would be relaxing and chilling, and of course listening to ‘French Riviera’ on repeat.
You recently shared a stripped-down version of ‘French Riviera’ on Instagram, featuring calmer piano and gorgeous harmonies! Do your songs typically start off more simple like that before you create a beat around it, or does the beat and instrumental usually come first?
It depends on the day really! I had the chorus melody already in my head for ‘French Riviera,’ so I just voice noted it and played it to my good friend Mathias who helped make some chords around it, and we built it up from there.
But for other songs like ‘Friends Don’t Kiss,’ we started off with the guitar riff, and that kind of set the mood for the melodies and the rest of the song. I definitely feel like starting with chords or a riff is the easiest way to go because if the song is good enough acoustic, it’ll be even better with a beat and full production.
In addition to your solo music, you’ve also written some of our favorite K-Pop songs, including IVE’s ‘Love Dive’ (which you started as a now-viral demo called ‘Love Bites’) and aespa’s ‘Live My Life.’ How does your creative process differ when you’re working on a song for yourself vs. a song for another artist?
Aww thank you! I love K-Pop. I feel like I definitely overthink less when I’m writing for pitch- and especially with the K-Pop songs, I feel like I can be a bit more crazy and out there with my lyrics and melodies, and I often picture their music videos while I’m writing the songs. It’s so fun!
When I’m working with artists, I like to help them with telling their story, so we often have a huge talk about how they’re feeling/anything they want to write about and deep dive into that, and make sure that their song sounds true to them. I kind of do this to myself when I’m writing for me- I want to be as honest as possible. This sometimes comes from me writing on my piano at home and bringing little ideas into sessions. Although sometimes I will subconsciously write a song and not realise that it’s for me until after I’ve written it.
For our readers who may not know, what’s the process like as a songwriter for K-Pop?
It’s the most fun!! We often get briefs for the groups that are looking for songs, this will include references and certain words, etc. I will go into a session with a producer and often another writer and we will just create something fun and fresh and uplifting. I feel like I always write with a key word in mind and also write something that I know the idols will be able to dance to. K-Pop is so visual, which really helps with the writing process. We sometimes start with chords, a beat, a loop, and just write melodies and lyrics and kind of piece it all together.
Your first venture into music was taking opera classes in your teens, which must have been so interesting! Is there anything you learned during that time that’s stuck with you as you’ve established your career?
Opera was definitely not for me, I was always a pop girl at heart. But I feel like the technique has always stuck with me- it’s so technical and I learned a lot about my vocal range/ placements and breathing which has helped so much in my career so far, especially singing live and recording. I am obsessed with harmonies, and opera really helped with this as you have to do a lot of ear training. I’m very grateful I did it and learned the techniques when I was young.
How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist since releasing the song ‘Talk to Me’ last June?
I feel like I’m learning so much about myself by releasing music. When I first released ‘Talk To Me,’ to be honest, I was terrified of posting on social media, so since then I feel like I’ve become much more comfortable with that. It’s such a fun process, and I’m still learning. There’s so much that goes into it other than the music (artwork, socials, live, etc.) and I feel like I’m understanding it all a lot better now and just growing in confidence in general.
I remember being terrified that there was a spoken word verse in ‘Talk To Me,’ I was even slightly nervous recording it, but I wouldn’t even bat an eyelid doing that now! It’s little things like that. I feel more fulfilled and excited about releasing music, connecting with fans and hearing how they relate to my music- it’s the best feeling and has just urged me to keep going and keep being honest.
What can your fans look forward to in the rest of 2024?
Hopefully more music on the way! Maybe a few shows, acoustic videos (and more promo for the EP haha!)
Is there anything else you’d like to mention or say to your fans that the questions didn’t touch on?
Just thank you if you’ve listened! It means the world to me, my DM’s are open always and I love to hear from you guys.
Thank you so much to PHIA for answering all our questions and giving us a project as beautiful as the French Riviera EP! We know this is just the beginning of an amazing journey for you and we’re buzzing even just thinking about what you’ll do next.
Now, honeybees, we have a question for you! Which track on French Riviera is your fave? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PHIA:
INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE
