Having previously fronted acts like A Sunbeam and Spiritcake, this month sees Gloucestershire-based Philippe Nash unveil the debut single under his own name via new London label Off Peak Records. ‘Peel’ first came to life back in 2017, as early versions appeared in the live sets of the aforementioned bands, before settling into its current form during a stint working with young men in prison. This period not only reinforced what what was most important to Nash, but also provided the space and ambience necessary to achieve the track’s true spirit.
Structured around simple acoustic guitar, the slow, sad style evokes a strange paradox between presence and absence. The intimacy of the empty room. Nash’s vocals shift from steady croon to whispered hush, sometimes stretching into something pained and wounded. Because if the tense, echoing corridors of the prison sparked the inspiration, a wider tension informs the track as a whole.
“‘Peel’ is an exploration of my own struggles with anthropocentric ecocide,” explains Nash. “I didn’t want to hold back on vulnerability or my poetic voice, while also wanted to retain this sense of self-awareness.” This is achieved through both quiet and noise, the track building from mournful stillness into something more foreboding, rising to the point of unravelling before falling to near silence once more. Like a fear too large to hold for too long. A shadow on the horizon too cold and dark to bear.
Everything around you will go
Nothing like you
This will all disappear
Nothing like you though
Degradation’s gonna Peel
All our faces off the earth
And the earth is gonna wail!
Running rivers of reliefI’m not calming down about that
‘Peel’ is out now via Off Peak Records and available via the Philippe Nash Bandcamp page.
