In Conversation: phem on New Music, Personal Style, and Life on Tour
Photographed by Phil Knott
Contributing Fashion Editor Kassidy Taylor sits down with phem, the genre-blurring artist who’s turning her DIY energy into a full-blown touring identity. She talks about the raw edges of her new music, the thrill and grind of life on tour, and the way her personal style stitches together vulnerability, play, and self-protection. Think, backstage chaos meets carefully chosen thrift gems, all wrapped up in phem’s unmistakeable voice.
You’ve been writing music for the last year to start releasing in 2026. Are you excited to finally share them? What themes or experiences have found their way into these new songs?
“Yes, very excited. This next EP will be called “pheelings pt.2” so it will continue to explore all emotions. Very self reflective, very vulnerable, very phem.”
You’ve been teasing a song called “farewell fuxk”. When can we expect it and what is it about?
“The term speaks for itself, but it’s the last time you’re intimate with someone, and you know it. Sometimes there are several of these farewell fuxks, but when you’re in it, you usually know. Sometimes people will romanticize it because they the feeling is finite. If you’re lucky, you’re able to experience at least one of these in your life. The passion, the pain, the anger, all the pheelings.. they over-flow.”
Who have you been collaborating with in the studio lately, and how have those sessions shaped this next chapter of your sound?
“I’ve been working with Mark Evans on a lot of this new stuff, as well as Taylor Wilzbach, Marteen Estrada, and Carol Mak. I’ve also recently been working with the group Jimi Somewhere. Exploring ideas and having fun. I love them as artists, but they are also very amazing producers.”
Are you going to be touring soon? Is there a city or crowd you always look forward to performing for?
“I always have a great time performing and connecting with my fans. That’s what gets me the most excited. Chatting with people and hearing their stories, and what occupies their daily life in the cities I visit. Every crowd is special in their own way. I’ll be doing more touring come all these releases. Something a little more unique and curated. I love intimate shows and experiences, and I want to bring something special and memorable to these places.”
Fashion has become such an extension of many artists’ identities. How does your personal style help communicate the energy or emotion behind your music? Does a lyric ever become a look?
“The ethos of phem is turning the everyday seemingly mundane into beauty and art. For example my necklaces are a take on the soda can tabs I used to share with friends in middle school, and my everyday tank is based off the Hanes tank top I wear almost everyday. Everything I use in my life naturally infiltrates into the art I create. I try to find the beauty within the colloquial. That’s what feels special and so real to me.”
You recently released your graveyard tapes —what is it and what do you hope listeners take from it?
“The graveyard tapes are a small collection of songs that you will not find on any streaming platform. The only way to access these songs is through purchasing the cassette keychain that is scannable. This is volume 2. I only made 100, so these are very limited. These songs are the misfits. They tell deep stories, but haven’t been able to fit on any body of work. They are deeply personal, honest, and not to be heard by many. They are a sneak peak into whats behind the curtain of phem.”
Your music and your style both have this DIY backbone. When you’re building a track from scratch, do you approach it the same way you build a look, layering, editing, distressing? Where do those processes diverge?
“Yes! Often times I start with a song feeling or title, and build around that. If the main idea or concept is strong enough I can shape a story around it. If there isn’t a solid feeling, then usually the song doesn’t have enough substance to create a piece of music. Once I have that idea in my mind, I can start riffing off melodies with intention behind, creating something powerful and meaningful. I’m not calculated and methodical. I lead with feelings. Similar to how I wear clothes, If I put something on and I feel confident and powerful than I know it’s meant to be. If I feel solid with my outfit, then I can layer and expand on it. Everything needs a distinct theme or feeling first though. There’s a rhythm and a flow, and a sense of truth and honesty to it all. I hate feeling like I’m wearing a costume, or dressing up as something I’m not.”
