Interview: PELA
Interview: PELA
South London duo PELA blend genres and defies convention with their unique sound. Hannah Coombe’s incredible vocals pair perfectly with Olly Shelton’s production. This results in some remarkable tracks such as their debut single ‘You Got Me’ and their sensational cover of The Sundays ‘Here’s Where The Story Ends‘. They’ve spent the majority of 2020 experimenting with different styles across their six singles and are on course for an even more triumphant 2021. Philip Giouras caught up with the duo to find out more.
PG: Hey! Tell me a bit about how PELA came about as a musical project?
HC: PELA started in Spring 2019. We were working together in an artist (me) - producer (Olly) capacity, then we were writing together and then it quickly became obvious that there was this kind of synergy and collaboration that meant we just worked as a duo and we were both keen on that idea - and then PELA was born! We have a lot of plans and we’re excited for the future.
PG: Personally, “You Got Me” has been one of the songs of the summer, a perfect debut release. Can you tell me how it came together, the thinking behind what sound you wanted to present with your first single
OS: It began with a piano and drum loop in the depths of summer last year…I think we settled on a sound that was quite fitting for that - laid-back, lofi, easy going - which we’re planning on sticking too. We knew that we wanted didn’t want any tracks to sound too overproduced, so building everything around the piano and vocals was key. In fact, the piano was just the first take I did so it still has a kind of improvised feel to it…same with the vocals, which is why every time we perform it live it comes out a bit different. Again, we’re keen to work in this way more moving forwards.
PG: You have such a dynamic yet distinctive sound. Follow up singles ‘South Of’ and ‘Reverie’ are both noticeably different in tone yet still retain that PELA style. Talk me through the creation of those
HC: Thanks a lot. These songs were written at a time of really exploring what we could do together and I think you can hear that from the difference in sound between them. ‘South Of’ was the first song we wrote together and was the beginning of us mapping our what is coming. ‘Reverie’, as many of our songs do, started on the piano and immediately we were both feeling it. Both songs were a chance to explore different sounds, production ideas and structures and these first releases have definitely set us up for how we create together.
PG: How have you dealt creatively with the lockdown period? Has it affected the music you’ve made and your plans for the year?
OS: To begin with, our output of song ideas seemed to go up, maybe because it was a kind of coping mechanism of being in such a unique situation. We then took time to hone / record these ideas after a couple of months of lockdown - now these songs are all set for release throughout the rest of the year. I guess our production approach changed quite drastically, not having access to the little studio in Brixton we usually have, and so taking everything back to laptop only. This has actually been a really positive move though and I’ll definitely be working more in this way moving forward. As of writing, we’re back in a real creative high, which feels good! And our plans for the rest of the year haven’t really changed to be honest, other than the fact that we can’t do the live shows / festivals we were hoping to tie into the rest of PELA’s 2020 releases.
PG: All your new material and subsequent lockdown performances culminated in a fantastic Nozstock from home performance last weekend. I loved how you showed both sides to the group with instrumental DJ sections mixed in with more traditional performance structure, how did you find it?
HC: We were really happy to be part of Nozstock at home! We were so excited to have our first festival booked for this year and Nozstock is such an amazing festival (if you haven’t been - GO). Our set for their virtual festival was a lot of fun and was an introduction to the scope of what we’re doing and working on. Can’t wait to be there in real life next year and big love to all the crew at Noz.
PG: What music have you been listening to during this lockdown period? I see the incredible Lianne La Havas album has been on repeat for you guys.
OS: I feel like we’ve both gone on a bit of a journey in terms of what we’ve been listening to throughout this period… highlights would be Lianne La Havas’ new album, Glass Animals’ new album, Arlo Parks, Fred Again.., then actually more recently a load of house and disco…not that I could tell you any names haha! We just put a boiler room show on or various online radio stations (Worldwide FM, Platform B, NTS…). If you go to our Spotify , we have three playlists up of what we listen to, the most recent one is FIRE.
PG: You’re not afraid to be vocal on important issues, going as far as to donate all revenue from your Bandcamp sales for ‘South Of’ to BLM and Breonna Taylor Fund. Why does the cause mean so much to you and why is it important for artists to utilise their platform to speak up
HC: Anti-racism and feminism are doing words, and if we want to live in a world where everyone’s lives are valued equally then this just has to be shown through our actions - from the small to the bigger. We’re both committed to constantly deepening our understanding of our white privilege and working to unpack and destabilise how white supremacy manifests itself both in our daily lives and beyond that.
PG: Finally, What does 2021 have in store for PELA?
OS: More releases are on their way! We’re sticking with the lofi pop sound but exploring more electronic / groove based ideas with some of these, so yeah, watch this space!