Even as a child, Phew realized she was a bit different. ¡°When I was at school, if the teacher told a joke and everyone else in the class laughed, I was always the one who couldn¡¯t see what was funny,¡± she says. ¡°I¡¯ve always been like that.¡±
At 56, the singer and avant-garde artist is still as unconventional as ever. This month, she releases her first solo album of original material in two decades, and it¡¯s a late contender for most alienated record of the year. Titled ¡°A New World,¡± it¡¯s full of creaking rhythms and uneasy synthesizer drones, bound together by Phew¡¯s unmistakable vocals: dour, deep-toned and stripped of identifiable affect.
The album captures the latest transformation in a career that¡¯s moved through punk, improv and experimental pop, and seen her work with figures including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Seiichi Yamamoto, Jim O¡¯Rourke and fabled German producer Conny Plank. While her 2010 covers album, ¡°Five Finger Discount,¡± featured a conventional band, in 2013 Phew began to play solo shows using synthesizers and archaic drum machines.
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