‘Good morning…’

And so begins No More Like This, the second long player from London-based trio, PVA. A woozy awakening from ‘the night at Avalon‘, ‘Rain’ is the perfect opener to an album full of distorted, trippy production, intimate, half sung, half spoken-word vocals and exploratory lyrics that look at gender, bodies and desire. With this album, PVA nod to classic trip-hop textures while pushing the genre into a sharper, more modern space. PVA are set to tour the album this month and next.

To celebrate the release of the album Loverboy caught up with PVA’s Ella and Louis to discuss looking to the future, Theo Parrish and Thelma & Louise.

PVA, congratulations on No More Like This. Ella, what are you most excited to show people this time around with this record?
E: That softness and intensity don’t cancel each other out. That you can be vulnerable and still powerful. I’m excited for people to sit with the quieter moments as much as the louder ones.

Louis, you wanted to make an album that was a lot more intimate and emotionally layered than Blush. I wondered how you went about this and also how you feel about Blush now? Is an artist’s new project always their favourite?
L: Yeah, it’s gotta be hard for an artist to release something they don’t feel pushes the narrative along like an older release. But feeling for ‘Blush’ is all love. With the new records, we just wanted to make make something a listener can live with for a while. Where Blush exclaimed a forceful ultimatum, ‘NMLT’ taunts the listener in for anything they may have missed.

 

I really love the epicness of ‘Okay’. I wondered if you could tell us more about this song. The length of it. Also the words at the beginning catch my ear on every listen. Did you write those lyrics aware that would be the case? Haha…
E: I see Thelma and Louise driving off the cliff when I hear the lyrics of Okay. Choosing death over patriarchal bullshit. It’s both about submission and pushing back.
L: It’s actually the song we kept the most stripped back upon entering The Room Studios with Kwake Bass. With the density of the beat and the raw power of the vocals, we intently gave ‘Okay’ room to breathe. I think we’ve treated big songs differently before. This way around, another opportunity of exploration is opened and any additions have more of a purpose. In no doubt were we able to go harder with it by holding back.

 

I love ‘Moon’ too and that stabbing Euro, Italo synth. Can you tell us more about making this song?
E: We came up with this track and honestly the first demo had this destiny’s child vibe about it, we were honestly loving it in the studio. It’s since become more in line with those chords and vocals in the chorus. Rouse the moon to come again is the last lyric of a poem of mine about devotion.
and when
i hear you calling
your tired song
i will with
my bare feet
come running back
to hear your chorus
and rouse the moon
to come again
L: I’m big into my italo and never made that connection haha defo into it and can’t unhear, thanks. Yeah I love it. Josh really struck gold with that one. It evokes so much of the album with resolute emotion. I was pretty adamant of it finishing the album early on, and it set itself up to be a pillar, around which a lot of the album was based.

Which song do you feel most proud of lyrically and why?
E: Probably ‘Rain’. It says a lot with very little, the listener can fill in the gaps which makes it more collaborative.
L: I think ‘Anger Song’ and ‘Flood’ have truly cemented Ella as a lyrical force to be reckoned with.

Ella, I wondered how your relationship was with singing. I know you said, as a kid you were put off singing by the teacher in choir but that has gradually changed.
E: It feels reclaimed. For a long time I thought singing was something you were either “good” at or not, rather than just another expressive, emotional tool. Letting go of that idea changed everything, and I’m much kinder to my voice now. My old label got me a singing teacher because they expressed want for some more top lines on the tracks, and I needed support as I’m untrained / self taught. and I worked briefly with Christina Malley, who was genuinely so badass she really taught me not to care and to just enjoy it. Even then, it took a while. During the Blush campaign I found it hard to feel confident in my voice; there was a lot of feedback about it being monotone or lifeless or whatever else, which is interesting because you rarely see male vocalists get the same criticism for a similar approach. Weirdly, once we were dropped and stepped out of that feedback loop, I started naturally singing more top lines. I couldn’t stop writing hooks. It honestly felt like something got unclogged. Singing is an emotional thing like crying, like laughing. I’m just trying to hold onto that a bit more now.

You’ve said that while maybe Blush was more influenced by 90s music, No More Like This looks more to the future. I feel there is some safety in nostalgia, in the past. What’s the difference for you emotionally between looking to the past or the future for inspiration?
L: It kind of peeves me when a guitar band, genre hops and you get a token ska or Jeff Buckley number. And working in such a variable project comes with its own self-disgust. Personally, I would say ‘NMLT’ makes clearer nods to specific parts of UK dance culture. I think it’s a fine balancing act of embedding the respect you have for your inspirations into the wider work and adding your 2 cents to further the musical discourse. By all means, add the EQ you researched and the technique you rehearsed, but the future comes from inside.

 

I wanted to give a shout out to ‘Mate’ too. It really has a Detroit Techno/Theo Parrish energy for me. Was that a genre you looked to for this album?
L: Yoooo! Love that. Parrish, Terrence Parker, K-Hand, Moody, all big forces in what we’re about. It’s hard to say as we might each be on totally different trains for the building of each track, keeping an eye on how they’re all moving together. It’s funny, again I’d disagree and say ‘Blush’ was more the “techno” album, but it’s good to hear that more soulful side being recognised.

You said you had conversations with Kwake about how to approach genres from Black culture with honesty and respect. I wondered if you could elaborate on what sort of things came up in those talks, what you gained from them and how that changed your process.
E: Not conversation or talks per se, but we spoke about what the tracks and culture mean to us. Kwake was putting us on to so many deep dives into various artists we had only skimmed the surface of. Just really diving into performances that made a lot of sense to be listening to, rap and spoken word and the crossovers for me, within the NMLT recording process. Yasiin Bey Performing “Kijani” with the Alchemist being one. And then straight after the album, I got to see it live at Massive Attack Lido festival! It was a beautiful moment, because it reminded me of the recording of NMLT with Kwake and how special those 10 days had been for creativity, connection and vulnerability. Outside of all that, I think in general as a white musician, it’s important to learn and understand how to appreciate and not appropriate, and do that work on your own time. So I think the whole recording of NMLT, discovering music from across cultures & divides, that was something in me too, as a conscious force. We all grew up in London and were blessed for that because it’s so multicultural, compared to some other places in the UK. But the scene we’re from isn’t as diverse, so also just understanding the importance of building networks across scenes of solidarity and creativity, and just how each time making that connection, how amazing the music sounds.
L: Kwake’s main point was, know what the culture and music means to us, individually. For me, it’s a feeling from inside that stirs me to move my body in a way that feels irrepressible. My mind feels fed and fired up. I am empowered inside and out, and I have a desire to share that feeling with others. Kwake’s energy and understanding for the project was really uplifting. I only hope that our love and admiration for that multi-culture is equally felt by all.

Ella, you’ve said ‘queer nights seem to consistently feature some of the best electronic dance music.’ I wondered if you could tell us more about the DJs or clubs you enjoy on the scene. Also if you have seen a shift with more places closing down.
E: Love going to Piehouse Workers Co-Op for events. Riot Party at Electrowerkz. Grace Sands, 5am at Adonis is always a perfect moment in time. I’ve been finding it hard to find good nights recently though. Defo looking for a good dance so send them to us!

Lastly we are named after the biggest selling single of 2001 and always ask what is your favourite Mariah Carey song? 
E: ‘Fantasy’ (Ft O.D.B). It’s just such a good track. also shout out the Tom Tom Club sample. “i’m in heaven with my boyfriend my lovely boyfriend” is my fave lyric of all time.
L: Her outrageous cover of ‘I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On’!!

No More Like This is out now.
PVA on tour now. For full dates see here.

Group photo by Jak Payne