The best music is always going to be the kind that gives you an unintentionally complete experience. When all sonic elements — melody, vocals, lyrics, arrangement — come together to deliver a complete story and feeling, you almost forget that it’s all a product of a musician working to deliver that moment to you.
Phoenix James is doing exactly that.
Only 19 years old with one album under her belt and a new EP on the way, Phoenix doesn’t shy away from creating a scene through her sound. With a style based on alternative and contemporary R&B combined with her straightforward and open musical process, it’s impossible to keep your eyes off of Phoenix. Over the summer, I had the privilege of sitting down with her and talking through her musical mindset. The one thing that astounded me most during the interview? Phoenix’s commitment to creating a completely new listening experience for her audience, sonically and emotionally.
“Baby, let me take you places you ain’t been” – “Criminal” (2020)
Born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in Miami, Florida, Phoenix has been a performer for as long as she can remember. Growing up, she went from playing drums on pots and pans, to taking guitar lessons, to eventually studying at a performing arts school. With her entire childhood rooted in musical exploration, it’s no surprise that Phoenix would come to write and produce her own music; for her, there was never a moment where she said, “this is what I want to do.” It was just, “I’m doing this.” Being a musician was a given and Phoenix makes it clear that she’s not going to stop anytime soon.
Phoenix started working on her debut album “AW(FUL)SOME” at 15 and it was released over a year ago. At the time, producing this album was a matter of figuring out who she was as an artist, writing in complicated lyrics and featuring more rap-style vocals. Looking back, she feels that “AW(FUL)SOME” is more of a compilation than one cohesive project, with each song almost trying to prove a point instead of delivering a specific feeling. Two days after the completion of “AW(FUL)SOME,” Phoenix wrote the first track of her new project, sounding nothing like the album in the best way.
“You never slow down for nobody” – “Speedracer” (2021)
The new track was something that just fell into place for Phoenix. To her, it came out of nowhere. Sonically, the song shocked her. After writing it and sharing it with a producer, it became clear that this sound would be the framework for her new project. Phoenix’s new EP, “New Stages,” is a reflection of that first track and would eventually become an experiment that was unlike anything she had ever written or produced.
With songs designed to feel trippy and “like an out of body experience,” Phoenix crafts a sound that takes you out of your environment and places you into her own intricately designed world. Her main goal? To overwhelm you with emotion. All elements of the project aim to develop a complete, encapsulating experience that brings you on an emotional trip. Additionally, this project has been a means for Phoenix to quite literally find her voice. Rather than continue with the more rap-style vocals that she features in her debut album, Phoenix’s singing voice takes the stage. “It’s something I’ve been holding back on … allowing my voice to just sing, to really sing.”
“I gotta let you grow” – “Grow” (2021)
During the EP’s production, Phoenix, along with the rest of the class of 2020, graduated from high school into a pandemic. Entering adulthood in a time of limited socialization while growing into new freedoms has left a bittersweet feeling on Phoenix. Those feelings are exactly what this EP tries to capture. After a year of stagnation and anticipation, the nationwide lockdowns have been an outlet for the creative introspection that Phoenix has been working on. Rather than try to impress people and focus on external relationships, “New Stages” is built on the relationship with oneself and how there are different ways to grow into what you want to be.
Establishing yourself artistically is never an easy task, especially as a young adult through a piece of work that explores your own relationship with yourself. Phoenix’s hope and goal with her music is to share with her audience that working internal relationships and experiencing new moments of growth for yourself is necessary to entering new stages of life. It’s not something to be afraid of, rather something to look forward to and have fun with.
“New Stages” is slated for March of 2022 and the content of the EP falls parallel to Phoenix’s own experiences writing it. Ultimately, “New Stages” is about delivering an emotion and creating an experience like no other. Whether it’s coming into adulthood after graduating in a pandemic or looking inwards for self discovery, Phoenix is willing and able to cover it all, most importantly, with style. Her straightforward and open attitude regarding her art, goals and journey is the kind that many will resonate with. Music, to Phoenix, “[is] an artform but it’s also fun, it’s also play.” You can find Phoenix as @phoenixxjames on Instagram for updates on new music. And while we wait for her next EP, make sure you RUN (don’t walk) over to her Spotify to stream her latest singles “Grow” and “Made-Of.”
Whether it’s looking inward for inspiration and writing or collaborating with others, one thing’s for certain: Phoenix doesn’t plan on stopping, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.