Next week, Australian-born Brighton-based artist Penelope Trappes will release the last installment of her album trilogy. Following up to “Nervous” and “Fur & Feather,” she has just unveiled a new track and video off the record. A song about repurposing the fear within, “Blood Moon” sounds both atmospheric and claustrophobic; a feeling reinforced by the striking accompanying visuals, in which she drags a (dead) body on the ground. About the concept of the video:

“The short film ’Blood Moon’ is a modern take on the goddess Isis if she were around to face today’s world. Isis is the protector of women and children and the healer of the sick – but despite her powers, she would still be weighed down by societal expectations of what is expected of women.”

Watch and pre-order the album via Bandcamp below.

Australian-born, Brighton-based producer and songwriter Penelope Trappes has just detailed the last installment of her trilogy that explores the cycles of birth, life and death. The last piece of her triptych is, in her words, “about healing the stories held in her body by surrendering to universal love.”

“I’m digging up the underworld with visual motifs, and a mystical, gothic darkness that symbolises my struggles” she then added about Penelope Three. “Yet the universal message is that of overcoming our fears to allow the love in. This is the healing.”

The project is introduced today by the other-worldly single “Nervous”, on which she navigates anxiety and vulnerability. The eerie video, that she co-directed with Agnes Haus, could act as a trailer for the next season of American Horror Story.

“In mid 2020 I began renting a strange and unique house in Brighton, but I couldn’t actually move into it for a month, so I used the odd space and time to film this video,” she explained. “It delves inside the mind of a nervous smoking woman, which takes the form of an oppressive strange house. Inside, she is confronting the balance between the masculine and feminine within her, which take the form of two spirit characters. Outside there are expansive but liminal moments of reprieve from the claustrophobia, but she invariably gets drawn back into the anxious loop of her own mental entrapment.”

Watch below and pre-order Penelope Three via Bandcamp.

Let’s not beat about the bush: 2020 was the worst year of my life and I think it might be the case for a lot of people around. As a music fan, not being able to attend any concerts, seeing some of my favourite venues and festivals endangered and reading that up and coming talents are struggling more than ever has been a big bummer. I’m not even mentioning all the emails starting with “hope you are well during these strange times”. Well, guess what? We aren’t!

Even if we have spent most of our time locked at home, streaming more music than ever, not sure the smallest DIY artists will see the difference when they’ll receive their royalty revenues. All of that to say that artists need you more than ever. As we always repeat it, streaming is good but it’s not enough. Buy your vinyls, cassettes and merch and so on on Bandcamp special days (so they get 100% of the amount) or via your local record store (yes, they’re also having a hard time), attend virtual shows or, even better, send direct tips to the artists.

Some good news, though: 2020 has been pretty amazing music-wise. While it’s not always easy to support everything or to keep up with all the weekly releases, our staff tried their best to introduce you to some promising up and coming talents and bring the best new music to your ears throughout the last 12 months. Today, we are presenting our favourite EPs and mixtapes of 2020, with some obvious picks and a few overlooked discoveries to keep an eye on in the future. Thank you for reading us. Hope you enjoy and discover some cool new stuff. You can also check our Best Albums and Best Tracks selection.

[su_divider top=”no”]

40. Ferrari Garden – “Longest Slow Dance”

39. ascendant vierge – “Vierge”

38. quinzequinze – “Le Jeune”

37. Sedona – “Rearview Angel”

36. Gabriels – “Love and Hate in a Different Time”

35. Julia-Sophie – “y?”

34. Pearly – “prettydarksexymusic”

33. Sports Boyfriend – “Seek No Answer”

32. TDJ – “TDJ001”

31. Zsela – “Ache of Victory”

[su_spacer]
[su_divider top=”no”]
[su_spacer]

30. Sofia Kourtesis – “Sarita Colonia”

29. Bumper – “pop songs 2020”

28. Planet 1999 – “Devotion”

27. Alaska Reid – “Big Bunny”

26. Tomberlin – “Projections”

25. DVC Refreshments – “Hits Only”

24. Isla Den – “Virtual Garden”

23. Alpen Glow – “Amertape 2020”

22. Lysandre – “Maison-Dieu”

21. Forever – “Close To The Flame”

[su_spacer]
[su_divider top=”no”]
[su_spacer]

20. Nilüfer Yanya – “Feeling Lucky?”

[su_divider top=”no”]

19. Shygirl – “Alias”

[su_divider top=”no”]

18. 박혜진 Park Hye Jin – “How Can I”

[su_divider top=”no”]

17. Molina – “Vanilla Shell”

[su_divider top=”no”]

16. Murmur – “Behind Your Back”

[su_divider top=”no”]

15. Jockstrap – “Wicked City”

[su_divider top=”no”]

14. Magdalena Bay – “Mini Mix, Vol 2”

[su_divider top=”no”]

13. Isola – “EP1”

[su_divider top=”no”]

12. Penelope Trappes – “Eel Drip”

[su_divider top=”no”]

11. Eris Drew – “Fluids of Emotion”

[su_divider top=”no”]

10. Couch Prints – “Tell U”

[su_divider top=”no”]

9. Blue Hawaii – “Under 1 House”

[su_divider top=”no”]

8. Japan, Man – “The Bad Days”

[su_divider top=”no”]

7. Christine and the Queens – “La Vita Nuova”

[su_divider top=”no”]

6. Charli XCX – “How I’m Feeling Now”

[su_divider top=”no”]

5. Zelma Stone – “Dreamland”

[su_divider top=”no”]

4. Laura Groves – “A Private Road”

[su_divider top=”no”]

3. Yaeji – “WHAT WE DREW 우리가 그려왔던”

[su_divider top=”no”]

2. oklou – “galore”

[su_divider top=”no”]

1. Bullion – “We Had A Good Time”

London based, Australian born vocalist, musician and ethereal sound designer Penelope Trappes has just announced the release of a new EP on Houndstooth. “‘Eel Drip’ is about honouring the dead, the passing of lives within you and beyond you,” she explained. “It’s about physical or emotional change, acknowledging fears, and being true to yourself… reaching your full potential.”

The majestic first single and title track, “Eel Drip,” combines celestial synth arpeggios and eerie vocals. It also comes with an intriguing Agnes Haus-directed video which was inspired by artist Francesca Woodman’s 1970s series of nude self-portraits with Eels.

About the video, Trappes added: “In the process of changing and shedding past notions of myself, there is another world between the past and the future. An eternal state, unknown, warped, slippery, free. Submitting to change, dying… being reborn.” Watch and pre-order the EP via Bandcamp below.