Philine Sonny Challenged Romanticized Love in Heartfelt Ballad “Lovely”
Photo by Nicolas Blanchadell
Philine Sonny has released her newest single “Lovely,” which acts as a glimpse of her forthcoming sophomore EP Invader out March 1. “Lovely” explores the complexities of relationships, abandonment and self-discovery. The spare, stripped-down, waltzing ballad is the EP’s most vulnerable track, with Sonny posing a tough question: “You thought you could fix me / But did you love me / As much as you miss me now?” The ache seeps through as the track explodes with heavily distorted guitar, bashing cymbals, and Philine’s no-holds-barred wail.
“This song resonates with all those who are done chasing that unfulfilled love and continuing to romanticize what they know is just a waste of time,” Sonny says. “‘Lovely’ doesn’t hide the pain that comes with hopeful, youthful persistence being overshadowed by the realization that some things just aren’t meant to be, but it’s also a reminder that being mad is a necessary step in learning how to stand up for yourself."
On the shimmering, 80s-synth-soaked Invader EP, Sonny digs into the universal feeling of feeling like an imposter wherever you go. With Invader, her evocative, compelling storytelling, paired with her edgy, alternative resonance is on full display.
“One of the overall themes of the EP is a feeling of not belonging, overstepping lines and disrupting or ‘invading’ spaces,” Sonny says. “That is something I’ve noticed I am very afraid of doing, in many different areas of my life. Going to therapy probably really helped shine a light on that issue and made me realize it’s been a big thing for me for quite some time now. So, even if some of the songs came about way before that realization, I feel like seeing that connection between these five songs, that still deal with very different topics, is what made me choose them to be released all together as part of my new project called Invader.”
[UNPUBLISHED]: Thank you for sitting down and talking to Unpublished Magazine. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar, what inspires your artistic style and creative persona?
[PHILINE]: I’m inspired by artists that don’t scare away from bold sounds, unusual decisions or radical honesty. The genre isn’t important here, it inspires me to also not care about these things and go with what feels and sounds good to me. Dijon is one of those artists, or Chartreuse, Medium Build, Miya Folick and Mk.gee.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What do you need in your space when you feel creative inspiration hitting you?
[PHILINE]: That‘s a good question! Most importantly, a guitar. That’s my go-to instrument for writing – and a pen, paper and a laptop for recording so I can catch the essence of the song while it’s still pure.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
[PHILINE]: I’ve been thinking a lot about shame and guilt recently. I wanna be honest about these kinds of feelings too, the ones that are embarrassing. Those kept me down for so long and made me not talk about things and feel like absolute shit. I learned that shame always comes from the outside, not from within but from someone that once told us that we‘re not supposed to feel a certain way. I’m not there yet but I want to be completely honest about what I am ashamed of. I really hope that my openness could help others open up and be gentle with themselves.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You just released your latest single “Lovely” and I love how stripped-down and raw it sounds. What is the inspiration behind the work?
[PHILINE]: I just went with what the song wanted. It’s one of the few songs that I wrote on the piano so that’s what carries the first verse and chorus. The second verse is only bass and my voice which also felt quite natural because lyrically it’s more about what’s going on inside my own head compared to the rest of the song where I’m talking more about the other person and my relationship to them.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What did the creative process for “Lovely” look like?
[PHILINE]: I wrote “Lovely” back in 2021 on my old piano in my mother’s flat. I had the first verse and the chorus melody. I forgot about the song for a while but picked it back up when I met with a friend of mine who co-produced the song. I showed him what I got and we recorded a demo. I went back home and forgot about the song again, started recording my first EP Lose Yourself and only thought about “Lovely” again when I started looking for songs to put for my new EP Invader. It’s funny cause even though I wrote the song about three years ago it still feels so accurate.
[UNPUBLISHED]: “Lovely” is a sneak peek into your upcoming sophomore EP Invader out in March. What is the inspiration behind the EP?
[PHILINE]: All five songs on the EP are about very specific events in my life that happened during the making of it. They formed me and my view on my current state and my past and what I want from life. This may sound pretentious but I think for artists like me every single conversation, every person, every interaction and what it says about ourselves is inspirational. We cannot write about stuff that we don‘t see so the main practice is to try to notice things and be a better person and listener. That consequently makes us better artists I think.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is your favorite song from Invader and why do you love it? Is there a certain message or aspect that stands out to you the most or that you’re proud of?
[PHILINE]: My personal favorite is “In Denial.” I’m very proud of myself for not giving up when I was literally crying in front of my laptop because the guitars were sounding so awful and I just couldn’t get the drums to sound right. For weeks I opened the session and thought that maybe I’m not able to do it and I’m just not good enough as a producer. Sounds dramatic but when all you do for months is work on the same five songs then this feels pretty existential. Eventually, I made it. I found the right sounds and fought through the self-doubt. I’m really proud of that and I love the song, too.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Invader is the first big project you’ve released since Lose Yourself in 2022. Have you taken any creative risks – whether that’s personally, lyrically or sonically – with the new releases since Lose Yourself and how would you describe that growth?
[PHILINE]: There’s a few moments where I’ve tried some new stuff sonically. I’ve gotten louder and angrier in “Lovely” for example. You can hear me screaming at the end, the drums are distorted and the guitar is drenched in fuzz, which is new for me, too. Also there’s some fun delay, reverse and sped up stuff in “In Denial” that I really love. Lyrically, this EP is even more personal than Lose Yourself. That’s simply due to the fact that it‘s more recent. All the songs on Lose Yourself are about my past or people from my past while Invader is about events that happened in the past two years or so.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What can listeners expect from this new era of music?
[PHILINE]: Basically, Invader is a collection of thoughts and stories from a 22-year-old who is learning about friendships and relationships on a very basic level. Once I started therapy I realized that I wasn’t really taught what healthy relationships look like. I had to start at zero, and for the past couple years it felt like every single interaction was a lesson which was exhausting. I’m just now getting more confident again. Writing songs about it and trying to make something pretty and fun really helps with the heaviness and I’m so lucky to have this kind of outlet for my emotions.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What was the biggest lesson or breakthrough you’ve had while bringing Invader to life?
[PHILINE]: One that seems quite obvious but isn’t is that whatever sounds good is good. I tend to overdo stuff and add sounds or effects because that’s what you do. There were a couple moments where I just went back to what I had at the very beginning after days of editing.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the next year look like that you would like to share with Unpublished?
[PHILINE]: Right now I’m pretty chill actually. I’m so happy with how the songs turned out and really excited to show them to everyone. My voice memos and notebook are full of songs and I’m getting back to recording soon. I don’t know what kind of project it’s gonna be yet but something’s coming soon for sure. This song resonates with all those who are done chasing that unfulfilled love and continuing to romanticize what they know is just a waste of time. This song doesn’t hide the pain that comes with hopeful, youthful persistence being overshadowed by the realization that some things just aren’t meant to be, but it’s also a reminder that being mad is a necessary step in learning how to stand up for yourself.
