Phrva’s rise through the bass music scene has been nothing short of explosive in the last year. Since the project’s inception, his infamously popular flips of tracks like Billie Eilish’s “Lunch” and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” have been entrancing listeners into the moody atmospheric worlds being steadily crafted through Phrva’s ever-growing vision.
Among his recent series of successes, which have garnered attention from the likes of Zeds Dead, Subtronics, and PEEKABOO, his performances on Tape B‘s fall 2024 tour have allowed him to reach fans across the West Coast. Additionally, his debut EP, titled Crave, was released in October, marking the first of many footprints establishing the project’s original sounds. If the last months are any indication, this is certainly just a primer for much more to come.
We caught up with Phrva as he geared up for his show at Tape B’s Block Party at Miami Music Week. In this conversation, Phrva gives us a lens into his creative process and the vision behind Crave and the project as a whole, delves into some of his many musical influences (hint: a playlist called “Club Rat Fall” is mentioned), and unveils what he sees on the horizon that we can look forward to.
Angela Shen, Electric Hawk: For those new to your music, tell us a bit about your journey. What inspired you to start producing? How did your artist project begin?
Phrva: For sure! I started producing music right around high school. I had always had a strong interest in music, playing piano and percussion, but didn’t know how to go about getting a band together. Discovering artists like Skrillex, deadmau5, and NERO and finding out you could make your own music on the computer just like that was an absolute game changer to me at the time.
I’ll leave it up to mystery as to what exactly I was doing up until Phrva started, but I was actively producing and even playing a few shows. I’ve also done and still do some behind-the-scenes production work for other artists (not ghost producing, lol).
Phrva is a project that came naturally to me. I had been making a bit more maximalist music beforehand and had grown a bit tired of it. I started exploring more classic dubstep and 140 sounds in early 2022 and, within a very short period, had 10 or so songs in that style. It seemed pretty clear to me at that point that this was something I needed to dive into further on its own.
I came up with the name Phrva pretty quickly, but I took another year or so to keep studying and making music in the style before actually releasing anything. I wanted to make sure that this wasn’t just a flash in the pan and that it was something I wanted to pursue and push.
AS: How did you come up with the name “Phrva”?
Phrva: I came up with a bunch of names all aiming for this ethos of just following the feeling. The best word to describe that was “Fervor”, but somebody actually already had that name in the scene. So, using that as a starting point, I stylized and modified it until I ended up with “Phrva”.
AS: 2024 was a breakout year, including the release of your EP Crave, being on tour with Tape B, and playing at some bucket-list venues. What are some of the key forces you see as driving your success?
Phrva: I think consistency has been a huge part of it. Putting out something every three weeks has forced me to keep my foot on the gas and not get complacent, and a big part of that is my team as well. Having a team around me that’s on the same page as to the project and where we want it to go has been extremely helpful. I consider all this to be a collaborative effort, we’re always bouncing ideas off each other and coming up with what we think is the best move for now, a few months, or even a year down the line.
Last factor, of course, is Tape B and his team choosing to put us on so early into the project. The first offer we got from them was Mission Ballroom of all places which is just insane to think about. Huge shouts to Tape B and his team; they’ve been great people to work and tour with.
AS: It’s looking like 2025 is shaping up to be a huge year. What are you most looking forward to?
Phrva: I really can’t wait for Shambhala, not just to play but to experience the festival. It’s been a bucket list goal for a very long time, and I’m stoked to have the opportunity to play. Outside that, I’m most looking forward to releasing a lot more of the originals I’ve been working on behind the scenes. The flips aren’t going anywhere, but establishing the sound and world of Phrva originals is really important to me as well.
AS: Your sound is known for its distinctive dark blend of vocals and bass. Can you tell us what the key ingredients are to creating a Phrva track?
Phrva: Atmosphere, space, ominous melodies & dark tonality, syncopation, classic rave & electronic samples, and dark basses. Oh yeah, and the “Phrva” vocal tag.
AS: Speaking of a distinctive style, I am a huge fan of the project’s visuals – the dark, distorted imagery and visual fragments that have been accompanying your track releases really complement the sound and overall creative story being told.
Can you tell us how all of these pieces – sound, visual, and narrative – are brought together into a cohesive whole within the project?
Phrva: Thank you! I consider the visuals to be an inseparable part of the music, and I’m always considering how a song would be visually represented when writing. Building out mood boards was a major part of developing the visual identity of the project, whether that be for artwork, fashion, iconography, or press shots.
This is also a super collaborative effort really spearheaded by my friend and Creative Director, Untrust Us. We talk regularly about the visuals for the project and are very much on the same page as to where we see things going. Sometimes, it’s very intentional like for Crave where we knew exactly what we wanted to shoot, but sometimes we also just go out and shoot things to see what we can get.
One of my favorite parts of these recently has been the teasers for the flips, which are these very cryptic, almost ambient scores. For a while, I was doing the audio and visuals for those, but recently, he’s been doing the visuals, which then leaves me to score and contextualize them with the narration. It’s a lot of fun for both of us and really helps to build out the greater world of Phrva beyond just the music.
“I consider the visuals to be an inseparable part of the music, and I’m always considering how a song would be visually represented when writing.”
AS: About your EP Crave, you mention that “At the core, Phrva is all about following a feeling and groove and not overthinking it, and the tracks on this project were all created with that mentality.”
How do you bring this perspective into other parts of your life, creatively or otherwise?
Phrva: I think the most simplified version of it is, like Kenny Beats said, don’t overthink shit. Creatively, that means just keeping it pushing and not getting too lost in rabbit holes that are going to take me out of the flow of things, not questioning “is so and so label gonna take this” or “is this too basic/too overcomplicated”. On a more general level, it’s trusting myself, my ability, and my judgment.
AS: Who are some of your musical influences that have inspired and shaped your tastes? What artists have influenced you to step out of your comfort zone and try new things in your music production?
Phrva: This is so hard to answer because I think that everything we listen to influences us in some way or another. I’ll do my best to tame it down.
My early electronic taste was shaped by acts like Pendulum, Skrillex, deadmau5, and NERO, and I still consider them to be some of my biggest influences – I think as a musician it’s important to think about what pulled you about a style in the first place, and for these acts the musicality and grandeur of it all was a big part of it.
Some of the acts I was inspired by when launching Phrva were Alix Perez, EPROM, Ternion Sound, Of The Trees, Hamdi, and PEEKABOO (who all still inform the sound).
Outside of this style specifically, I also find myself influenced by people like Eptic, Flying Lotus, Charli xcx, Gesaffelstein, Justice, Rosalia, Overmono, Caroline Polachek, Arca, G Jones, and FKA twigs. All these artists have sonics that are so dialed into who they are, and they also build worlds visually and narratively around that sound. I find that really inspiring, and it’s something I’m striving for as Phrva.
AS: Who are some artists currently on your listening rotation?
Phrva: Recently I’ve been listening to Oklou, Elijah Fox, Caroline Polachek, venturing, the new Larry June & 2 Chainz album, and of course the new Carti album. In the electronic world I’ve really been enjoying what Taiki Nulight, Ninajirachi, Casey Club, Wraz, MPH and Claybrook have been doing recently.
I’ve also been rinsing this playlist some friends and I made called “Club Rat Fall” which has tunes from people like Shygirl, Slayyyter, The Dare, COBRAH, Mura Masa, etc… It’s a super fun listen.
“I’m currently expanding the scope of my sound a little bit, without abandoning the hard hitting & to-the-point nature of what I’ve been doing thus far. I have some great records coming up with some of my favorite vocalists, and also a few melodic and moody cuts that I can’t wait to share.”
AS: How many times have you been to Miami Music Week before, either as an attendee or an artist?
Phrva: I’ve only been once as an attendee a few years back. It was completely on a whim and a total whirlwind, but a great time nonetheless.
AS: What are you most looking forward to during this week?
Phrva: Honestly, I think I’m most looking forward to getting some bomb Cuban food while I’m here. Show-wise I’m attending Ultra for the first time on Sunday, and I’m excited to finally check it out in person.
AS: If you could go back-to-back with anyone at MMW, who would it be?
Phrva: Tiësto.
AS: As your project continues to evolve, can you tell us a bit about where you see your music going? What new directions are you exploring, and what can fans expect to see more of coming up?
Phrva: I’m currently expanding the scope of my sound a little bit, without abandoning the hard-hitting & to-the-point nature of what I’ve been doing thus far. I have some great records coming up with some of my favorite vocalists and also a few melodic and moody cuts that I can’t wait to share. The best thing about it to me is that all of it still feels distinctly “Phrva”.
AS: Any final words you’d like to share with us?
Phrva: Thanks for all the great questions! More originals are on the way soon. 👁
Want to hear more Phrva?
If you want more Phrva, you can check out the Crave EP on Wubaholics.
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