It’s been just over a year since we spotlighted producer and singer-songwriter Trophie as our Independent Artist of the Week. Since then, she’s made appearances on plenty of stages (Big Sound, SXSW, Dark Mofo), released new music, and began what could maybe be called an artistic reinvention. As a musician she’s best characterised by her ever changing sound – it’s fitting that one of the only things that remains a constant with Trophie is her dedication to “always evolving.” Jenna Parker sat down with her on Lunch to discuss recent developments in her musical journey.

A departure from the lighter and more playful sounds of her early releases has brought Trophie to a darker note – one that is “quite raw” and “really brings out a lot more emotion”. Her Instagram aesthetic is consistently in line with the vibe of her latest songs – combining dark and gloomy undertones with an industrial take over. The heavier turn is in part an unintended revival of her classical training in piano and violin.

“With that era I was maybe turning away from the piano and turning away from, you know, playing violin and that kind of classical training and [instead] enjoying making myself into a bit of a kind of product in a way.”

Yet, throughout these newer tracks Trophie still maintains a strong sense of self. Returning to her hometown of Haworth in the UK to shoot the music video for ‘ALONE (feat. Iceboy Violet)’ was an important mark of this new era.

“It was quite emotional, actually. It’s very weird that all of these things have happened and then you kind of come back and you’re like, I don’t know, you kind of feel at home and everything’s kind of the same, but also you’re different. I don’t know… it’s very, very strange. But I very much pushed for that location.”

Another one of her new songs also references her UK and Irish heritage, specifically the work of Sinead O’Connor. O’Connor’s unrelenting individualism, a quality which Trophie too maintains consistently in spite of aesthetic changes, was an inspiration.

“She’s just kind of got that kind of punk attitude, but in a really authentic way. She wasn’t trying it on or just trying to be cool… just always kind of stayed true to herself and her own beliefs and chose being political and chose her own kind of opinions over, you know, her career as a pop artist.”

Listen to the full interview with Trophie on Lunch with Jenna Parker up top. Keep an eye out for her new song ‘Hell’, out Feb 23.