Penelope Trappes: ‘A Requiem’ Marks a New Chapter with One Little Independent

Penelope Trappes, the Australian-born, Brighton-based vocalist and producer known for her evocative blend of ambient and gothic soundscapes, has introduced ‘A Requiem,’ the title track from her forthcoming fifth studio album. The single’s release coincides with a pivotal moment in her career, as she joins the roster of London’s esteemed One Little Independent Records, marking a new phase in her artistic journey. Slated for release on April 4, 2025, the album is expected to be one of her most introspective and sonically ambitious works to date, offering a deeply personal meditation on grief, loss, and transformation.

Penelope Trappes: Background and Musical Journey

Penelope Trappes’ journey has followed an unconventional course. Born and raised in Australia, she first gained recognition after moving to the Northern Hemisphere and co-founding The Golden Filter in 2008, an indie synth-pop duo that blended moody electronic textures with an analog sensibility. The project garnered underground acclaim, laying the groundwork for Trappes’ transition into more atmospheric and experimental soundscapes.

By 2016, she had settled in the United Kingdom, where she began shaping a deeply personal solo career. Her debut album, ‘Penelope One,’ arrived in 2017 via Optimo Music, introducing a stark, introspective approach to composition. She followed with ‘Penelope Two’ (2018) and ‘Penelope Three’ (2021) on Fabric’s Houndstooth imprint, completing a trilogy of albums that positioned her as a distinct figure in the ambient and dream-pop sphere. Across these records, Trappes built a world of minimalist arrangements, gauzy synths, and reverb-soaked guitars, her haunting alto voice serving as a guiding force. Critics described her work as immersive and enveloping, evoking the spectral beauty of labels like 4AD and Kranky, with one reviewer likening the experience to being “swallowed by a weighted blanket.”

Between her full-length releases, Trappes pursued a series of experimental projects that expanded the boundaries of her sound. She delved into drone and sound art with ‘Gnostic State,’ a 25-minute deep-listening composition that embraced abstraction and texture over structure. In ‘Eel Drip,’ she combined arpeggiated electronics with sparse, hypnotic melodies, drawing inspiration from photographer Francesca Woodman’s surreal self-portraits—an example of her tendency to merge music with other artistic disciplines.

In 2023, Trappes moved toward greater artistic autonomy with the launch of her own imprint, Nite Hive, a platform dedicated to small-scale, experimental releases. Through this venture, she introduced ‘Heavenly Spheres,’ her fourth solo album, conceived during a two-week artist residency. Restricting herself to piano, voice, and a vintage reel-to-reel tape machine, she created a collection of ambient compositions that felt untethered from contemporary structures. The album was recorded in an English coastal house once occupied by composer Imogen Holst, whose lingering influence, Trappes noted, subtly shaped the work.

The following year, she continued her exploration of unconventional instrumentation with ‘Hommelen,’ an austere, drone-driven album recorded at EMS Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. There, she experimented with the Halldorophone, an electroacoustic instrument akin to a cello, using its resonant feedback to craft stark, meditative textures. Released on the Spanish label Paralaxe Editions, Hommelen reinforced Trappes’ commitment to sonic experimentation, pushing her compositions toward what one reviewer described as “beautifully severe” terrain.

Trained in classical opera and jazz vocals during her youth, Trappes took an unconventional path to songwriting and production, fully embracing the craft only after the birth of her daughter. She has spoken candidly about this later start, challenging industry biases that often sideline women over 30. “Creativity does not go away when you get older, it flourishes, changes, grows like all of life,” she has remarked, while also noting the industry’s tendency to marginalize female artists beyond a certain age.

Now in her forties, Trappes continues to refine and expand her artistic voice, producing some of her most compelling work. Her influences are shaped less by fleeting trends than by lived experience, drawing from a wide spectrum of artistic and historical sources. Film, visual art, and ancestral narratives all inform her creative process. In one of her recent video concepts, she referenced Werner Herzog’s documentary ‘Bells from the Deep,’ casting herself as the leader of a cult in a surreal, VHS-distorted dreamscape—an approach that reflects her fascination with the mystical and the uncanny.

New Single ‘A Requiem’ Sets a Haunting Tone

Trappes’ latest single, ‘A Requiem,’ serves as an atmospheric prelude to her forthcoming album, setting the tone for a record steeped in gothic and ambient textures. Released alongside a stark, evocative music video directed by longtime visual collaborator Agnes Haus, the song embodies the album’s meditative approach to loss and remembrance.

Written as a personal elegy, ‘A Requiem’ reflects Trappes’ reckoning with grief. “‘A Requiem’ was written for my ailing parents, whom I have now said my goodbyes to,” she explains, describing how her return to the United Kingdom deepened the song’s meaning as “a connection with the earth under my feet here in the land that is my ancestral home.” The accompanying video, filmed “in the dead of night on a frozen field in a desolate part of East Sussex,” captures the song’s mournful solitude. In Trappes’ words, it portrays “the extreme cold and… the lonely darkness around two holy oak trees, one living, and one long dead”—a visual metaphor that underscores the album’s contemplation of mortality and renewal.

‘A Requiem’ is the third single from the album, following ‘Sleep’ and ‘Red Dove,’ each revealing a distinct facet of Trappes’ evolving sound. ‘Sleep,’ released late last year, marked a stark departure from her previous work—a raw, unrestrained catharsis that she described as a “drastic and extreme purge of emotion.” Its heavier, more forceful production pushed her music into new territory.

In contrast, ‘Red Dove,’ which arrived in January, presented a surreal meditation on societal detachment. Trappes described the track as a vision of “humanity becoming numb, stripped of emotion,” with the titular red dove serving as “a conduit of the world’s negativity, yet held peacefully in the hands of an innocent child.” These thematic explorations culminate in ‘A Requiem,’ a composition that critics have already hailed as a “stunning piece of gothic experimentalism,” foreshadowing the album’s overarching tone of mournful beauty.

Fifth Album ‘A Requiem’: Vision and Creation

Trappes’ fifth album, ‘A Requiem,’ is conceived as “a musical service in honour of the dead,” a collection of ten compositions that navigate the complexities of mortality, loss, and renewal. Described by both Trappes and her label as a deeply evocative form of gothic experimentalism, the album unfolds as a series of sonic incantations—blurring the space between dreams and nightmares, grief and power, fragility and autonomy.

“I was looking for an equilibrium between a ‘heaven’ and a ‘hell,’” Trappes says of the album’s thematic foundation. “Screaming out to the wisdom of our foremothers—surfacing and leading me into true strength and beauty. I listened to the sorrow closely. Death is a part of our reality… But nightmares can be beautiful.” This idea—of unearthing beauty from darkness—threads through the record, shaping an atmosphere where grief is not just mourned, but transformed into something luminous and reverent.

To create ‘A Requiem,’ Trappes immersed herself in complete solitude, retreating to rural Scotland for an intense period of writing and recording. Working in near isolation, she composed by candlelight, entering what she describes as a meditative, almost trance-like state. “I channeled demons and accessed parts of myself I had long desired to cleanse,” she reflects, describing the process as an attempt to build a “sanctuary… to explore familial chaos and history” through sound.

A defining element of the album is her use of the cello, an instrument she embraced despite having no formal training. “I always felt an affinity toward the cello; I embraced it, held it, and became one with it as a way to accompany my voice,” she says of its presence in these recordings. The result is a work of raw emotional depth, one that, as described in the album’s official statement, invites listeners to “bear witness to a sacred personal experience like no other.”

New Label Deal with One Little Independent Records

‘A Requiem’ not only marks a shift in Trappes’ artistic trajectory but also introduces a new chapter in her career through a partnership with One Little Independent Records. The album will be her first release with the London-based imprint, which confirmed her signing alongside the album’s announcement.

For much of her recent career, Trappes has operated independently, even launching her own cassette label to release ‘Heavenly Spheres’ in 2023. This move to One Little Independent represents a significant transition, placing her within a label renowned for fostering experimental and boundary-pushing artists. With this new backing, Trappes steps into a broader creative community—one that has long championed those who exist on the fringes of conventional genre labels.

Trappes has embraced the collaboration as a natural progression in her career, though she has spoken sparingly about the specifics of the signing. One Little Independent, known for its artist-driven ethos, offers a platform that seems well suited to the creative risks she takes on ‘A Requiem.’

With the album’s release set for April 4, this partnership signals the beginning of a new phase—one that may extend her reach beyond the underground circles where her work has been widely revered. Backed by a label with an established global network, Trappes stands to bring her music to a broader audience while maintaining the artistic autonomy that has long defined her approach.

One Little Independent Records: History and Significance

One Little Independent Records, founded in 1985 by Derek Birkett—formerly of the anarcho-punk band Flux of Pink Indians—has built a reputation as a fiercely independent label with deep roots in the alternative music landscape. Emerging from the United Kingdom’s punk movement of the 1980s, the label first gained recognition through experimental acts like A.R. Kane and Flux of Pink Indians before expanding its roster to include artists who would leave a lasting imprint on multiple genres.

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, One Little Independent became home to a diverse array of groundbreaking musicians, including Björk, The Sugarcubes, Skunk Anansie, Chumbawamba, and Sneaker Pimps. The label’s history reflects an enduring commitment to artists who push creative boundaries. In June 2020, amid wider discussions on racial justice, the company formally rebranded from One Little Indian to One Little Independent, retiring its original name and logo out of respect for Indigenous cultures.

For decades, One Little Independent has been recognized for its commitment to artistic integrity and its eclectic, forward-thinking roster. United Kingdom radio reviewers have described the label as “consistently brilliant,” with a catalog that reflects a rich and diverse musical history. Known for championing avant-garde and genre-defying artists, its releases have spanned Icelandic art-pop, post-punk, electronica, and modern classical, making it an apt home for Trappes’ atmospheric and experimental work.

By bringing Trappes into its fold, One Little Independent reinforces its tradition of supporting artists who exist outside conventional industry frameworks. At the same time, the partnership provides Trappes with a label that understands the nuances of her approach, offering both experience and a dedicated audience that thrives on musical exploration. With ‘A Requiem,’ the collaboration sets the stage for her work to reach listeners beyond her established underground following.

Early Reception and Critical Response

Though ‘A Requiem’ has yet to be released in its entirety, early indications suggest it is already making an impression among critics and listeners within Trappes’ experimental music circles. The United Kingdom music publication Louder has identified the album as a potential standout, with writer Paul Brannigan stating that, based on its preview tracks, ‘A Requiem’ “could be one of the albums of 2025.” Brannigan also described the accompanying visuals as “dark and unsettling,” underscoring how effectively Trappes establishes the record’s somber, otherworldly atmosphere.

Similarly, Ouvert Magazine has praised the album’s thematic depth, noting that Trappes “builds a sanctuary from the chaos of loss, anger, and grief to find beauty and harmony in nightmares.” The sentiment reflects the album’s central artistic vision—a work that transforms personal mourning into something both immersive and cathartic.

Individual tracks from ‘A Requiem’ have already garnered critical attention. The Line of Best Fit highlighted the notable collaborators involved in Trappes’ project, particularly the music video for ‘Sleep,’ which features acclaimed actors Maxine Peake and Kate Dickie. The publication described the video—directed by Agnes Haus—as an unscripted “pseudo-horror” short film that came together “beautifully,” further amplifying the track’s unsettling intensity.

Meanwhile, the single ‘Platinum’ has been recognized for encapsulating the album’s overarching themes in a single piece. Trappes has noted that its concept and accompanying visuals contain all of ‘A Requiem’’s central motifs—“mourning… mortality awareness, [and] the inevitability of death.” Her previous work has also received sustained critical praise. Pitchfork called her earlier records “spellbinding,” while The Wire described her evolving style as “a striking work of evolution and deconstruction.” These endorsements set high expectations for ‘A Requiem,’ positioning it as a potential career-defining release in Trappes’ catalog.

Release Date and Live Events

‘A Requiem’ is set for release on April 4, 2025, via One Little Independent, available in both digital and physical formats. To accompany the album, Trappes has planned a series of intimate performances designed to immerse audiences in the album’s meditative soundscapes.

Beginning in mid-April, shortly after the album’s release, she will embark on a brief tour across the United Kingdom and Europe, selecting venues that align with the record’s solemn, atmospheric character. The itinerary includes historic churches and a prominent experimental music festival, settings that reinforce the reverent, ritualistic quality of her work.

With performances set in solemn church spaces and the avant-garde setting of Roadburn Festival, Trappes appears to be crafting a live experience as immersive as the album itself. These shows are expected to feature her signature “hypnotizing gothic” visual projections, designed by longtime collaborator Agnes Haus, alongside live instrumental accompaniment in select performances.

Trappes has previously shared stages with boundary-pushing artists such as William Basinski, harpist Mary Lattimore, and the NYX drone choir, and her upcoming concerts are likely to continue this tradition of multidisciplinary presentation. More than conventional live sets, these performances promise to blur the line between concert and ritual—an extension of ‘A Requiem’’s central vision, which Trappes conceived as a requiem mass for personal loss. For both longtime listeners and new audiences, the tour offers an opportunity to experience the album in a space that enhances its deeply meditative nature.

Conclusion

Throughout her career, Trappes has crafted a sonic world that balances dreamlike serenity with shadowy undercurrents—music that is both intimate and otherworldly. Her ability to channel personal reflection into sound has led publications like Bandcamp Daily to describe her work as “like watching yourself mourn intense tragedy from an outsider’s vantage point.”

With ‘A Requiem,’ she stands at a defining moment, where past explorations converge with new creative horizons. The album’s deeply personal themes, the backing of a label attuned to her artistic vision, and the anticipation surrounding its release suggest it may become a milestone in her career. Stepping into this new era, Trappes draws upon the wisdom of the past, embraces creative solitude, and finds beauty in darkness—inviting listeners into a shared experience of grief, remembrance, and transformation. More than a collection of songs, ‘A Requiem’ emerges as a profound meditation on loss, a requiem mass not just for the departed, but for the emotions we carry with us. In doing so, Trappes further cements her place in the avant-garde music landscape, creating work that lingers like a solemn hymn for modern times.