Few albums evoke the essence of wind, but landscapes buffeted by the elements are vividly depicted on Phildel’s The Disappearance of the Girl. With frost-coated but warm-centred songs about darkness, sacrifice and the wolf as a dispenser of penitence, this could be gothic. Instead, despite the coffin, funerals and a switchblade, The Disappearance of the Girl is tonally nuanced, more the soundtrack to its subject’s search for equilibrium than a series of single vignettes.
What’s actually on The Disappearance of the Girl is in danger of being upstaged by its creator's admittedly compelling back story. Phildel Hoi Yee Ng grew up in a London household where her stepfather was a strict Muslim fundamentalist. She had to dress to conform with his beliefs and had no personal possessions. Music was forbidden. School was the only place she could pursue music. At 17, she left home. Seven years later, her music ended up on ads for both Apple and Mark and Sparks. More ads followed, as did the classically-inclined album Qi. Mariah Huehner, who has written for the True Blood and Angel series of comics, has said Phildel is an inspiration. The Disappearance of the Girl is her first full-on engagement with a mainstream way of bringing her music to the world. After she took control of her life, her path into music seemed hitch-free, but without the talent and songs Phildel couldn’t have arrived where she is now.
The Disappearance of the Girl is a lovely, misty and memorable album. It will find a safe haven with anyone with a yen for Ane Brun or who finds Bat For Lashes too brash. Phildel is unlikely to be disappearing too soon.
Watch the video for “Storm Song” from Phildel’s The Disappearance of the Girl
