Penelope Trappes signs to One Little Independent and unveils "Sleep" video starring Maxine Peake

The announcement comes alongside her video for new single "Sleep" directed by Agnes Haus, which features Maxine Peake and Kate Dickie.

“As ‘Sleep’ is about a dream my father had and had echoes of Henri Fusili’s The Nightmare, I decided to bring that painting to life - me as the ‘sleep hag’, but I needed an actor to be the ‘sleeping victim’. As a massive fan of Maxine Peake’s work, I reached out to her about working together on it," Trappes explains. "In a totally independent occurrence, I was introduced to Kate Dickie - who I am also a big fan of - and she was nearby and happy to get involved. It was an absolutely perfect cast! Three witches! We all chatted about politics in the kitchen and filmed an unscripted pseudo-horror film about sleep paralysis in a bedroom - and it all worked out beautifully!”

A Requiem is a musical service in honour of the dead, a sanctuary Trappes built for herself to explore familial chaos and history. “I was looking for an equilibrium between a ‘heaven' and a ‘hell’” she explains, “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. Inevitable. Omnipresent. But nightmares can be beautiful”.

“It’s infinitely hard to even sing these words as it’s such a conflicting thing to think about - an oddly indifferent longing for your parents’ life to come to a close, for them to peacefully escape their pain and be released," she says of the single. "Musically the sound was heavier and more gut-wrenching than I have ever sounded before. It was a drastic and extreme purge of emotion”.

Tracklist:

1. Bandorai
2. Platinum
3. Second Spring
4. Sleep
5. Anchor Us To Seabed Floor
6. Red Dove
7. Caro
8. A Requiem
9. Torc
10. Thou Art Mortal