Phil Headway on His New Album: “Music Shows Up to Rescue People From Their Own Lies”
1. You released Philline three years ago, then Nerthus last year, followed by The Answers, which leaned into folk rock. Is this new album a continuation of that acoustic journey or a break from it?
I guess The Answers was the most important album of my career because it sealed my commitment to folk rock. That means I’m looking to keep my songs in that vein because I still have so much to explore in this genre, which is part of my roots.
2. After putting out two albums in a single year in 2025, what made you take more time to build this new one?
It’s not really a decision, it’s just life circumstances. As an independent artist, I have to juggle so many things at once. And since I produce the whole album by myself, sometimes it just takes a little longer to release it.
3. What did each of those three albums — Philline, Nerthus, and The Answers — teach you to get to this new one?
Finding my voice. That’s really hard because when you’re a true music lover, it’s hard to define yourself in just one genre. Above all, music is language, it’s frequency, it’s emotion. On the other hand, “limiting” creativity to folk rock is also a way of challenging it, and that’s beautiful. The other day someone asked me what genre I played and when I said folk rock, they didn’t even know what it was. So I gave them some examples like The Band, Bob Dylan on certain records, CCR and The Beatles, and the person said, “I thought those were classic rock artists.” And yes, they are. But they’re also called folk rock, especially when you add the acoustic guitar and the storytelling. Rock is so broad, it’s hard to label those bands as just one style because we all have influences from blues, roots folk, jazz, country, etc. Queen is rock, Zeppelin is rock. But Queen is Queen and Zeppelin is Zeppelin.
4. The Answers took you into folk rock. On this new album, do you keep that folk foundation or go back to your more progressive and conceptual roots?
Folk is my childhood, it’s how I was raised, listening to troubadours telling stories in a circle and being rocked to sleep to Dylan. But it was in progressive rock that I started my musical career, and it’s impossible not to bring at least some of those elements, even if subtle, into my arrangements.
5. For those who loved the atmosphere of Nerthus and the intimacy of The Answers, what will this new phase deliver?
Even more organic songs and even more direct lyrics.
6. After releasing two very different albums in 2025, what was the biggest creative challenge to avoid repeating yourself this time?
I don’t think too much about that, I just go with the flow of the music. The challenge is still doing everything by myself without many resources, you know? Recording one instrument at a time without that great exchange that every band has.
7. Was this new album written to be heard as a single body of work, or can each track stand on its own?
I’m trying to keep all the songs within an album concept, but each song tells a different story and can also be heard individually.
8. Is there a hidden thread connecting Philline, Nerthus, The Answers, and this new work?
Following your purpose no matter what.
9. If someone has never heard you and is going to start with this new album, what do they need to know before hitting play?
That up until now, my records are made by me in a tiny 10-by-10-foot home studio. And that it doesn’t matter if it’s folk rock, blues, or skiffle — what matters is the music. Music is a universal language, the language of frequency. It connects people around the world, it moves you, it rescues you, it transforms you. I’m here to shake the truth that exists inside you, above any musical label.
10. Why did this album need to exist right now?
That’s a question to ask God. I just follow what is given to me. But I believe it’s like biological control, as science calls it. The more rabbits are born, the more wolves appear to feed on them. We’re in a moment where people need to connect with other people and with themselves. A lot of strange things have been happening in the world, and those things separate people. But music connects. Raw music, the kind made with passion and truth. And music shows up to rescue people from the lies they’ve been telling themselves.