P.H.F. is the recording project of Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland, NZ) songwriter and producer Joe Locke. From its origins in Locke’s 2008 bedroom productions, P.H.F. has gone on to collaborate with artists like Clairo, Rew and ARTHUR, toured and recorded globally, and had music released on pioneering vaporwave label Crystal Magic, before settling at its current home, US artist-run label Danger Collective Records. More than a decade in, and with a prolific release schedule encompassing studio albums, remixes, acoustic sessions, and esoteric Soundcloud drops, Locke’s music is difficult to categorise in terms of genre. What does link the bratty punk of Mall-O-Caust (2012),the intimate synth-pop of Soft (2015), and the heavy eclecticism of most recent release New Metal (2020), is a palpable emotional directness. “With P.H.F. I want people that listen to it to feel like they’re being held,” says Locke, “or if you feel like shit, hopefully this makes you feel a little better.”