- Words David Flindall
- Words by Phie McKenzie
Biig Piig creates the soundtrack to your new infatuation.
Social media has changed the way we interact with our favourite artists. More than just musicians, they’re now personalities, people we can interact with on the daily. Now more than ever we’re aware that musicians are pretty normal people, they just have a weird job. Every week we get to know one of our favourite SoundCloud heroes, internet dating style, in our new column, Internet Crush.
Hazy, tipsy nights, the glow of the sun on your skin hours after sundown and the flutter in your chest when your crush pulls you close are the kind of things Biig Piigmakes music about. Charmingly low fi and sensual, each track by the singer/rapper places the listener right in the heart of the embrace. The twinkling production and soft beats bring to mind the late nights and hushed conversation you might spend talking to your crush well into the small hours. The tender first nights spent giggling and wide awake, counting down the hours until your alarm goes off.
Having been born in Ireland and spending most of her childhood in Spain before moving to London, the 19 year old has had plenty of places to draw inspiration. Three tracks in and Biig Piig’s already being booked to play Bestival signalling there’s a lot more feels on the way from her this year. In the meantime, we’re naming her as this week’s very timely Internet Crush.
You’re originally from Ireland, grew up in Spain and now live in London. Where feels like home?
Biig Piig: Nowhere really if I’m honest. I love them all, but I don’t feel like I’ve found anywhere that’s truly my own yet.
You’re three tracks deep and you’re already growing a large fanbase. How long have you been making music?
I wrote my first tune when I was 8 or 9, me and two of my friends in Spain made this rollerblading girl band and I’d write tunes for us to perform. I started to write poetry and music for myself though when I was 14.
What is your music set up?
I write my lyrics on anything that holds ink and record the melodies on an mp3 and then go to Lloyd (Mac Wetha)’s place. He has a MacBook and a mic. I always record and mix with him.
Do you work collaboratively or alone?
I’m in a collective called NINE8 and we collaborate with that on different things. For example, my friend Lloyd has produced a few tracks that are out, and Aiwa (Lava la Rue) had made the cover art for the earlier tracks on Soundcloud. I work a lot with other lowkey Soundcloud producers too, super blessed to have all this talent around me but the goal is to be able to produce for myself, I feel like that would take the sound to the next level.
Where is your name taken?
It’s from a pizza menu – my friend and I were at home hammered one night, I read it out and thought it was incredible, it started as a kind of joke but I became attached to it.
Which artist/s has had the most significant influence on you musically and personally?
The artists that I’m friends with and other artists that are in the underground London music scene right now are some of the most influential artists to me. There’s something about the energy in their music that mad inspiring. Outside of that, I’ve looked up to artists like Phillis Dillon, Rodriguez, Leonard Cohen, Ottis Reading and Erykah Badu.
If you could choose a superpower – which would it be?
Being able to read minds.
Which places you’ve lived in would you say has had the biggest impact on the kind of music you make?
London for sure, being surrounded by musicians has taught me so much. My friends from college really introduced me to the community on Soundcloud and taught me about cyphering, and that’s where I think I discovered that I could be more free and honest with the music I make.
Do you remember the first artist you fell in love with?
Yeah, Ben Harper was all I would play when I was 14 and had just moved to London. I didn’t have school for like four months and didn’t know anyone, so I’d just sit in my room all day every day with him. He’s got a track called ‘Another lonely day’ that made a lot of sense to me then.
What about the first CD you bought?
Gabrielle – ‘Rise’. When I was little my mom used to sing me ‘Sunshine’, she used to have it on cassette. I bought the album when I was 10 I think and it was the soundtrack to my life for a few years. Still one of the best albums to date.
What do you like to make music about?
I honestly never know what its about until its written.
Describe your sound in a sentence.
Soft-spoken melodies spread mostly over dreamy lo-fi hip hop beats.
When is the perfect time of day to listen to your music?
I think it depends on the track. But I would suggest listening on the bus; the bus is my fav spot for listening to music.
What was the last thing you wrote about?
Overcoming doubts to get where I need to be.
What was the last gig you went to see?
The Stone Roses at the 02, it was incredible.
Your music and even down to the names of your tracks seem to have an American influence. Would you agree?
I often get confused for an American artist through my tracks but I think that’s more so down to my accent (which is a soft Irish accent) and the fact that the beats are hip hop beats, but I think the overall sound isn’t purely US themed. And with the titles, I just write them how I say them usually.
What is your favourite song of all time?
It’s either Lady Midnight by Leonard Cohen or (Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay by Ottis Reading.
And favourite song of your own?
The 4th track on the unreleased EP.
When can we expect new music?
I’ll be announcing something very soon.
Phie McKenzie is on Twitter
