Today, Biig Piig releases her debut album; a reflection on the ever-changing pace of life, and a moment of gratitude for her return to home.In 2017, Biig Piig made her debut on COLORS, launching what has since evolved into an unstoppable, boundary-pushing career. Fast forward seven years, four EPs, one mixtape, and countless singles later, and she now presents her long-awaited debut album, 11:11, a release that feels like the next chapter in an ongoing narrative of reinvention.
The anticipation surrounding this moment has been intense, both from her fans and industry figures alike. MTV and BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders once remarked, “I don’t think Biig Piig quite realises her cultural relevance”, and it is hard not to agree with that sentiment, especially when considering that Bubblegum, her seven-track LP from 2023 met with universal acclaim, was in fact only a mixtape, a stepping stone towards her debut album.
The more one learns about Biig Piig’s journey, however, the more it becomes clear that it has never been one to follow convention. At just 27, she has lived countless lives in countless cities, from her birthplace of Cork, to Marbella, London, and Los Angeles, with each city leaving its mark on her sound. Her music adapts to the environments it inhabits, led by the singer’s bilingual English and Spanish languages, crossing genres and cultures and always evolving, always in step with her transformative life.
Released today, 11:11 is an enlightening moment for Biig Piig, one in which she embraces change as an enduring constant, rather than something to outrun. The album is introspective and genre-defying, bringing listeners on a journey through her lived experiences and fantastical imaginings. We were fortunate enough to sit down with Biig Piig just before the album’s release, and moments before our conversation, she held the physical copy of 11:11 in her hands for the first time, moved to tears by the sheer weight of this moment in her career. In our interview, we explore themes of nostalgia, grief, and the passage of time, and discuss why, despite her global wanderings, London must be the place to call home.
Nice to meet you Jess (AKA Biig Piig). I’m really glad actually, cause I’m a big fan of your music. Bubblegum is one of the records I keep downloaded for those no internet times, so that says a lot!
You too and thank you. I love that!
How’s life in London these days?
I'm settled. I have two little cats that I love. I'm happy and steady, I feel like I'm in a bit more of a sheltered era. I mean, I say that. Still a bit of craziness here and there, but for the most part pretty easy.
That’s really good to hear. You’ve already achieved so much with your music, growing a global fanbase, getting critical acclaim, and touring with artists like AURORA and Glass Animals. And all of this happened before you released your debut album, which is pretty crazy!
Thank you. That is crazy.
How does it feel to finally drop your debut album? Would you say this is your most ambitious project to date?
Oh my God. I mean, it feels crazy. Feels really surreal. And it hadn’t really hit me until just then when I opened the vinyl for the first time and I was like, okay. Because there's something in me that feels like my younger self and the self that found music as a way of navigating really dark times, as a way of finding community in the most isolated times and finding my voice and somewhere to feel seen in writing music. To go from there to now having done my first album, and now doing this as a career, it's insane, and it’s all kind of come all at once. Younger me is screaming right now being like wow. It's really, really cool.
I guess sonically it’s not my most ambitious record ever. But I think it's the one. It's exactly what it's meant to be for me, and it touches on a lot of different places. It's emotionally the most vulnerable I've been for a long time. Sonically it explores different worlds. Obviously there's more of the dance heavy stuff but also more of the stripped back intimate feelings as well. It’s more emotionally charged than anything else, which is important to me.
I guess sonically it’s not my most ambitious record ever. But I think it's the one. It's exactly what it's meant to be for me, and it touches on a lot of different places. It's emotionally the most vulnerable I've been for a long time. Sonically it explores different worlds. Obviously there's more of the dance heavy stuff but also more of the stripped back intimate feelings as well. It’s more emotionally charged than anything else, which is important to me.
Yeah, well, you should be so proud, which goes without saying! The album's title, 11:11, is an angel number, symbolising enlightenment, synchronicity and awakening. Does that resonate with where you are in life and career right now?
Yeah, I think so. For me 11:11 was something that stood out amongst the chaos of everything, when everything moves so quickly and at a pace where you don't get to catch your breath.
Whenever I caught those numbers during the making of this record and also just generally in the last few years, it’s been a second when I just stop anything I'm doing and I reflect on people that I wish I could be closer to, the things I'm grateful for, and it gives me a minute to put myself into what's going on. It means I'm gonna be okay. And I feel like that's kind of what this record is, a reflection on a lot of relationships and having to sit with those emotions and let them sift through. And it was just a perfect way for me to describe what that feels like to me. Do you know what I mean?
Whenever I caught those numbers during the making of this record and also just generally in the last few years, it’s been a second when I just stop anything I'm doing and I reflect on people that I wish I could be closer to, the things I'm grateful for, and it gives me a minute to put myself into what's going on. It means I'm gonna be okay. And I feel like that's kind of what this record is, a reflection on a lot of relationships and having to sit with those emotions and let them sift through. And it was just a perfect way for me to describe what that feels like to me. Do you know what I mean?
Yeah, 100%. And you just mentioned actually seeing those numbers, right? Like actually seeing 11:11 physically in your life? I assumed it was more the symbolism of 11:11, not that it was such a magic number for you personally.
Yes, loads – I always see it. I mean mostly with time and dates, but also in different ways. It’s really strange. We saw it earlier, actually.
So another question; you’ve lived in several places, from Cork to Spain to LA, and now London again. I feel like your music is really shaped by your environments, especially since you are a bilingual English and Spanish songwriter. Your Bubblegum mixtape (2022), for example, has a very LA feel to it, dreamy but also disorienting, almost like a commentary on the city. Do you miss LA, or has London become home again for you? Could you see yourself going back to LA permanently?
No, I don't think so. I loved some of the experiences there, and some people there I really loved, but I think I really wanted to come home at the time and I'm really happy in London.
I love London to bits and there's just no city like it. Really. It gives you what you put into it, and it's just ever changing. There's nothing like a night out in London. There's nothing like the way the city makes me feel, so I don't think I'm gonna go anywhere anytime soon.
Saying that, though, I feel like last time I said that I kind’ve put a curse on myself and I ended up leaving! But yeah, I feel like right now it is home to me.
I love London to bits and there's just no city like it. Really. It gives you what you put into it, and it's just ever changing. There's nothing like a night out in London. There's nothing like the way the city makes me feel, so I don't think I'm gonna go anywhere anytime soon.
Saying that, though, I feel like last time I said that I kind’ve put a curse on myself and I ended up leaving! But yeah, I feel like right now it is home to me.
So you just mentioned nightlife, I've seen in other interviews you've talked about how much you value London's nightlife, and you've described yourself as a nocturnal soul before. Is the nightlife still something that pulls you into London, or do you find yourself embracing something different now?
I mean, I’m experiencing different things now, and just the way that I'm living is different. There's things that I didn't appreciate as much that maybe I do more now, even more of the parks, more time just to, like, wander. I love wandering. We didn't get to walk around LA, there’s just too many cars everywhere. And there's no kind of walk to the corner, see where you go and just wander and daydream and look at stuff. Yeah, I really love that about London.
I also think the nightlife thing will never leave. I've just come to terms with the fact that I'm attached to the nighttime and I love it to bits and it’s always going to be a part of me. I was reminded of that recently when I went to Soho and I was meant to go for dinner and then I was like, oh, but I feel so good, I have a really fun dress on, I want to go out – so after the dinner, I was like screw it, I'm gonna to go to the jazz bar. And I went there, made some friends and then was singing up in the jazz bar, which seems to just keep happening. At this point I’m admitting defeat to that spot!
But then another night we went to another spot and I made really good friends with this gorgeous girl. And she was like, oh, yeah, let's go out and do that. And so we went to a lot of different spots and then a house party and it was just my favourite thing in the world. I feel so embraced by the nightlife in London, especially in Soho and around that area, I think it's just somewhere that you find the most beautiful characters and the most open kind of feeling. But yeah, I love it.
I also think the nightlife thing will never leave. I've just come to terms with the fact that I'm attached to the nighttime and I love it to bits and it’s always going to be a part of me. I was reminded of that recently when I went to Soho and I was meant to go for dinner and then I was like, oh, but I feel so good, I have a really fun dress on, I want to go out – so after the dinner, I was like screw it, I'm gonna to go to the jazz bar. And I went there, made some friends and then was singing up in the jazz bar, which seems to just keep happening. At this point I’m admitting defeat to that spot!
But then another night we went to another spot and I made really good friends with this gorgeous girl. And she was like, oh, yeah, let's go out and do that. And so we went to a lot of different spots and then a house party and it was just my favourite thing in the world. I feel so embraced by the nightlife in London, especially in Soho and around that area, I think it's just somewhere that you find the most beautiful characters and the most open kind of feeling. But yeah, I love it.
That doesn't sound like a bad thing. I wouldn't say you have to stop singing at jazz bars!
Maybe not. Some of the owners definitely would though, probably thinking this needs to stop, these girls have had too much to drink!
Actually, that leads really nicely onto my next question about the opening track of 11:11, 4AM, which is written from the aftermath of a wild night out. The line “Back inside my room bathed in a blood tone light” is an all-too-real moment and really resonates with that 4am mood, the burning of the sunrise. Why did you choose to open the album and start the story from this perspective? What does it set up for the rest of the record?
Since I made the track,. I wanted to start a project with this song because I just thought the opening line, “Oh, you could’ve hit me with the bad news first” is something I didn't want to shy away from or put somewhere else. I wanted to lay out the darkest bits and then arrive somewhere different on the album. I feel like I've made too many projects now to not just start with the hardest stuff first. Sometimes the only way you overcome a thing is by just admitting it.
Later in the album, we get 9-5, which is the complete opposite: upbeat, daytime energy. I love this contrast, and I feel like it speaks to the larger theme of transformation in your music. You’ve lived in so many different places and experienced so many changes, do you think reinvention is key to your art? Are you constantly looking for ways to evolve?
Yeah yeah, I think it is. I don't think it's intentional, it's always just what I'm drawn to. I just love that there's a million ways to say something and I love exploring that and really when it comes down to it, what influences you isn’t your decision. Obviously before you make something, there's things that you want to talk about and influences you want to bring out. But I like the idea of going in and not being scared to flip something on its head.
It’s like, oh, where is this going to take us? Let's not box it in because the minute you box it in, for me, it's like you're already trying to control something that shouldn't be controlled. I love the freedom and expression in writing music, and I just like to see where it takes me rather than where I can take it. Do you know what I mean?
It’s like, oh, where is this going to take us? Let's not box it in because the minute you box it in, for me, it's like you're already trying to control something that shouldn't be controlled. I love the freedom and expression in writing music, and I just like to see where it takes me rather than where I can take it. Do you know what I mean?
Yeah, that makes so much sense. And say if you weren’t an artist, would you still want to be living in this way where you are always immersed in different cultures and environments?
Yeah, always. 100%, it's who I am. It’s true to my upbringing, but I think it’s also just my curiosity. I love the fact that I haven't met everyone, I haven't heard everything and I haven't seen all of it. And I really want to. I think that's the thing, I love the adventure of it and also how much you learn about perspective and history and just so much through that lifestyle as well, you know?
It’s interesting because movement is a theme in your life, but also a key theme in the album’s sound. For example, on Decimal, producer Andrew Wells based the track’s BPM on your actual footsteps walking around in the studio right?
Yes, he did. We were just having fun at that point. It was at Motorbass (Andrew’s studio in Paris) which is this beautiful, beautiful studio. It’s just somewhere that you want to write music forever. But we were like, okay, cool. How do we go about this next track? And we were just having fun. I was showing him how I was feeling and he was like, why don't we just get the BPM from there? We played with that and it was such a powerful start. And I guess the emotion of starting out like that made the song want to be a bit sexy, passionate, confident, all of those things. So it really set the track in motion.
Fascinating – it’s almost like you’re physically imprinted in the track.
I didn't think of it like that, but that’s a really nice way to look at it.
I wanted to ask about your fellow artists and communities, like the Nine8 collective, it’s such an important part of the UK music scene, and you're still an active part of it, right? How do you feel about your role in the collective now, especially after all the success you've had as a solo artist? Has much changed since when you started?
Not really. The thing that's difficult is when things get busy, there's not as much time to do things together. I feel like everyone's quite busy at the minute. What I do love is that it's never changed in the way that when we get together, we make music and we lock in and we just sync up again. That's still the same process, and we find the same joy in doing that and come up with the same types of creative ideas. We just jump around and have fun with it, and Nine8 really reminds me to have a good time with music.
It'll always be home. I really hope that we get more time to do more together. I mean, we've already had two EPs done recently, with the second one coming out in March and there's a few different things that we've got happening. So we still make time to make stuff together. And also the events side of things is popping off now, but yeah, I just really wanna be able to have more time to dedicate doing stuff with them.
It'll always be home. I really hope that we get more time to do more together. I mean, we've already had two EPs done recently, with the second one coming out in March and there's a few different things that we've got happening. So we still make time to make stuff together. And also the events side of things is popping off now, but yeah, I just really wanna be able to have more time to dedicate doing stuff with them.
It’s been over ten years since Nine8 started, which is crazy. You’re back in London now, where Nine8 and Biig Piig really took off, but not everything has remained constant. Artistic movements have changed, and some of the venues that were crucial in fostering communities have gone now, including Steez which I know you frequented a lot in South London. Does it feel the same for you now, being back, or is there a sense of nostalgia for what has changed?
Yeah, I used to love Steez. That's the thing, like there's parts of London that I love and that'll always be creative, communities that’ll always find a way to do it. But when things disappear, like venues, and also nights and just general funding in the arts, it’s really sad.
There's just not enough of it, and there's not enough support for the thing that makes London so special. And also, the way that rent has gone crazy because everything's just going up and pushing artists further and further out. There's so much that's hard about that. I only hope that there's more fight against that in the next couple of years because people are really losing so much time, and time is so precious when it comes to culture and movements.
I think about people that are as old as I was when I started going to those things, like 16, 17 years old, and how important those spaces are, it's unreal. To have a community and a space where you can go and feel held, and feel heard. It’s needed just to get through life for some people. Without that, there’s a massive effect felt everywhere in London. I really hope that there's more and I want to be more active in making that happen because I think it’s not good right now.
There's just not enough of it, and there's not enough support for the thing that makes London so special. And also, the way that rent has gone crazy because everything's just going up and pushing artists further and further out. There's so much that's hard about that. I only hope that there's more fight against that in the next couple of years because people are really losing so much time, and time is so precious when it comes to culture and movements.
I think about people that are as old as I was when I started going to those things, like 16, 17 years old, and how important those spaces are, it's unreal. To have a community and a space where you can go and feel held, and feel heard. It’s needed just to get through life for some people. Without that, there’s a massive effect felt everywhere in London. I really hope that there's more and I want to be more active in making that happen because I think it’s not good right now.
I know what you mean. Hopefully things will sort themselves out. Like you said, there's at least a lot of awareness about what needs to change, especially in London, how to encourage the artistic community to kind of thrive again.
Yeah, and some jam nights are really holding it down too. Like Common Sound is great. Orii Jam is great. There's a lot of places that are still putting on essential nights and keeping that going. But there’s just not enough support. And Steez, oh my god. Bring back Steez! That’s all I want, it was so good. We'll have to bring it back somehow.
For sure. On the album, there’s a beautiful moment on Stay Home, where you’ve included voices of friends and family. It feels like such a warm, intimate tribute to the people who’ve supported you, and celebrates the nostalgic vibe of the album in a beautifully organic way. How have your loved ones helped shape you and your journey? Is there anyone you’d like to shout out specifically?
My family is incredible, they’re really amazing. I still think they're confused about what I do. Genuinely, they're like, OK, you're singing songs, is that good? I'm like, it's great. They're like good, OK. Can you pay bills? I'm like, yeah, I'm paying the bills. So they're like, great!
But they love what I love, what I do, and that I found something I like. We've travelled so much together and they've always been a massive support. There's my friends, of course, that I love so much. . Daniel Olaifa and Tom Sunney were there singing on Home. My band too, who I love to bits. And it's just such a joy to play with them and to look over and be like, OK, they’re there and, yeah, I love them.
And then we had Lloyd [Mac Wetha] there as well, who's on the record of course. But he’s also one of my oldest friends from London and the whole reason that I started releasing music under Biig Piig. He was like Jess, you need to put the music out and I was like, no, I don't want anyone to hear it. I was so embarrassed and nervous and scared! He really was the reason I started releasing music under Biig Piig properly. He’s also just one of the most beautiful musicians and one of the most beautiful people I've ever met, such a genuine soul.
I can keep going on. There are people that are extended family who were in the pub for that track who have seen me grow up and always kept me grounded, but also been such an important part of my life. Having them all in one place and all singing songs together and drinking together and having that moment, especially before One Way Ticket, it was important for me to have that because that track is about someone we sadly lost, who was important to a lot of people in the room. I really wanted to include those people in my life on this record, because it's such a big thing for me, and I wouldn't be anywhere without them.
And then there is also the side of me that felt it was like, nice to have him in a way there too, leading into the next track, and it be like a meeting point.
But they love what I love, what I do, and that I found something I like. We've travelled so much together and they've always been a massive support. There's my friends, of course, that I love so much. . Daniel Olaifa and Tom Sunney were there singing on Home. My band too, who I love to bits. And it's just such a joy to play with them and to look over and be like, OK, they’re there and, yeah, I love them.
And then we had Lloyd [Mac Wetha] there as well, who's on the record of course. But he’s also one of my oldest friends from London and the whole reason that I started releasing music under Biig Piig. He was like Jess, you need to put the music out and I was like, no, I don't want anyone to hear it. I was so embarrassed and nervous and scared! He really was the reason I started releasing music under Biig Piig properly. He’s also just one of the most beautiful musicians and one of the most beautiful people I've ever met, such a genuine soul.
I can keep going on. There are people that are extended family who were in the pub for that track who have seen me grow up and always kept me grounded, but also been such an important part of my life. Having them all in one place and all singing songs together and drinking together and having that moment, especially before One Way Ticket, it was important for me to have that because that track is about someone we sadly lost, who was important to a lot of people in the room. I really wanted to include those people in my life on this record, because it's such a big thing for me, and I wouldn't be anywhere without them.
And then there is also the side of me that felt it was like, nice to have him in a way there too, leading into the next track, and it be like a meeting point.
Thank you. I wasn’t sure whether to ask about One Way Ticket, but as you’ve brought it up, I wanted to let you know that I really connected with the song, especially after losing my father last year. Grief is such a heavy emotion to carry, but I have found that through the hardship you stumble upon beautiful realisations about life. Did writing this song lead to any profound realisations for you?
Oh I’m really sorry to hear that. But definitely it did - with this track, it made me feel like there was a direct line to the friend I lost. That’s the kind of crazy thing that music can do. Sometimes music creates somewhere where you get closer to a person who is gone. There's been so much happening over the last few years that I wish I could have shared with him and also everything that’s happening now, it’s just gorgeous to be able to have the space in that track to be able to speak to him directly. Like he told me from the get-go that this is what would be happening. The song has all the things that I wish I could say to him, basically. And yeah, there is a resolution in it somewhere, and a place where I feel like I can be with him.
I don't know about grief, cause obviously it comes and goes and it's always something that will come and go. But I do feel like there was definitely something that happened in the writing of ‘One Way Ticket’ that made me feel more connected to that person and more at peace with the fact they had passed, definitely.
I don't know about grief, cause obviously it comes and goes and it's always something that will come and go. But I do feel like there was definitely something that happened in the writing of ‘One Way Ticket’ that made me feel more connected to that person and more at peace with the fact they had passed, definitely.
Yeah, that's really beautiful. And you know, he's definitely aware of what's happened, looking down somewhere.
Yeah, he's laughing right now. He's like, shut up! Oh God.
Thank you for answering that. I just wanted to ask about a few of the visual elements of 11:11, especially the short films you’ve created to go along with the tracks. Each film represents a different dimension of the album, and you play one of the five characters in the series. Is expressing yourself through other mediums, like film, something that’s really important to you? How do the films tie into the overall album experience?
So for me, writing is super visual, I always write from a visual place, from the daydreaming part of myself. But yeah, with the episodes, I just wanted to be able to find another medium to be able to explain the emotions in this record and to find like five different characters that we follow who can embody each feeling that the record touches on and it's been great. The actors are amazing, the directors I'm working with as well are amazing, Claryn [Chong] and Freddie [Cattaneo], like there was so much exploring and understanding things on a deeper level. We spent so much time learning how to display that and how to interweave the world of the visual with the record.
It was really, really gorgeous. And we just filmed the last batch of them yesterday, which is crazy, but it's super last minute as per my life, really!
It was really, really gorgeous. And we just filmed the last batch of them yesterday, which is crazy, but it's super last minute as per my life, really!
And you’re gearing up for your Big Gig tour across the UK and Europe, including a stop in Ireland (Dublin) but not Spain, which is interesting given your bilingual background.
I know, I kicked up a fuss about that as well! The thing is it's just really tough at the minute when it comes to touring Spain, but I’ve been wanting to go there and have my headline show there for so long! It's just not the right time, I guess, with the routine that we got. And it's just hard I think, for venues out there. That's what I keep hearing. But we're hoping that we'll do at least a festival there this year, and try to get out there somehow.
Interesting, good to know. Are you feeling ready for the tour?
I am kind of. I'm super excited for it. I feel like that's the main thing. Are you ever really ready?
But no, I'm so excited because we’re bringing in stage design, which I've never done before, and building a new show, which means the same show we've had for like the last 2 to 3 years is being kind of taken apart. We’re rebuilding it and there's still a lot to get through and a lot of soundscaping I want to do, but it'll be great. I'm very excited.
But no, I'm so excited because we’re bringing in stage design, which I've never done before, and building a new show, which means the same show we've had for like the last 2 to 3 years is being kind of taken apart. We’re rebuilding it and there's still a lot to get through and a lot of soundscaping I want to do, but it'll be great. I'm very excited.