Biig Piig: “I love the idea that, even through the painful moments, we dance”

“Initially, I didn’t really think I was making a record,” reflects Biig Piig. “I just thought I was making music, really.”

The Irish-born, London-based artist is recalling the early days of the creation of her long-awaited debut album, 11:11 – which finally arrived this month, following a remarkable run of EPs, stretching back to 2018’s Big Fan of the Sesh Vol.1, and a lauded 2023 mixtape, Bubblegum.

With those previous releases under her belt – in addition to work with the boundary-pushing NiNE 8 Collective, and genre-defying collaborations with the likes of Metronomy, Matt Maltese, and Kojaque – Biig Piig had already established herself as a thrilling, ever-evolving creative force. With songs that delve daringly into both the joys and concerns of her generation, she’d garnered millions of streams – and scored praise from fellow pop innovator Billie Eilish – long before a debut LP was even envisioned.

Upon realising that her latest musical ideas were forming into “potential album tracks”, however, the artist also known as Jess Smyth found herself embarking on an entirely new journey – with the album ultimately taking “a lot of different forms, before becoming what it is now.”

“It was a really heavy dance record at one point,” she elaborates. “But then that didn’t feel right, because I also wanted to bring in more stripped-back songs. And I knew there was more that I wanted to include.

“So it was a long process,” she continues. “But I just didn’t want to stop writing for it. When I finally finished, I was like, ‘Wait. I think I’ve made it – a whole record.’ It felt crazy.”

11:11 is titled after what Biig Piig describes as a “recurring number” in her life. In numerology, the time-stamp is considered an ‘angel number’ – representing enlightenment and intuition, and indicating that you’re on the ‘right path’.

“The process of making the album could feel quite chaotic, and intense,” she notes. “Life in general can feel like that – like there’s not really a moment to pause.

“But it was like, no matter what was going on, whenever I caught those numbers, I would stop, and think about things I’m grateful for. I’d think about where I am, and what I’m doing. It was a moment of pause, and peace, in a really chaotic headspace. I think it was a spiritual thing – like a moment of meditation.”

Biig Piig considers it a “grounding” force in the context of the album, which delves into some of the highs and lows of her life over the past three years – from changing relationships, to the loss of a loved one.

“It’s such a celebration, but there’s definitely things that it’s brought up,” she says of the project. “Whenever you write, you don’t really know what it’s going to get you to face. There were moments on this record where I was like, ‘Surely I’ve moved past that?’ But I really hadn’t.

“There were also certain points where I was like, ‘Do I want to get that vulnerable on a record?’” she adds. “But I’m glad that I did. I love the idea that, even through the painful moments, we dance. It’s fine – we’ll come out the other end of it. And there’s hopefulness in it, because I think that’s what I needed – and I really hope that that’s something other people can find in it.”

Being open and honest in her music has never really been an issue for Biig Piig – but she wasn’t always so confident when it came to unleashing the songs into the world.

“I was super shy growing up,” she reveals. “I knew that I loved to make music, but putting it out online, that was the thing. I remember being in Lloyd [a fellow member of the NiNE8 Collective, better known as Mac Wetha]’s room, and he was saying, ‘Jess, you have to release.’ And I was like, ‘I can’t. I actually just can’t – I’m so embarrassed.’ But he just said, ‘You have to – what the fuck?!’ Without him encouraging me and backing me, and really helping me to do that, I don’t think I ever would have released music.”

Having grown up between Ireland, Spain, and London – and spent time working and living in the US – Biig Piig’s music has also been influenced by a strong sense of place. Spending time working on 11:11 in Motorbass Studios, in Montmartre, Paris, had a profound impact, she reckons – not only in terms of the “Parisian electro-pop feel”, but also in the unique mood of tracks like ‘9-5’ and ‘Decimal’.

“It was a beautiful time, and so inspiring,” she recalls. “It was the most incredible studio I’ve ever been in, in my entire life. It was [late French producer] Philippe Zdar’s studio, so it really felt like there was magic in the walls, and in the synths that he has there. It was unreal.

“I was also having nights out where I was meeting people, and really exploring the city,” she continues. “I found that people were so passionate there, and so true to what they believed in. So that romantic part definitely came through. Even writing ‘9-5’ – I was in a daze, like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so in love and happy!’ Then there was the flipside of that – I was definitely not in that headspace at all for ‘Silhouette’. But that studio helped me through so many different moments.”

Of course, London – where she first moved to as a teenager with her family – has also been crucial in terms of Biig Piig’s development as an artist. After a period spent in Los Angeles, she returned to the city a few years ago.

“I love it – I’ve got my two cats!” she tells me. “I’ve moved around so much, and I didn’t really feel like I was settling. But I think I’ve finally found my feet now.”

She’s also continued to forge connections with other Irish artists in London, including past collaborators Maverick Sabre and Kojaque – and is inspired to see how Irish creativity has been making major waves in the city over the past few years.

“It’s such a turning point for the culture,” she nods. “With the music, but also with designers, and brands, and so many other things pointing to Irish talent.

“It just feels like Irish artists are really being seen at the minute,” she adds. “It’s sick. Chamomile Club are amazing. And writers even – like Paul Murray with The Bee Sting. Or Sally Rooney getting her flowers. There’s so much.”

The aforementioned Maverick Sabre and Kojaque, as well as Soft Boy Records’ Kean Kavanagh, and several London artists with Irish roots, such as Yunè Pinku and KiLLOWEN, were all part of the Gaza Aid fundraiser gig Biig Piig headlined and organised in London’s Village Underground last year.

“It was great – we raised over ten grand, which was amazing,” she says of the night. “It was bittersweet as well, because it’s a horrible thing going on, but it was also gorgeous to see people come together, and for it to raise what it did.”

This month saw Biig Piig embark on her own headline tour in support of 11:11, including recent shows at Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre and Belfast’s Limelight – with UK and European dates lined up over the weeks ahead.

But she reveals that – despite her debut album being less than a month old – she’s “desperate to get back writing.”

“I’ve actually got the bug for it again,” she says. “It comes in waves, and sometimes you don’t want to force it. But I really, really want to get back to it – there’s just no time!

“There’s a place that I love to write in Wales, in the forest, in this tiny cabin. So I’m hoping, after tour, to go back there – and get back to it.”

11:11 is out now.