Interview
Interview
Biig Piig: “I wanted to make a hard-hitting club record, but there’s also a softer side that I wanted to display”
The London-based alt-pop sensation unpicks the road to her debut album 11:11, ahead of a massive UK tour – which includes a stop at London’s Roundhouse
Running in straight from another photoshoot to speak to us on Zoom, Biig Piig is a busier bee than usual. Gearing up to release her debut album 11:11 on 7 February, the artist born Jess Smyth – who thrives on chaos – is perhaps about to enter the most hectic period of her career to date.
“Honestly, I feel like my life is so fast-paced,” she beams. “As a person, I’m quite chaotic. I’m always buzzing to just keep moving.” Born in Cork and having lived in Marbella, Los Angeles and London – where she now resides – Smyth lives and breathes these words, both literally and artistically.
Since bursting onto the scene with her hypnotic, sensual mixture of alt-pop, R&B and dance, tracks like 2019’s ‘Sunny’ and 2020’s ‘Feels Right’ helped ensure her breakthrough translated into sustained success. With infectious basslines to her name alongside her calming, heaven-sent vocals – which are sung in both English and Spanish – she’s crafted a distinct sound, developed over the course of various EPs and mixtapes.
Her recent project was 2023’s Bubblegum, which weaved between hip-hop and liquid drum ‘n’ bass to capture the emotions of her move to LA. Now, eight years on from her first single, Smyth’s debut album has finally arrived, converging on her long-standing affection for dance music – which remains a constant in amongst the turbulence of young adulthood.
We spoke to Smyth about the pace of being an artist in 2025, the road to 11:11 and why she now feels at home in London, after plenty of globetrotting.
Why did the time 11:11 resonate with you as the title of your debut album?
Whenever I catch it on my phone, it’s the only time that I really stop and take a minute to be really present, and reflect on things that I wish were different. It’s also just a really peaceful moment. I was stuck for an album title for so long… I just thought about it one day, and the time came up [on my phone]. Actually, the album is about reflection. It’s about points in the last two years, looking back on relationships with myself, family, friends and my partner. 11:11 represents the moment – looking back through all of that.
Do you find yourself catching it in the morning or the evening?
Morning – always morning! By the evening, I’m not looking at my phone.
When did you realise you were regularly noticing that time, and using it to reflect?
Honestly, it’s been like that for years. It’s something that I’ve been doing since teenhood. Not every day, but when it does happen, I love it. It feels like a moment of getting in touch.
Life can seem to move so fast in 2025 – especially for young creatives. Is it rather telling that you can only take one minute to reflect and be present?
I hadn’t really looked at it like that, but it’s very true. The way the world moves right now is so fast, and it’s quite demanding. There’s a lot of anxious feelings in stopping, because you feel like if you stop, you’ll implode. We’re so onto ‘the next thing’ that it keeps us out of our heads a little bit… sometimes it becomes default to keep going. It’s a bit of a generational thing, as well.
Do you thrive, creatively, in the chaos?
100 per cent. I’ve always been like that since growing up. That’s not to say that I don’t want more quiet moments. As I’m understanding more about the healing process of different things – and also maturing – you need to be content with just being present, and not running to the next thing all the time.
Did that approach underpin how 11:11 came together?
It was definitely a bit untethered. I started writing it a couple of years ago, and I didn’t know I was writing it at the time. I was just writing music, found a track, and I was like, ‘I want to start making a record.’ There was a lot of stopping and starting. For the best part of a year, I was still confused as to what I was making. You keep writing, and then it starts to make sense… it’s almost like one day, you stop, and you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s done.’
I never thought I would get to a point where I’m content with putting out an album, because I’m so indecisive sometimes. Maybe it’s not even that – I’ve [previously] only wanted to say the story in four or five tracks. This one, I wanted to get a bit deeper with.
Sonically, you’ve already explored a wide range of sound palettes – what were you going for on 11:11?
It shifted and changed. When I wrote ‘4AM’, I knew that was going to be the opening track from the get-go… I would love to start the album with that first line – “You should have hit me with the bad news first” – and then reflect through how you got there. After that track, I realised I [wanted] to make a hard-hitting club record, but there’s also a softer side that I also want to display. ‘One Way Ticket’, an acoustic track, sitting alongside [the other tracks] was important, also because there’s just different levels of space. I love creating space in songs.
What did you want to immortalise in the record about club culture and dance music?
Club culture, especially right now, has always been a place that holds community in rough times as well. It’s somewhere where you can let go; you’re safe to be able to express yourself and connect with strangers over a track. You’re in the same pocket, and it’s the best feeling ever, when you’re in that zone. I love a sweaty room, I love it when the walls are shaking and people are just letting go. I really wanted there to be moments in this record which we could put in a live experience [which is] immersive and tangible.
You mentioned wanting to convey on the album how “we dance regardless” through all the highs and lows of life. What was the music that helped get you through the tough times, and amplified the good ones?
‘Glue’ by Bicep has always been a track that will bring me into such a euphoric state, and will change the way that I feel. I can be in a bit of a shit place, and then just escape into that track. Fontaines D.C. tracks have always done that for me, on their older records and on the new record. There are so many records and places. I’m a roamer, I love to find new spots and disappear into the night – it’s my favourite thing to do.
The loved-up ‘9-5’ has a funky edge to the chorus – how did that track come together?
I wrote it in Montmartre, Paris – that place is the most gorgeous, romantic part of the city. It was a village up until 100 years ago, and still has that community feeling, that vibe where you walk around and everyone knows each other. When I went over, it was a time that I was very in love – I’m very in love now – but at the time, I was missing my partner. The lyric “my nine to five” is because I put so much of myself into my work, because I love it. That’s also what I meant when I was thinking about my partner. We’ll work for it, but I don’t want anything else, so I’m going to give 100 per cent of everything to it.
You’ve always had a knack for glorious basslines – how did the one in ‘Decimal’ make you feel?
When you’re building up to [the climax] and have a bassline that hits as hard as the one in ‘Decimal’ does, it breaks you into a different place and lets you float in that space. ‘Decimal’ was produced by Andrew Wells, and Zach Nahome – his basslines are crazy. We’ve worked together for so long. ‘Feels Right’, ‘Kerosene’, ‘Favourite Girl’ on this record. I love the way that he plays, it’s like a feral feeling. He brings so much emotion to it.
What would a younger Biig Piig think if she heard 11:11?
I think she’d be a little bit shocked – is that me? There’s been so many changes in the music that I make, which is part of the fun of it. I don’t think I ever really knew what my debut album would sound like. There’s also moments in it that acknowledge things that she’s been through. She’d be like, ‘Oh, wow, I thought we let go of that already!’
Biig Piig will tour the UK from 15-27 February. Find tickets here
11:11 is released on 7 February