Biig Piig releases Buddy remix of new single ‘Don’t Turn Around’,
Biig Piig releases Buddy remix of new single,
Radio 1 Playlist News also confirmed
“Weaving in and out of introspective thoughts on escapism, romances, work and friendships between English and Spanish…you’ll be hearing a lot more of Biig Piig” Observer, Ones to Watch“Razor sharp lyrical observations about the angst and emotions of youth” Dazed & Confused“Late night hip-hop soul with Erykah Badu overtones…a huge promise” Sunday Times “Heavy-eyed, yearning electronic R&B…an after party vibe with artful subtlety” Pitchfork“Few artists capture the smoke-filled haze of adolescence quite like Biig Piig” Crack
Biig Piig has today released a Buddy remix of brilliant new single ‘Don’t Turn Around’, which is available now on RCA.
‘Don’t Turn Around’ has also just become Jess’ first playlisted record at BBC Radio 1, following a breakout few months for the idiosyncratic 22 year old (including her TV debut on ‘Later…With Jools Holland’, an acclaimed charity gig at London’s Moth Club in aid of Refuge and Trans Women of Colour Survival Fund, plus vocal fans ranging from Billie Eilish and Clairo to Virgil Abloh and Bella Hadid). Buddy’s remix of ‘Don’t Turn Around’ is another culture-colliding moment for Biig Piig, in which the Compton rapper and Irish (via West London, and Malaga) songwriter combine in a perfect cut of modern pop. It’s all held together via Jess’ instantly-identifiable, bilingual vocal…and just as unique life-experiences.
‘Don’t Turn Around’ is described by Piig as “my post breakup, pre glow up tune; finally getting to confidence through self-love and letting go of toxic relationships. JD Reid [slowthai, Mabel, Kojey Radical] showed me a song he had saved in his sample collection called ‘Love for the Sake of Love’ by Claudja Barry. The energy of that track instantly just made me wanna move so badly. You might have heard the sample before in Montell Jordan’s iconic tune ‘Get It on Tonite’, but it slaps every time and the feeling Claudja Barry captures is absolutely timeless.”
At just 22 years old, Biig Piig’s quiet wisdom and winning naivete has seen her trilogy of EPs to date develop an eclectic worldwide audience. With millions of streams and a sold-out European tour under her belt – including London dates at Village Underground and Hackney’s Earth – Piig’s year may have taken an unexpected twist: it is, however, also a period in which Jess has found her voice. Under lockdown she has developed confidence to lead everything from Spanish tutorials and bedtime stories over Instagram to protesting in the BLM movement, selling posters in support of NHS frontline works, and organising a pay-per-view, socially-distanced gig at Moth Club in aid of Refuge and Trans Women of Colour Survival Fund.
Whilst ‘Don’t Turn Around’ has the feel of her most accomplished moment to date, it has – to say the least – been an interesting journey for Biig Piig up until this point. The oldest of four, Jess was born in Ireland but spent her formative years in Spain, before moving to Shepherd’s Bush and later working as a poker dealer. Despite speaking English at home, Biig Piig initially only knew how to read and write in Spanish; a rocky transition through which eventually she found her people. These proved to be college-mates NiNE8 Collective, the eight-person-strong network of London-based creatives which Jess founded alongside Lava La Rue (and still collaborate, with a group mixtape dropping just this week).
Having gone viral with early tracks like ‘Vice City’, Biig Piig has emerged a vivid writer on relationship power-dynamics, identity, and how to navigate the changing world around us. She has learned the importance of being “your own country, your own refuge”, and found the sort of young community that can only emerge from a shared feeling of helplessness. It’s an attitude that’s there in the alias of Biig Piig itself, which Jess found when reading it drunk off a pizza menu, and relating to the sense that we’re all, secretly, a little bit of a mess. Whilst still a warts-and-all talent, in 2020 Biig Piig seems to find herself emboldened, experimental – and on the strength of tracks like ‘Don’t Turn Around’ – sounding like a genuine contender.
LISTEN to ‘Don’t Turn Around’ (ft. Buddy) HERE
Watch/listen to ‘Don’t Turn Around’ HERE
Watch the official video for ‘Switch’ HERE