Pitou

WHO ARE YOU? 

My name is   - I was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands but currently live in Antwerp, Belgium. Pitou’s my first name and artist name. 

WHAT DO YOU DO?


I write and perform my own songs, and will be releasing my debut record Big Tear on March 24th. As a kid, I sang in a classical children’s choir, but looking for independence and with a desire to create my own world, I started writing pop music. “Big Tear” is my first full-length album, after two EP’s. 

WHY DO YOU DO IT? 


As a kid I already loved music, I had a curious fascination for classical music that wasn’t fueled by any external factor. When my father asked me why I liked it so much, I apparently answered that it calmed me. I think in a way that is still the reason why I do music, albeit it now being my own music that doesn’t fit one box anymore. There’s simply nothing that makes me feel as calm and as completely alive at the same time as music does.

WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?


I am just very excited to release my record! I took my time (increased even more by the covid-period) and I am so happy I did because I now just feel so very happy and joyful about this release. I like the irony of releasing a record called “Big Tear”, whilst feeling the best I’ve ever felt, haha. It feels like this record is really the most complete work I made up until now; not only on a musical level but really as a complete world; I created the artwork myself and developed concepts for the music videos. Creating the visual world was a sort of antidote to the mental effort it took to finish a song, and that is why I loved doing both at the same time. I’d been collecting inspiration ever since I started writing the first songs. Gradually I discovered the world this record would take place in, with lots of opaque blue colours and weird creatures.



Creating the artwork and the concepts for the music videos has given me so much joy, and makes the world of Big Tear feel that much more complete, and personal. And I can’t wait to start touring. I have very consciously chosen to leave the guitar behind, both in the songwriting process and on stage, and it gives me an enormous amount of freedom when playing shows. 

WHAT'S THE HOT TOPIC?

There’s many! One thing I think is interesting in pop music is the insanely high turnover rate of artists. There’s about a billion new promising artists every year, but because of pressure and the little resources there are for starting creatives, many of them are burned out by the time they would’ve started to make their best work. Either their practical resources are exhausted, or their energy and emotional resources are just burned up. I hope we as an industry can find ways to support each other in this environment - and look for ways to improve.



Pitou’s debut record "Big Tear" is out on March 24th with V2 Records.