Getting To Know... Philippine

Have spent the last few years releasing a wave of bold and uplifting alt-pop, Dutch singer and songwriter Philippine now returns with her latest euphoric delight 'Just Dancing'.

Channeling the bright and vibrant flavour of Maggie Rogers and The 1975, 'Just Dancing' is the rich and atmospheric release we all need right now. Filled with pulsing basslines, catchy guitar hooks, and a sweeping vocal performance, the frontwoman is set to make a lot of serious noise of the back of this in the months ahead.

So with her new single brightening up our day at every turn, we sat down with her to find out more about her origins and what first inspired her to get into music.

-

What was the first instrument you fell in love with?

Definitely the piano. When I was about 8 or 9 years old I was already writing songs. They weren’t very good ones obviously, but my mom taught me some basic chords on the piano so that I could use those to write simple songs. From that moment on I’ve played piano almost every day of my life and wrote most of my songs starting with chords on the piano. Even though I’m very aware I’ll never become a Mozart or Bach, knowing how to play piano has been a real benefit so far.

What has been the most prominent inspiration behind your music so far?

It sounds very simple, but the biggest inspiration has been (subconsciously) hearing and listening to music. Ever since I was little, there was always music playing or people singing and making music in our house and in our family. Funnily enough, my mother often listened to folky/country-ish singer songwriters, while my dad prefered to put on music from the 80’s, which he always claims to be the best decenia in music history. Those two genres have been the two main influential sources for my music the last couple of years, I’m always searching for ways to combine those two. I’ve just recently realised how much of an impact my parents’ taste of music have defined mine, and I find it funny to see how I see the same pattern occurring by my friends’ their music and what they listened to while growing up.

What kind of music did you love as a teenager?

At the beginning of my teenage years, I was overly obsessed with One Direction. And no, there is no shame in admitting that! After my obsession kind of subsided, I started listening to a lot of acoustic singer-songwriter music and I began to develop some sort of aversion to mainstream pop music (which has, as you can hear in my music now, changed drastically haha). The last few years of high school I was especially listening to a lot of indie-folk and country music, and I was very much into “discovering” smaller artists. The more unknown, the better. It made me kind of feel like I was vintage shopping, you have to put more effort into finding something but once you do, you’re the only one that has it and it makes you feel proud for finding it. If that makes sense.

Can you remember the first song that made you want to pursue a life in music?

I can’t exactly remember the song, but I bet it had to be a 'Scarlett and Gunnar' song from the series Nashville. Probably “If I didn’t know better” or “Fade into you”. Ever since I watched Nashville I had been obsessed with country music and all I wanted was to go to Nashville one day to become a songwriter. Even though my genre and style of songwriting have changed a little throughout the years, I haven’t had any doubts about pursuing a musical career ever since.

When you wake up in the morning, what kind of music do you like to listen to?

Right now, my go to songs in the morning are 'The Steps' by Haim, 'If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)' by The 1975 and 'The Fear Of Being Alone' by Lennon Stella. But you can always wake me up by playing me anything from John Mayer, Maggie Rogers, the Paper Kites and Kacey Musgraves.

How many of your songs have you written about people in your life?

I’d say about 75%. I think everyone you meet can possibly become a source of inspiration and the relationships that affect me the most are usually the ones that inspire me the most as well. Despite the fact that many of my songs are written about my own experiences, it doesn’t mean that I wrote them at the same time I was going through them. I often feel inspired out of the blue by things that happened a long time ago. I do think it is a useful skill as a songwriter to be able to let yourself be inspired by things other than your own experiences. Otherwise, when your life is going pretty stable, you run out of things to write about quite quickly.

What has been the most memorable moment in your career so far?

Recently, my band and I have been selected for the Popronde, which is a program where they select about a hundred bands that will be touring throughout the Netherlands for 3 months. This was really one of the goals our band set last year, and something I wanted for the last couple of years, so being selected was a huge deal for me. Also, last year, I got to perform my song “Gone” with an entire orchestra in a theatre. Definitely one of the most memorable performances I’ve done so far.

Outside of music, what is your biggest passion?

Right now, I am a little addicted to cooking, which is something I never thought I’d like, since I’ve always been a very lazy and clumsy cook. But lately I am extremely obsessed with searching for new recipes and trying out different things. I’m secretly making my own recipe book right now, but I don’t think I will have the patience to actually finish it. I expect to have a different obsession within 2 month, because that’s usually the life expectancy of any “passion” of mine besides music.

If you weren’t a musician, what other path do you think you might have taken?

I think I would have either studied psychology or social sciences, and I would have loved to have a job where I could either study human behavior, or debate in court. Or I would’ve done something with English literature. Or something with children. Or I’d just live on the road in a van traveling throughout the world. I guess I don’t really know. Luckily for me, I had music, or I would have probably never been able to choose. I do wonder if I would’ve had the patience to seriously pursue any other career than music, since nothing ever spoke to me the way music did.

And what advice would you give to other musicians looking to start a career in music?

One thing that has helped me a lot is: don’t always ask feedback to everyone while being in a creative process. A lot of the time people are just saying things because they just want to say something. Too many opinions can make it really difficult to still recall how you felt about something in the first place. Sometimes you just gotta go with your gut feeling.

Also, don’t compare yourself to others too much. Every musical journey is unique and sometimes it takes a lot of patience and work. Sometimes it’s good to take a look at how other artists handle things and you can learn a lot from others, but once you are making the music you love, learn to acknowledge your own growth and don’t always compare yourself to someone that you think is steps ahead of you. There’s always going to be someone you think is better, so just focus on what you believe in and don’t let what other people do get in the way of your creativity. Just keep making art, stay motivated and be kind to yourself.

-

Philippine's new single 'Just Dancing' is available to stream and download now. Check out the new video in the player below.