The Art of Pien
Mustard had the pleasure of speaking with London Singer-Songwriter PIEN!
Mustard had the pleasure of speaking with London Singer-Songwriter PIEN! Together we discussed musical theatre, country music, human emotions, their upcoming single “The Witch”, and so much more!
1. Mustard is grateful to have you join them at On The Shelf. How are you doing today?
I’m doing great, thank you so much for having! So exciting!
2. You are a singer, songwriter, and actor. Mustard wonders which came first?
Singing def! I was one of those little annoying kids who was always singing and jumping around. I just couldn’t help myself, there was always a tune in my head that just needed to be sang.
3. You studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and received your masters in Musical Theatre. How has your experience with Musical Theatre helped you as an artist?
I would say Musical Theatre teaches you the value of text and storytelling and that’s what I was always interested in and chose to study my bachelors and masters in this. Because of my training I’m always very focused on lyrics, in my own and other people’s music. This helps me to always make sure my lyrics go somewhere and that they will evolve with the song. It’s like a puzzle and to solve a puzzle like that is one of the most exciting things.
4. Mustard has observed that some humans dislike Musical Theatre. What musical theatre production would you recommend they check out? Would human society benefit from bursting into songs randomly?
I totally get that and my dad never really was a fan of it either until he noticed my passion and talent for it haha. I’ve always told people who don’t like musical theatre to go to the show ‘Choir of Man’. It’s a show set in a pub about a group of friends who shares their stories with popular (well known) songs.
I think the world would be a nicer place if we would do that more often and more in a day to day kinda setting although maybe not in rush hour on the tube ;).
5. Through theatre you learned discipline and technique vocally and performance wise. For those who may have trouble with this, what advice would you give them?
Take singing lessons and make sure you find the right teacher! I’ve been in training (vocally) since the age of 10 and in the beginning it was really hard to find a teacher who understands my way of learning (I’m a very visual kinda person and not huge on technical terms). Ask yourself what you want to learn and what genre you would like to sing or want to learn how to sing, that’s a great way to start.
6. You are a big fan of country music. If you could collaborate with any country music artist who would it be and why?
Oh, I love that question! No one ever asked me that before! People act always a bit funny when you mention you like country music but what I love about it is the storytelling element, specially in songs from the 50’s/60’s. I would love to collaborate with Willie Nelson or Dolly Parton. I think it would be really fun to record something with these people.
7. A human in a business suit asks you to choose a country album to adapt into a musical theatre show. What country album do you adapt to stage?
It’s funny actually how popular country music is getting nowadays in musical theatre. You already have the musical ‘9 to 5’ by Dolly Parton and a new show on broadway right now called ‘Shucked’ by Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally. But if I could adapt an album in a musical I would say ‘Pageant Material’ by Kacey Musgraves.
8. Maggie Rogers, Joni Mitchell, and Alanis Morissette are some of your biggest influences. Which album from each do you consider essential listening?
I’m a classics kinda girl so I would say (very cliche) ‘Blue’ for Joni Mitchell, ‘Jagged Little Pill’ for Alan’s Morissette and for Maggie Rogers her last album ‘Surrender’. That album turned me inside out and inspired me the most while I was working on finding my sound.
9. Songwriting for you starts with an emotion along with direct perspectives and motives. How has songwriting helped you to express those emotions? Is it true that human emotions change frequently?
It was helped me to process my thoughts and feelings and to give my head some peace. My head is constantly running with thoughts and ideas and as soon as I write them down and look at them I can let it go or to more internal research how to dig even deeper into them trying to find meaning in them.
I’m not a doctor or a shrink but what I’ve noticed while I was writing and healing from a break-up (what inspired me to write my EP ‘3.0’) is that emotions come and go and that changing your mind on things is ok. We’re all human and trying to figure ourselves and the rest of the world out. It’s ok to go up and down in your emotions and let it all just happen.
10. 2022 saw the release of your EP "3.0" in which you took the songs with you from the Netherlands to Glasgow to London. How did these songs develop through your travels? Could you share more about what it was like to put this EP together?
It’s was a very intense and interesting process from the moment I wrote these songs in The Netherlands during the pandemic, revisited them in Glasgow (recorded/performed them there as well) and to release the EP in London.
I wrote these songs while I was going through a traumatic break-up and wrote them from a very raw and fragile place. It was very emotional for me to finish and revisit these songs in Glasgow (where I was still healing from this break up).
I could finish them with a new perspective but also discovered that I still needed to work (mentally) on my recovery even though I thought I was over it. After first performing these songs and then recording them it felt like I was a step closer to move on from this person and the pain they caused me. As soon as I arrived in London and released the EP, I could finally close this chapter.
11. Have you determined when the space needle will come back?
I hope never haha! I gave up on that question when I moved to London and realised that I didn’t need a space needle to live my dream life and to be happy.
12. Earlier this year you re-released your single "Mascara Tears." When did you decide you wanted to share this song with the world again?
I felt ‘Mascara tears’ would be a great song to release as a separate single and it was for a lot of people their favourite song of the album, so I thought, why not?!
13. Mustard wonders what are some things that make you say "What the fuck?"
I really say this more than I should actually… For some reason I just really love to swear haha. I’m the kinda person who doesn’t play around. What you see is what you get and I just hate it wen people break their promises and leave you hanging. Just be honest, it’s really not that hard ;).
14. Mustard is curious if you successfully found some shapes within the clouds? How did the sky inspire and influence this single?
I’ve always had a fascination for clouds since I was a little kind but when I lived in Glasgow I was blown away by them. The sky over there is really something else. The shapes and specially the colours I saw over there were incredible, you don’t find something like that anywhere else. This magic spell, inspired me to write my song ‘Clouds’.
15. What can fans expect from your upcoming single "The Witch?”
Something different for sure! I don’t like to be predictable and I always want to try something new and with this song I’ve implemented my love for rock music.
16. Do you have any favorite spells or potions? How do you like to celebrate the Halloween season?
The only potions I like to drink are alcoholic ones in the form of beer haha ;) I love to celebrate Halloween, since we don’t really do that in the Netherlands so I really started celebrating this holiday when I moved to the UK. Specially the
dressing up part of Halloween is why I love celebrating it and of course to hang out with friends and eat lots of candy.
17. Can fans pre-save this single?
Of course they can! You can pre-save the single in the link on my Instagram page or here:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/pien/the-witch?utm_source=SendGrid&utm_medium=Email+&utm_campaign=website
18 A human gets the chance to see you perform. What three words best describe your live performance?
Electric, poetic and fascinating.
19. Do you have any upcoming shows?
I’m gonna play two shows in November in London at the SinderCombe on the 15th and The Sound Library on the 25th! You can find more info in the link in my bio (Instagram) or go to my website www.pienvanmeegen.com
20. What is next for Pien?
I’m working on my new EP (will be released in early 2025) and I’m gonna do a really cool project in New York next year! I couldn’t be more excited for the next few months!
21. Where can readers listen to your music?
You can listen my music on all the streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube :)
LINKS:
Spotify:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-jAZ2FXxPS1ZCleaHFoT1w
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pienvanmeegen/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-949272129?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/pien/1569983331
Official website: https://www.pienvanmeegen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PienvMeegen/
Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@pienvm3