Pip Millett Explores Her Eden Of Honesty With A Crooked Smile And Glistening Gaze [Interview]

As someone attempting to make a living with words about music, I tend to spend a great deal of time finding the perfect adjective, the right metaphor, the most fitting comparison to define the artist placed in front of me. It can be a tedious experience - after all, there are so many words out there. I tend to eventually settle myself upon an explanation, but when dwelling on Pip Millett I struggled incomprehensibly. There is something almost undefinable about her. Musically, she is full of surprises, warmth and intensity, but it was her personality that convinced me of her destined stardom. It’s rare, especially within a mere half an hour zoom call, to feel such a gravitational pull towards an individual. There was something in the honesty in which she spoke with that drew me closer to her as a person and as an artist; unafraid to be afraid.

The Mancunian soulstress spoke of the crippling fear ahead of her debut album’s release, and on the triggering anguish that comes with listening to certain songs of her own that she wrote in darker times. On countless occasions, artists have told me that creating is a form of catharsis for their mental state, but with Pip it feels deeper than that. It feels like she needs it, that she would be lost without it, gripping her startling creativity tightly in the palm of her hand. Sadness doesn’t have to be morose; the world of Pip is the anthesis of solipsism. Strife is acknowledged, untamed until the point of acceptance.

Today marks the release of Millett’s debut album, When Everything Is Better, I’ll Let You Know. Seventeen tracks deep and nearly fifty minutes long, the LP is a dense, rich and triumphant body of work, primed with winding narratives and overlapping styles. It’s eclectic sonically, tonally and in mood, as Pip allows us to discover her impartially and at intricate length. Each luxurious cut differs but feels the same, focused but elusive, like different branches of the same tree. It’s easily one of the most emotionally complex and musically intelligent British albums of the year; the final brickwork in the estate of legacy that Pip is poised to move into.

During a refreshing and compelling conversation, we discussed the making of the album, her journey up until this point, and finding herself through creation.

What are your musical and personal influences?

Musically, I listen to a lot of old soul, and then I went through a faze of listening to a lot of Nas. All of the things that I write are very much connected to my life. It’s all very honest - maybe too honest, I give away a lot of myself. Then people ask me intense questions in person and I’m like “listen to the song, I’ve already done my bit!”

How did you start making music?

I was pretty young when I started making some form of music. It wasn’t very good. I always wanted to play an instrumental, I was so shy, I never wanted to sing. Eventually I did start and began to write too. I was recording myself before I even knew how to play an instrument. I did music at school, college and uni so I always pushed to do it, but I never thought that I’d get much from it.

How did you discover what stylistic space you wanted to create in?

It took a bit of time. Even now through the years, my sound is changing, and I think it will continue to. I’m really just trying a bit of everything. It depends on the situation that I’m writing in, and how I’m feeling in that moment.

In creative fields nowadays, you are almost expected to live in London. You are living in Manchester, is there a defiance in the decision to not live in the capital?

It was by chance really. I was planning to move back to London. At the time, me and my ex boyfriend were going to move in together but I was going to go back to London when I had more money. Then we went into lockdown, and I fell in love with Manchester all over again, and just decided that I wanted to stay. I wasn’t having the most fun in London, it’s very difficult to be a creative there. There’s so little money and the bills are so high, and you are expected to go to everything. Whereas now, being in Manchester, I’ve got the perfect excuse. If they want me there they’ve got to make a fuss. It can be difficult with the travel back and forth because I do have to come down a fair amount, but I make it work.

Your rise since your emergence has been incredible in such a short space of time. Is it ever difficult to keep your head screwed on?

My family and friends humble me constantly. They can drag me back down, with ease. They will never let my feet off the ground. I hate being gassed up, I don’t know why but I find it a bit cringe, it annoys me. You’ve got to find friends and family that’ll take the piss out of you constantly, that’s an easy way to stay humble. Also, I think the fact that I’m so focused on my impact on other people, not just as a musician but as a person. I work on myself constantly; it’s fucking tiring. I’m very much aware of the fact that I’m not perfect, but neither is anybody else.

There is a rawness and honesty to the emotion that you render through your writing - why do you allow yourself to emit this vulnerability so openly?

When I’m writing it and I’m on my own, it doesn’t feel as scary as when I’m releasing it. It’s a therapy for me. It’s actually where I figure out a lot of stuff, it provides clarity to my life. There’s part of me that likes the thrill of telling people about my heart breaking. There’s a freedom to it. It’s obviously terrifying - I struggle to speak about that stuff when I’m asked those questions. I think it’s hard for everyone because you don’t want to put something else on their shoulders. But to write about it, and to have this way of letting it all out is perfect for me. It stops the questions.

How have you grown as a person and an artist as you’ve progressed musically?

I can be in a bad place and write about something, then not listen back for a while. Then when I finally do, I think I need to take my own advice to help in growing. I think I know more about what I want, and I think I have more confidence in asking for what I want. Before I felt like an amateur in the game, but now I know what people like, what I need to do. I feel more confident in myself, and I guess that’s growth. It’s a difficult thing and it comes in waves, for sure, but I like it when it’s there.

The run of singles that you’ve delivered in the run up to the album are stunning, each single has been so unique yet it all feels part of the same journey and time period. How did you work on encapsulating that sound and the ideas so vividly?

It’s been a gradual thing. The album has been summing up the last few years of my life, and the poor people in it, taking a guess about which song is about them. I knew that I didn’t want everything to sound the same. I don’t enjoy when a whole album sounds really similar, I like when there’s differences. When you wake up in a certain mood, you are going to put on a certain type of music, and I like that it feels like there’s different moods throughout the whole album. It really goes through a whole set of emotions, and you can either listen to it in full and go on an up and down journey, or you can just take a few and have a really nice day or a really sad day.

You’ve had a run of really successful EP’s in the past couple of years, how does it feel to finally be putting out an album?

People have made me very aware of how big a deal it is. It’s terrifying. I felt quite calm about it until I had the whole summer of people asking me about this album. The more people ask, the more scared I get. It will be exciting, I think, I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself. I’ve released so much music before now, it shouldn’t be too scary.

Why did you feel like the right moment to release an album, was it the next natural career step?

Definitely, it felt like it was time. Before I did the Motion Sick EP, my management and everyone around me thought that an album was going to come then, but I didn’t feel ready for that. I felt like I needed another EP first, and I think I was right. Now it does feel the right time - I will be 25 when this comes out, and that sounds like a beautiful age to release an album.

How was the writing process for the album? Was it blood, sweat and tears or did it just come out of you?

A lot of it just came out but there’s was definitely a fair share of tears! It’s emotional stuff, it’s difficult. I listen back to some of the songs and they can be a reminder of how sad I felt, and that can be heartbreaking. It’s not amazing that I find certain songs of my own so triggering but I guess it shows how honestly I wrote them. It can hurt, sometimes I choose to not listen to some of the album because it is too painful. It’s my real life; I haven’t forgotten that sadness, I’ve just been able to move through it.

What are the main themes you are putting across on the album?

Sadness comes and goes, happiness comes and goes. It’s not quite about finding a balance because you can often not choose. You can choose to look at certain bits of beauty, and knowing that there will always be light somewhere. In the dark times, it’s about finding your best to search for it, or ask someone to help you search for that light. It’s definitely there.

What can listeners expect from the album?

They can expect a whole range of emotions and a real journey of growth and healing. Peace as well, I made peace with so many things through the album. I’m addressing things and then finding peace in them.

What are your personal and artistic ambitions? What do you want to do with your life?

I want to have strong friendships, do things that make me happy, to feel safe. I want to love all of the people around me and spend beautiful time with them all. Over the past few years, I’ve really acknowledged how important they are to me, and I want to put in the work and spend that time. It’s easy to be relaxed in friendships and coast by, but you’ve got to ask people how they are and if they want to do things. I’m just concentrating on doing things that make me happy.

Words by Ben Tibbits