Pim Piet

 Interview by Emmanuelle Plantier 

The more time goes by, the more genre has become a blurred notion in music. It is pretty safe  to say that Led Zeppelin is a rock n’ roll band, or that Bob Marley popularized reggae. But  nowadays, with all the “post” and the “core” around, it can be hard to categorically define  which movement an artist belongs to, because they belong to so many. With all those  proliferating micro-genres, it is also hard for artists to carve out a new niche entirely for  themselves. This is one reason why the Dutch oddball Pim Piet stands out: he draws on  musical traditions - notably electro, pop and old-school hip-hop in the rhythm - but at the  same time erases the boundaries between those genres so thoroughly that he elevates his  category-resisting music to an art form. It would surely be easier to find the Fountain of  Youth than to put him in a box. If you ask, he will call his sound “theatre pop-punk.” 

The singer-songwriter-composer has been based in Amsterdam, a scene dominated by punk  and post-punk bands, and the vibrantly dancy feel of his music makes him a quite unique  figure in the Dutch capital’s soundscape. And now, you won’t have to book an expensive flight across the ocean to get a whiff of what I’m talking about, since the artist’s first album  was released on Spotify in June 2025, with two sober Instagram posts as the sole promotion.  






Soo Awake, Still Not Amused is the first album you release solo. How was the  creative process like for this project?  

I wrote, produced and mixed all these songs alone, which was kind of a big thing for me.  I  wanted to do it alone because I'm not really good at the whole mixing and producing process, so I didn't want to ask somebody else to look over all these tunes because it was such a mess.

I made some mistakes in mixing and producing some songs, which gave them a really unique  sound, and was also kind of fun. I worked on these songs for so long, some were even made during COVID.   



The sound of the album is very singular, I have never heard anything like it before.  What instruments did you use to produce it?  

Most of these songs were written and recorded in my room. I used 9 drum computers and  several synthesizers, that's also why there’s a bit of a hysteric vibe. There's also guitar on there and a bit of bass. Some mics of course.  

I just like buying instruments. Sometimes I keep an instrument for like, a week, I just make  one song with it. Then I don't really like the sound or the work process of the drum computer or the synthesizer. They can be so old fashioned that it's really hard to get in a workflow. So, I'm like, yeah, let's sell it again. When I started making music, I really wanted to buy all these expensive synthesizers but nowadays I'm looking into these cheap keyboards, the ones that are 50 or 100 €. 



”Sooo Awake” really has a humoristic feel to it, you can hear it in the lyrics but also  in the music. What was your thought process behind deciding to include irony in your  songs?

I think humor is a very strong instrument to describe some sort of problems whatever you  want to talk about in the songs. I use humor as an instrument to describe what I think is stupid  about some people or some habits. I just don't like things that are too serious.  

So, I wanted to give it a bit more air but at the same time, describe some things I see, think about, and have a strong opinion on.

Because when you have a strong opinion about something and start writing about it, it can become very serious, very fast.  

Also, sometimes when I'm listening to music, I can really like the instrumental part, but then I think the lyrics are just a bit too serious for me, so I try to write it in a bit of a funny way or looking for a fun metaphor. 



Today we see a lot of upcoming artists having a huge presence on social media to  promote their music, some of them even find fame online. You’re not really present  on social media to promote your gigs or new releases. Do you have a reason for not  being chronically online?  

I don't really feel the internet vibe to say it like that, but at the same time it can be really useful. Last summer I started to use my social media for like 15 minutes a day which also maybe has some influence on how much I’m using it to promote my own project.

I think the reason is that I don't really feel comfortable using the medium but at the same time I should maybe use it more to promote some things. I also feel that this project isn't where it needs to be,  it is still growing so I don't feel like emailing festivals or emailing a booker to come to my show. So, I'm starting to do it a bit more myself nowadays.  



You’ve been playing in Amsterdam for several years now, what are your opinions on  the evolution of the scene over there?  

I really dig Amsterdam for its output. It's not that there are lots of artists that make the music  I really like, but there are a lot of bands, especially right now, there are a lot of new punk bands, and I really like them actually, like Bombstrap for example. There are also a lot of places where you can see live  music, lots of bars, lots of theaters. I moved here nine years ago, and it's always been like  that. There is a lot going on. Shout out to Kruispunt and Pacific Ondergronds for organising a lot of live events the past years.



With all the peaks and valleys in the album, I am curious to know what kind of music you listen to on your own?

You might not expect it, but I've always been listening to a mix of easy pop songs.  I've been  listening to some hip hop since I was four, and I'm still listening to it a lot to it. Especially G funk and tunes from the nineties. I’ve also been listening to electronic dub and reggae. I’m also into Japanese fusion and game music and since young I’ve been listening to reggaeton and some higher bpm afrobeat songs.  Artists I think you should check out are Tha Dogg Pound, DJ Assault, Lucy Cooper B Handy, Nicolini, Yukihiro Takahashi, and of course Don Melody club (Pim Piet’s band).  Overall, I get inspired by listening to a mix of hip hop, pop, dub, rhythmic african and latin music.  



With all these different influences and your own personal touch to it, how would you  describe the style of the album?  

When I introduce myself and people ask me what kind of music I make, I always struggle to  explain it, but I think that's something that every artist has. I came up with the term “theater pop-punk” with a friend. I just really feel like mixing some genres within one song. I also try to give the songs a bit of an easy pop feeling but mixing it with a hysterical punk-electronic feeling. 

We have all had this experience of listening to a song your friend just played and thinking  very hard, “Wait, I have heard this before,” or “This sounds like something I know.” Most likely, that thought won’t cross your mind when you’re listening to Pim Piet. His goofy synth  melodies, impromptu laser sounds, and purely entertaining beats have already got a crowd  that was headbanging two minutes ago to dance like it’s 1971. Even this image doesn’t  capture it all. That’s the strength of the multi-influenced artist: to create a sound that  completely stands out while making everyone agree on the dance floor. Trust me, I’ve heard  a hardcore doom metal singer scream Piet’s name in awe. Yet what is most surprising about  this album, something you can pick up only by listening to it, is how funny and ironic every  aspect of it really is. The cover shows a reimagined Internet troll, with its iconic toothy grin  turned into a sceptical frown, placed on a collage background in which humanity’s downfall  routinely unfolds. It’s a ballet of war depictions, greedy businessmen, screen-absorbed  characters, and gag balls. That leaves many hints about what to expect for the next 45  minutes. 

Even the titles of the songs help you figure out what kind of music you are about to discover.  Names like “Never Trust a Rich Man,” “Thank You Jesus Christ,” or “Living Life with  Lifeless Law” sound like excerpts from a politically engaged poetry collection and are  evocative enough for you to start drawing a picture of Pim Piet’s musical intentions: to use humour and derision to tackle social inequality and economic injustice. 

Then you put your headphones on and press play, curious to hear what a song called “Butch’s  Fight for the Working Class” really is about. Before the drums kick in, we can hear siren sounds overlapping with a feet-moving synth line while Pim sings a chorus that is more a  collection of reverbed onomatopoeia than real lyrics. Multiple offset sound effects add layers to the catchy groove, and when the chin-stroking beat finally kicks in, it’s the signal to start  shaking it. But the catch comes later. Halfway through the song, fighting gimmicks out of a ’60s spaghetti Western movie swoop in, accompanied by Pim in the role of the MC,  enjoining us to “Give it up for the working class.” The rhythm changes, jerky synth sounds  take the lead, but the danceability stays blatant. 


Although humour is omnipresent in “Soo Awake,” there is no hidden meaning to decode, no  ironic detour that undercuts the lyrics. The songs’ effect is direct, and the message is plainly stated. The irony does not baffle – it resides in straightforward bursts of honesty that might  surprise at first but then get a good laugh out of us. Like in “Never Trust a Rich Man,” in which Pim Piet warns you about putting your trust in high-net-worth individuals, at the risk of exposing yourself to painful backstabbing. Simple, clear, efficient. Then you have “Thank  you Jesus Christ,” where Christianity’s prophet is thanked for being such a nice guy, with laser-like sounds backing the track. Probably to the surprise of most, this song is really meant  as a shoutout to Christ and not as a satire of religious institutions. 

In “Living Life with Lifeless Law,” lyrics are just the name of the song repeated on loop with  an echoing voice that embeds itself in your skull. Yet for some reason, the more you hear those words, the more you start to realize that our judicial system does have some inhumane  practices. Bouncy percussions are supported by a pristine bass line, and the smooth guitar chords turn into a melodic solo towards the end of the song. Many activists would say that awakening political consciousness in 2 minutes is not an easy task, so Pim Piet deserves applause for accomplishing this feat and also making it danceable.

One of the most striking aspects of the album is that the ambient irony is not only conveyed  through the lyrics but also by the music itself. For example, “Supercar” starts as a high-beat hymn to the singer’s car, with sound effects all over the place giving the impression that we  just stepped into a digital fever dream. Then it abruptly shifts to a slow, floating soundscape  with soft guitar notes reminiscent of Connan Mockasin’s suavest hits. This transition (or rather the lack thereof) surprises us by its suddenness, but that is actually where the magic  resides. It is by twisting things around and going against musical conventions that the comic emerges, made even funnier by being unexpected. Pim Piet has been able to turn an ironic  anthem into a layered musical production, attesting to the large range of influences present in the album. 

Pim Piet proves himself to be a gifted acrobat, smoothly balancing humour with political  messages without falling into mockery or cynicism. “Soo Awake… Still Not Amused” does  not make fun of the things it observes; it acknowledges their existence with a sharp point of  view. It is a clairvoyant observation of how life unfolds, of how lifeless laws dictate our existence, and how, despite being awake and aware of all this mess, we struggle to find it  amusing. It then becomes almost vital to deflect those heavy feelings with humour in order  not to lose hope. 

Moreover, the album’s uniquely offset atmosphere shines the brightest during Pim Piet’s live performances, where his crazy presence embodies the Geist of his music. All the hasty rhythms, rousing melodies, and the irreplicable soul of the music materialize in the performer  himself, all combined for an electrifying experience. When you go to see a Pim Piet gig, you either know what to expect because you have been there before, or you are just about to get  your mind blown away. Truly, you must be there to get it, but imagine 30 minutes of convulsive jumps, intense rolling across the stage, mosh-pitting on the dance floor, and rough  crowd-surfing and you get a sketch of it — but not the real thing. There was even a time when Pim climbed on top of a 12-foot speaker, headbanged so hard that said speaker was  shaking and the whole crowd thought that he would bust his head open, then proceeded to jump on the crowd from the speaker and let it bring him back to the stage. And if you find it  all too weird and absurd, rest assured that was the point all along and that you might never catch up with Pim. Things are more exciting that way.