All the way from Amsterdam indie rock band Pip Blom has been leaving their mark across Europe and the UK. They have opened for The Breeders, Franz Ferdinand, and Garbage. Their cheeky name is not only the name of the band but derives from 22-year-old front-woman, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Pip Blom. Serving up a large amount of attitude and style, the band’s sound gives an updated take of rocker girl angst, with vocals that would make Poly Styrene proud. The groups new EP Paycheck contains four tracks, including previously released song Pussycat, as well as Come Home, The Shed, and Hours. The release is a partnership of Nice Swan Records from London and El Diablo from New York. With only 500 copies available, Paycheck will be released in the US digitally on Friday, October 5, and on vinyl Friday, November 9 through Persona Non Grata. The group has received overwhelming praise from BBC Radio 6 Music, Rough Trade, The 405 and many more.
**You are releasing your EP Paycheck on October 5th in the US, what has your creative process been behind this album?**
I always like to sit down, watch a documentary and play my guitar while watching. As soon as something that I play stands out more than the documentary, I know I should focus on that riff that I've made. That's always how I start writing songs. The nice thing about it though is that all the songs on _Paycheck_ were written at different periods of time, so the EP was formed over two years. I would like to say _Paycheck_ is "the end of an era" -- these are a few of the old songs that I made that I still really wanted to use. After _Paycheck_, we're gonna release songs that are written a lot more recently.
**When and how did your band come together?**
It started off with me and my brother. We did have a few changes of line-ups. But I think this one is the one. We met Gini (drummer) and Darek (bass player) both because other people recommended them to us. We went to see them play and immediately fell in love. After we asked them to join the band we also noticed that we got along really well. And I think that's the most important thing, especially if you're stuck in a van for 8 hours a day :)
**How would you describe your musical style? Has there been a musical evolution from when the band first formed?**
Someone once described us as "lo-fi indie-rock," which I find quite funny and also at the same time quite accurate. I don't think the genre that we're in has changed a lot over time, but I do hope, and think, that we're now able to make songs with a bit more depth.
**What messages are you sending your fans with this EP? What do you want the fans to take away from it**
I always want fans to interpret the songs the way that they think it needs to be interpreted. I don't want to tell them what they mean to me, because I think a song is a lot more valuable if you can add your own ideas/interpretations to it.
**Your song “Come Home” talks about the end of a relationship. Is this based off of a personal experience?**
Who knows :)
**As artists, who or what have you drawn inspiration from for your music?**
Damon Albarn, Mica Levi from Micachu and the Shapes, The Breeders, Parquet Courts, and Ought are the bands I look up to the most. They all have very different ways of songwriting but everything they write is so original and you immediately know, even if you don't know the song, that it's that band. And I love that. I want to create a sound that is us. And if you hear a song from Pip Blom, that you straight away know that we are the band playing the song. I mean, how cool is it to do stuff and create your own style?
**What are your short term and long term goals?**
My short and long-term goal is to play Glastonbury. I would love that so much. Ever since I was a child I've always wanted to go. I've never been, but my gosh, I would love to play there once.
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Written by Niza Metoyer
Interviewed by Collin Schreiber
Photographed by Phil Smithies
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