Ahead of her second album P2, Pitou releases the final single Fish, before the album release. The chorus to Fish contains as much dry absurdity as it contains a sadness, like a Yorgos Lanthimos film. In Pitou's Fish she's singing from the viewpoint of the ultimate procrastinator, someone afraid of going all in, acknowledging that this gives them a lot less than the others. The song starts with a driving, machine-like bassline, on which Pitou's clears voice sets the scene.
As the song unfolds, more and more edginess and friction enters, in the form of restless saxophones, and halfway, even wat might be the first ever vocal solo consisting of hesitation only. The song ends in one grand wave, like the lake has enough of the narrator and her dubiety, and washes over her.
'Versions of this song have been in my archive for a long time, but this record felt most like her home.
A place where her agitation and absurd lyrics wouldn't have to be diminished. Me and my band recorded the basis of this track, After which Youniss (Ahamad) and I had a lot of fun working on the production together, recording the mumble-solo, and adding many monsterfishlike sounds and textures.'
Fish was mixed by Matthijs Kievit and mastered by Alex Geurink.
The artwork was shot by Norbert Storm and edited by Pitou.
About P2
“I discovered a completely new side of my songwriting,” Pitou explains. “My previous album, Big Tear, was like a cathedral I built a place where I could search for answers and give my sadness a home. But I see music as a significant character in my life, and it no longer felt fair to only turn to her with questions or melancholy. It was time to make her role in my life complete, to share all other aspects of life with her too: other emotions, other sounds. That’s why I decided to call this album Pitou Part Two, or simply P2.”
The material on P2 draws from a turbulent period following the release of Big Tear.
“I found myself in a state of constant discomfort, feeling as if every path was suddenly open again and I was frozen at the crossroads. I could stay there, resisting that openness, or surrender to it.”
Pitou chose the latter diving headfirst into both the chaos and the possibility. She dubbed 2024 her “Year of Experiment and Collaboration”, a time dedicated to creative exploration and working with others in new ways. The year led to, among other things, her leading role and soundtrack for Malu Janssen’s award-winning short film Barlebas, and a series of musical collaborations.
“I gave myself total freedom , and permission to fail. What I might once have seen as a failure became a valid outcome of an experiment. That shift allowed me to focus less on the end result, and more on the process itself , on the experiences I wanted to have. Everything that came out of that was just a bonus.”
P2 was produced by Pitou herself, with additional production by Antwerp-based artist and producer Youniss Ahamad. Some songs were born from playful experimentation, while others follow a more traditional approach. Alongside guest musicians, Pitou’s close-knit live band M. Alberto (saxophone/clarinet), Lieke Heusinkveld (keys/clarinet), Jasja Offermans (bass), and Mischa Porte (drums) brings the record to life. The album was mixed by Matthijs Kievit.
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