philine
Dutch singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist philine has recently released the first single off her upcoming EP.
Titled “green”, the captivating song was created with the help of Loek van de Grinten and Melle.
“I wrote it after my first psychedelic experience, it felt like everything split and came back together as one universal thing. My perspective switched for the better. “green” is about the bright side of life, love, and coming home. You’re surrendering to the collectiveness,” she explains.
Beautiful and dreamy, the new song makes us feel less alone; knowing that we’re all connected as human beings.
”green” is out now on all major streaming platforms.
Photo credit: Satellite June
Hi philine, how are you? Could you please introduce yourself? What's your story?
Hey, I’m good! Enjoying the release so far. My name is philine, I’m 24 years old and I’m a singer songwriter from The Netherlands. I write songs to make sense of the chaos inside my head.
What did you grow up listening to?
My parents used to play a lot of Fleetwood Mac, John Mayer, ABBA and Jack Johnson. So that’s what I heard most growing up.
When did you start feeling connected to music? When did you know music was more than just a hobby?
Ever since I was little I had been writing my own songs. I used to take karaoke versions of existing songs and write my own lyrics to them. When I was sixteen I joined a songwriting competition. That’s when I knew I wanted to become a professional songwriter.
When did you know you could sing?
I come from a very musical family and growing up we sang a lot. So I knew from an early age.
Who was the first to ever believe in you, professionally?
My grandpa! He always drove me to auditions and went to every perform I did in high school.
"green" is your latest single - what's the inspiration/story behind this single?
The song “green” was inspired by my first psychedelic trip. I went camping with my (now) girlfriend in the middle of nowhere and we had taken some mushrooms. She told me in the beginning I could set an intention for the trip, and I said I just wanted to experience a connection with nature, ‘cause I never really felt that before. Not in the way I saw other people having. During the trip, it felt like everything was from the same source. Love, nature, everything felt so united and connected, and I got so many beautiful insights about life. I tried to capture some of these feelings in “green”.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process behind this song? When did you start working on it? Who helped you create it?
I wrote “green” in the studio together with Loek van de Grinten (my producer) and Melle (artist and guitarist). We made a demo that was already quite similar to the end version, but we recorded my band members to play live drums (Jur Kuijper), more guitars (Anne Roos Peterse and Cis Kroezen) and bass (Vincent Moes) in the studio, to make it sound more alive. Then it was mixed by Matthew Wiggins (who’s worked with artists Maisie Peters, London Grammar, Adele and Florence and the Machine) and mastered by Robin Schmidt (who’s worked with artists like the 1975). It was a very easy production process, as it was already quite clear from day one what direction it needed to be in.
What's your favorite lyric on "green"?
My favorite lyrics on “green” is; ‘Who am I without my songs, are words my own or am I passing them on?’ Sometimes when you’re getting inspired it feels like the ideas that you get are just given to you by something bigger than us.
What did you feel when recording this song?
I recorded the final vocals the same day that we wrote the song. I was very much in my dreamy, philosophical headspace and I feel like it shows on the vocal take.
What can you tell us about the artwork?
The artwork was shot by Satelite June (Nikki) in her living room. I was feeling brave that day so I took my shirt off. I wanted to capture something pure and minimalistic, just like the song.
What message do you want to deliver through this song? What do you want people to feel when listening to it?
The big thing I’ve experienced during the mushroom trip is that we’re all really not that different from each other. We all come from the same source and we share this crazy experience we call life. Somehow we’re all connected to each other, to nature and maybe even to something bigger. I hope people feel the calmness when listening to “green” as I felt while writing it.
How's the music scene in The Netherlands? Any artist(s) you'd like to recommend?
There are a lot of creative and inspiring musicians in The Netherlands. I really like néomi, Sarah Julia and The Indien.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
Let’s start with the hardest part so we can finish this question on a positive note. The hardest part of being an artist is everything that comes with being an artist besides the writing and the performing part of it. I find it sometimes difficult to find structure in leading my band and I also find it difficult to give my team clear instructions ‘cause I also really wanna be liked and have a warm atmosphere. The best part about being an artist is being able to spread a message, meeting and connecting with fans and going all these new cool places to play my music. And I never get bored of writing. It’s the most fun and therapeutic part for me and I couldn’t live without it.
What are your thoughts on today's social media? How does it impact your music career?
I think the benefits from today’s social media is how much you can do it on your own. We are less dependent on big parties than ever and it gives us the opportunity to reach and talk directly to our audience. The challenging part for me is that it becomes really easy to become obsessed with the numbers game.
Besides music, what makes you happy?
Cooking, beautiful nature, my enneagram obsession and my friends and family.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
If everyone could accept the fact that we all have different truths. There’s so much more we all have in common than we might think. I also think we could be a little bit more mindful in our daily lives.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
That I am able to trust on my own intuition and that I’m way more capable than I usually think I am.
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