Peter Xan

Peter Xan had been making music for several years but it wasn’t until 2020 -when the whole world suddenly had some more thinking time on their hands - that he began to re-think his trajectory. “Lockdown made me reflect on who I am and what I want to be spending my time doing,” he says. “When you’re growing up you often get this homogenised culture where you listen to certain types of music just to fit in but that leads to making stuff that you just don't really believe in.” So instead, Xan delved back into the indie music that he truly loved - but had to hide - when growing up, which re-energised and rejuvenated him to create something that was a purer representation of himself.

While Xan may have been connecting with a distinctly British style of guitar music growing up, he was also deeply absorbing the music, culture and language (Yoruba) linked to his own Nigerian heritage. “When I went to school it was London, when I got home it was Lagos. From sounds to smells I remember my grandma playing a lot of African music and my mum would play Magic FM in the car on the way to school. This musical blend happened early on in my life and it gave me a connection to a heritage I wasn’t born in.”

GOD SAVE THE KING is the end product of a period of profound artistic change and evolution for Xan, who has crafted a truly singular EP in the process. “I think now is the moment of truth,” he says. “I'm redefining what it means to be an indie-rock act in 2023”