Peter Xan

Peter Xan is a Nigerian-British artist who has 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 standardised 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. “I always liked songs that weren’t really characterised with my stereotype,” he says. “In school you give into peer pressure but now I’m at a stage where I do what I love and listen to what I like unapologetically.”