’Shoulder To Shoulder’ is the second single from Philippa Zawe’s forthcoming E.P. ‘Shudder Pt 2’.

Recorded in Digbeth, Birmingham alongside the tracks on Shudder Pt. 1 this next instalment is less about the personal and more about the political.

Opening track We Shudder is all about the ways in which we hold others and ourselves accountable, the ways in which we criticise and take criticism. In the end it is about how we as a collective feel the ripples of others being disenfranchised whether it afects us personally or not.

Shoulder to Shoulder is more about the apathy that comes with consuming the news cycle on a regular basis, or how quickly the news cycle moves away from the devastating issues that are happening in the world. The song is a call to not let that apathy seep into the more local relationships that we have even if it means just holding space for those near and dear to us.

Places is a very stripped back song inspired by the book Exit West in which the protagonists spend most of their time fighting for survival, and though they do survive (spoiler alert) their relationship doesn’t, and they find home within themselves whilst looking for a physical home. Change is the only inevitable.

The final track, Clarity is inspired by the city of Birmingham where it feels like the whole world exists in one city. So many contrasting and conflicting views within communities, within individuals, and the main thing that we all are doing as a human race is looking for clarity as we’re surrounded by the thick fog of boundless opportunity and ways of expressing ourself.

Philippa Zawe is a singer-songwriter originally from Yorkshire (UK) who has lived much of her adult life in Birmingham (UK). She is of Ugandan heritage and her songwriting is inspired by the rich stories that are told around her and that lie within her.

In September 2017 Philippa Zawe released her debut EP Road of Hope; a tale of loss, grief and hope found along the way, shortly ater that in 2018 Zawe then released a full band EP titled Disadvantaged. 

In 2020 (a year of huge ups and downs) Philippa Zawe took us on an introspective journey full of hope and contradictions through three separate releases 'Dark Am I', 'Yet Lovely' and 'Lay It All Down’.

Philippa has performed across Birmingham (UK) whilst making a few appearances in Shefield and London. In 2019, she made her first appearance at Moseley Folk Festival, and In 2021 she performed at the 3rd Edition of Musika Na Kipaji in Goma DRC.

In 2022 Philippa released the Shudder Pt 1 EP, and graced the performance spaces of Hadisi Urban Festival whilst co-producing and performing in ‘Les Narratrices’ at Goma’s L'institut Francais.