Emily Campbell
Ahead of the release of Beabadoobee’s new album ‘Beatopia‘, Impact’s music editor Emily Campbell caught up with the young star to find out more about her rise to fame, her unique sound and her festival filled summer.
I began by asking Bea how she felt ahead of the imminent release of her highly anticipated sophomore album ‘Beatopia’, to which she enthusiastically replied that she was, “So excited. I’ve been waiting for the release and for people to hear it! We finished it right around Christmas last year, so it’s like this secret I’ve had to hold in but now I can finally get out.”
Bea pointed out that the songs on the album have a “‘Beatopia’ sound to them” due to a vastly different recording approach compared to her debut album, ‘Fake it Flowers‘. “It was a lot more experimental, electronic, and fun in the sense it was done during lockdown in a stinky little room with my guitarist Jacob. A lot of the writing was done there as well as the experimenting on productions.”
“It taps into childhood stories.”
Bea’s sound doesn’t fit perfectly into one genre, she explained to me that it “jumps quite a bit; it’s indie alternative plus hints of folk with electronic sound.” This can be clearly seen in the new album; its innovative blend of multiple genres and sounds make for a unique listening experience for her fans.
Thematically, the album has a melancholic hue. “It taps into childhood stories and feelings, love and loss, and the things I’ve seen around me recently.” Her favourite songs to write and record were the more reflective ones. “I enjoy the really personal stuff like Broken CD or Ripples where Jacob and I just got really adventurous and experimental.”
The start of Bea’s love for music ordinarily began with her regularly listening to her favourite artists and she was particularly drawn to Filipino bands and 90s music. “My mum got me obsessed with things from Alanis Morissette and the Beatles at a really young age. I really got into music even more when I started watching films, things like the Juno Soundtrack and Wes Anderson films.”
Bea’s career simply kicked off from an upload of a song online rather than a planned path into the music industry, which is not surprising considering her raw musical talent. “For me it all happened so quickly. I put my first song up online and it got picked up by a team and I really didn’t expect any of it. I was just hoping to become a nursery teacher lol!” Despite having over 10 million monthly Spotify listeners she remains humble and grateful to be where she is today.
Bea’s most well-known single Death Bed (Coffee for Your Head) took Tik Tok by storm and became part of a trend which led to the song accumulating over a billion streams. Consequently, it has gained her a wide plethora of followers. She commented that, “It’s how people are discovering music now along with movies and TV but it’s where I’m even discovering new music so it’s cool. Seeing people like Pink Pantheress blow up there is cool too. I wasn’t sure about Tik Tok at first but now I use it and it’s quite funny.” Tik Tok seems to have become a positive community-like platform for young, unestablished musicians starting out in the industry to share their music with their fans and each other.
“I can’t wait for everyone to see and hear it!”
This summer Bea has had a busy schedule with performance spots at many of the top festivals in the UK and beyond. I was keen to hear what she rated as her favourite festival appearance and she responded excitably that, “Coachella was fun, Mac Demarco was in the crowd, and he said it was a good show. The weather was crazy hot, but it was my first Coachella, and it was amazing.”
Her jam-packed schedule doesn’t end with the festival summer season. In the autumn, Bea is set to embark on a tour around the UK to play her new music for the first time to fans in an intimate performance setting.
One of the venues of her tour is Nottingham’s Rock City so if you are a fan head there on the 10th October to hear ‘Beatopia’ live in all its glory. “I’ve heard about this venue and great things about it, so I’m excited to play there, but even more so since it’s the first time we’ll be adding the new songs from the album and doing the ‘Beatopia’ tour properly. I can’t wait for everyone to see and hear it! Come out and have a party with us.”
Emily Campbell
Featured image courtesy of Erika Kamano. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article images courtesy of @radvxz via @instagram.com. No changes were made to these images.
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