Introducing #167 - BEA
To celebrate the release of her emotive and exhilarating folk pop debut single, ‘These Streets Of Ours’, we chatted with London based artist BEA about her music and influences, how she’s been coping during the COVID crisis, and the music scene in her home city of Belfast.
Hi BEA! Could you introduce yourself and your sound to our readers?
Hi! Well my name is Bea, I’m 22 and I’m from Northern Ireland. I moved to London a few years ago to study songwriting at ICMP and I just recently released my first single ‘These Streets of Ours’ at the start of October. My sound has been described to me as ‘Hazy Folk Pop’ and I thought that was a pretty good summary so I’m stealing it - I guess it’s just a combination of contemporary folk and alternative pop with synths and stacked vocal harmonies that give the ‘hazy’ effect. My influences include the likes of Dermot Kennedy, Foy Vance, Phoebe Bridgers, Maggie Rodgers and a whole heap of others!
How have you been keeping busy and motivated during COVID?
I’m not gonna lie it’s been very difficult and some days I’ve hardly managed to motivate myself to move or do anything productive but I’ve found having specific targets to work towards really helpful. At the start of lockdown I was finishing up my degree and after that I started planning and preparing to release music so there’s always been work to do and deadlines to meet. Another simple thing that has been really helpful for me is going for a walk in the morning. I find that if I start my day moving and getting some fresh air then it’s way easier to keep up momentum and get stuff done. If I start the day sitting on the sofa watching TV you can pretty much guarantee that day is gonna be a write off!
You're currently based in London, but what is the music scene like back home in Belfast, Northern Ireland?
The music scene in Belfast is class!! Northern Ireland is full of incredibly talented artists and musicians and although it’s a bit different at the minute, normally there’s live music everywhere! And it’s really varied too - In Belfast you could find an Irish trad group, a singer-songwriter, a rock band and a jazz pianist all playing within a couple minutes walk of each other. Music is definitely something that Belfast does best and it’s one of my favourite things about the city.
Your debut single, ‘These Streets of Ours’ is a huge rush of loveliness influenced by a close friend's first love and first heartbreak. What else inspires your music?
Thanks so much, I’m glad you like it! These streets of ours was a bit different for me because I don’t normally write from someone else’s perspective but this situation was so close to me and I felt a strange second hand grief when watching my friend go through it all which made it very easy to write about. Generally I stick to writing about what I know - things that happen in my own life, people I meet, stories I hear that inspire me etc. It’s gotta be real and I have to connect with it and feel moved by it otherwise I think it’s very hard to make someone listening feel anything or connect with the song themselves. I started writing songs as a teen because (like so many songwriters) I was going through some stuff and I didn’t know how to talk about it but I needed to get it out. That still remains an important part of the process, although I would like to think that I’m writing better songs now and saying something of significance that will make people feel something.
Can we expect anymore releases from you before the year ends?
Yes you can! I’m planning to release a second single in late November. It’s a very special one to me and it’s also very vulnerable which is terrifying but those kind of songs are the ones that move me the most, so I’m hoping this song can have the same effect on someone else.
And lastly, have you got any plans to tour or any live dates for 2021, COVID pending?
No, I don’t have any plans as of yet but I can’t wait to be able to play live again (whenever that will be) and would LOVE to tour! Obviously everything is a bit up in the air right now so it’s hard to plan things like that but if you wanna stay up to date with that kind of exciting news, you can follow me on social media @beawritessongs and be among the first to know.
Interview by Karla Harris