Artist of the Week #296 - Bellzzz
This week's Artist of the Week is alt-pop artist Bellzzz - who invites you down her rabbit hole as she takes you on an Alice in Wonderland adventure with the release of her debut EP 'Dear Elizabeth’.
With equally tender and unsettling moments - the EP has it's own mix of guitars fused with swirling samples and industrial flourishes, creating a unique cinematic experience. The project arrives with focus single "Conquests", an alt-pop feminist anthem which takes aim at sexual hypocrisy. With luscious melodies laid over an effervescent, electronic-warped beat, Bellzzz celebrates her sexuality. The video represents 'Elizabeth' lost in the forest who finally finds Bellzzz, the musical mouthpiece for the telling of her story - a second narrative running alongside the inspiration for the single itself.
She took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Hey Bellzzz, how are you? So your first EP Dear Elizabeth is out now – how does it feel to have it out there?
I have waited for this moment since I was a little girl, singing on my karaoke machine and lining up all my teddies as if I was performing on a stage for them. It's therapeutic to think that I was once convinced that writing music would be a side hobby until I started giving it a go, and it’s so lovely to share this journey with everyone.
Where was it recorded? Any behind-the-scenes stories you are willing to share with us?
A few songs started as poems and ideas that were brought to instruments and a computer, and then to a recording studio where I could perfect the songs.
Behind the scenes of making Dear Elizabeth, I cried, I turned the studio upside down for one tiny specific sound and I really dug down into my own head and experiences which made these songs come alive.
What are the key influences behind the EP?
I was already obsessed with Elizabeth and her story beforehand, but she stood out to me more than usual during my ADHD diagnosis. I like to talk about the harsh side of it because it really does happen. I felt completely lost while I was trying to be someone I wasn’t for years. So Elizabeth helps me tell my story and inspires me to write more and more, telling her story and mine.
If it could be a soundtrack to any film – which one and why?
If it could be a soundtrack to a film, I would choose the comedy-drama Babyteeth. It's about a terminally ill girl who goes through disturbing troubles. This story is told in a unique way which pulled me in deeper to realise that this film is also about escapism, acceptance and feeling misunderstood - topics which I cover throughout the EP.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
My favourite lyric from the EP is from the song “Far Away”, is “Ideally I want you to feel the reality of everything, but it seems like I’ve already lost my voice to the wind. My brain gets stormy, I guess I’m lucky I can sing.” This is the point in the EP where Elizabeth has tried reaching out to me to tell her story. There are loads of different theories of where she starts and ends up, and this lyric totally twists perspectives. It makes me realise how fun imagination can be.
