Bebe Black
Bebe Black is one of the artists to watch out for in 2013 as her debut EP Deathwish gives us an insight as to what we can expect from her debut album later this year.
We caught up with her to chat about the EP, working with producer Dimitri Tikovoi and what lies ahead for her in 2013.
- Deathwish is your new EP so what can fans expect from this new collection of tracks?
This is the first release EP wise; I did have a free one of live tracks. These are all studio tracks and these tracks will be on the album.
So there is Deathwish, Don’t Leave Me Here; which is a piano led ballad and also Bones; which is percussion led and then there are also two remixes of Deathwish.
- These tracks see you mix quite a few different elements together - Deathwish mixes traditional piano with an electro beat do how would you describe your sound? And how did you find yourself going down this path?
Deathwish was actually inspired by a 1920’s Blues track (laughs) so it came from quite a strange place. I wrote it with my producer Dimitri Tikovoi and we were having a conversation about how I use to sing Blues and jazz and I said ‘I will always sing like that and it will always be a love of mine’.
And he said ‘let’s listen to some old tracks’ and so we listened to some Robert Johnson. We came across this old acapella track called Death Has Mercy, it is a really short track as it is only a minute long, and we just loved that vocal because it was so beautiful.
So we stuck with that and put down some organic floor tongues and just built if from there We then took out the vocal and took out the tongues and it became like a dance track - it was so strange because it came from a completely different area. So that is just how it happened really.
- You are being tipped as one of the artists to watch out for this year so how does this EP introduce us to you as a musician?
I think for the reasons that I have mentioned in terms of it has got roots in the music that I love.
But also I think that it does have a commercial edge and I like the idea of it reaching people that perhaps wouldn’t have listened otherwise if I had told them that this was the type of music that I am interested in. I think that it does branch out and reach people.
- How have you found the response to the EP so far - it does seem to be going down really well?
It does, people seem to really like it. People have commented on the fact that each track seems to be diverse and I think that will come together more when people hear the album; this is almost like a sampler for that.
There are going to be around twelve tracks on the album and they all have these different elements that fit together. When I started writing the album I knew that I wanted it to have traditional elements but also mixed with electronic sounds.
I wanted it to sound fresh when it is released - I was writing this a year and a half ago and so I didn’t want it be like what was on the radio or what was popular then I wanted it to be fresh and something that I could be proud of; I am definitely proud of the mix of sounds that are on there.
- Well you have slightly touched on my next question as you say there is an album around the corner and this EP is an introduction to that. All the tracks on the EP are completely different so how are we going to see you expand that sound on to your full album?
I think it is just that mix of sounds and when it is an album length it will really become apparent how that works.
When I write alone I write at the piano and so I would say every single track on the album - whether it be one that I have written alone or one I have co-written with other people - has started at the piano and then it has percussion elements.
Those are the two strong focuses for me music wise when I am writing it. I love rhythm but I didn’t want it to be a dance record I wanted it to have… bands that I love are Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Preachers and Bow Wow Wow and they are all really focused on the drums and the percussion. I just love that because they are so rhythmic and so dark and sexual.
But I also wanted it to have that modern edge and I didn’t want it to be like a throwback or people to think that I was doing a vintage thing I just wanted them to hear it as a fresh thing.
So each track always comes from the same place but they are quite different but I do think that that is quite nice because it can get a bit stale when you are listening to an album and every single track is the same - I like a bit of variety.
- Dimitri Tikovoi serves as producer on the album so how did that collaboration come about?
It actually came from the writing - I was doing a lot of sessions one winter and someone said to me ‘I know this guy called Dimitri and I think that you would get along together because he is a bit of a goth’ (laughs).
I went to meet him in this studio and he had lots of gold skulls and these kitsch Jesus paintings on his walls and I was like ‘yeah I am definitely going to really like this guy’.
Then we wrote Deathwish and I was just so excited and I remember walking away from that session thinking ‘this is f***ing great, I really love what he is doing’.
Then he was like ’I have just found out that I have been nominated for international producer of the year’ and I was like ’I didn’t realise that you produced - brilliant I am looking for a producer’. So I just knew that it was going to be right with Dimitri.
- You have said that you were very comfortable with him and you work well together so what has he brought to this album?
He is actually a trained jazz drummer - he has done music forever and he does lot of different projects and is just so creative.
I have never met anyone who embodies so many genres of music so well and he loves it and he does it so well. He just got it. And he loves the dark side of things and he loves dark lyrics.
We just had so many of the same interests - we both love Angelo Badalamenti who did the all the David Lynch soundtracks.
When we were producing the album we liked using the Wurlitzer which is one of his signature sound, and it adds this darkness. It was quite fun to do and Dimitri got all that and you didn’t have to explain anything as he just got knew what you were getting at. He really got it.
- You are being compared the likes of Paloma Faith and Florence and the Machine so what do you think of these comparisons?
I don’t really know about the Paloma one… I don’t even think that we have got similar voices. One of the tracks that I did on the EP was Don’t Leave Me Here is piano led - there are so many levels on the other tracks but this is very simple - and someone like here does that kind of sound.
But I don’t think that that sound comes through in the album. Sometimes I do think that the comparisons are a little bit off - they are always flattering because these people have done so well; it is never an insult.
Some people have compared be to Katy B and I really don’t get that, as much as I love her. I did a track with Benga and I hear those comparisons and I just think ‘that is lazy’ because I have done this track with Benga and he has done lots of stuff with her through Magnetic Man.
Her music is amazing but it is so different to what I do. Sometimes I do think that it is a little bit lazy but it is always flattering - if I can be as successful as them that would be lovely (laughs).
- You were a fashion student so how and why did you make the move into music? Is music something that you have always wanted to pursue?
The music definitely came first, but with that came the nerves and that was why I decided to go and do something else because I just couldn’t get over the nerves.
It was becoming unpleasant and I didn’t enjoy performing in front of people and I just thought ‘I am not supposed to do this because if I was I wouldn’t be as frightened’.
I went to Art College and did fashion for a while. Every time I did these jobs I would meet people and they would always be interested in music and we would always end up doing something music wise - at art school I met my friend Fred and we always did music together.
It was actually him I bumped into years later when I lived in London and we started doing music and that started it all off again - I guess I should thank him because he gave me the confidence to do it again.
- And are we going to be seeing you get out on the road this year?
I hope so, I hope so. I actually spoke to my booking agent last night and I was like ‘is there a support tour coming up?’ And he was like ‘yeah, it will all happen’. So we are just focusing on the EP at the moment and seeing what that can do and then hopefully a tour. I can’t wait.
- You have an every growing fanbase particularly on the like of Facebook and Twitter so how important have these social networks been in establishing yourself and getting your music out there?
Yes I suppose they are important. I never think that people are looking because every time I tweet I seem to lose five followers (laughs).
But last night I played a show and these girls came up afterwards and said ‘you tweeted and said that if we came to the show we could have a unicorn tear and so we came to the show’ and I was like ‘oh, it actually works’.
You think that is not connecting with people but it does. Some people are like ‘I am doing a show tonight, shall I wear my hair in a ponytail or a bun?’ and I find that really strange.
But it works and people love that. I am more comfortable tweeting about unicorns - someone actually sent me a picture of a unicorn last night.
- Finally what is next for you? What does 2013 hold in store?
I am writing again so whether that will be for a second album or what that will be I don’t know. So I am writing and I am looking to push the EP and building the fan base.
So it is work, work, work and hopefully people will get to hear it and I will get to release and album and it will all be lovely.
Bebe Black’s EP Deathwish is out now.
Click here to download Bebe Black’s EP Deathwish