Photography by Bartosz Maciejewski
"I'm not single, I'm in an abusive relationship" a powerful line from beccs new song "Therapy" which explores the damaged sense one has of oneself and the struggle to come to terms with how we treat and view our own lives. A love song, but one of deep appreciation for the utterly unique and resilient selves that we are. When listening to beccs music I am reminded of a line from Tori Amos about "putting the damage on", only in reverse, beccs is taking the damage off, embracing the self and all of the ways that we find to get through our worst years and battles with who we are, and, ultimately finding out in the process who we might yet be, who we were all along. Here lies a music of unfound beauty, inner struggle and ultimately a celebration of self, after the long nights have worn through and the cosmic light of morning comes again, when what and who we see after all of that, is something that we can finally say "yes" to. AHC: What has this journey, this life in music been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way? beccs: I feel young. I am at a point in my life when something that started out as a means of survival, my primary outlet for expression, is now my career. Turning my passion into a business is not easy, but the accountability has done a lot of good for me. It's asked me to take care of myself and give myself what I need. As young and mercurial as I am, I know I want longevity as an artist. Identifying that and committing to it this early on is a lesson in itself. AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them? beccs: My dad forced music on me and my brothers at the age of 4. I was handed the cello. There were a lot of tears shed during my practices. I'm surprised I kept up with music. We listened to Prog Rock, The Beatles and Sondheim growing up and jammed as a family to some of the toughest “Yes” tunes. I was a sponge when it came to music and was always singing and entertaining, in musicals, jazz bands, a capella, and in all my free time. Laura Nyro's "Eli's Coming" will never stop flooring me. AHC: Who are some of your musical inspirations? Are there certain albums or songs you couldn't live without? beccs: Laura Nyro, Suzanne Vega, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald, K.D. Lang, Rufus Wainwright, The Beatles, Sylvan Esso, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, Anohni, Rhye, Paula Cole, Beyonce. Songs that I have spent weeks at a time with include Lang’s “The Valley”, Nyro’s “Eli’s Coming”, Wainwright’s “Leaving for Paris No. 2”, Buckley & Fraser’s “All Flowers In Time Bend Towards the Sun”, Sylvan Esso’s “Coffee”, Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s “Multi-Love”, many songs from Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America” album and Beyonce’s “Lemonade” as well as “Supermoon” from the recent Lang/Case/Veirs album. AHC: What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing, composing and performing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak? beccs: I personally tend to write from a place of need; communicating something my body needs to say. Finding the right mix is a very intuitive, visceral moment of arriving for me. It usually happens in the form of a catharsis. Once that takes place, I begin to craft, making small adjustments to earn the moments that really speak to me. AHC: Do you consider music to be a type of healing art, the perfect vehicle through which to translate a feeling, a state of rupture, hope lost and regained? As a listener of music I have this impression, I wonder, as the artist, the creator, do you have this feeling about the transformative power of song? Does the writing and creating of the song save you in the kinds of ways that it saves us, the listener? beccs: Songwriting is like my sister. It holds me and heals me. Sometimes I go a while without seeing her. That can be hard. But when I do see her, when I’m ready to accept her love and honesty, I can be lost again. I like this idea of a “state of rupture” because those are the times I can’t help but write. Something shifts, and the waters underneath reveal themselves and song begins to flood me. AHC: When you set out to write and create an album of songs, how much does 'where the world is' in its current moment, culturally, politically, otherwise, influence the kinds of stories you set out to tell? beccs: When I began writing music my world was very small. I didn’t understand how my personal struggle as a girl with an eating disorder was connected to society at large. Over time, I’ve picked up on the connections: while the songs on my EP ‘Unfound Beauty” trace my relationship to myself, my recovery, and my struggle to find my own “unfound beauty”, they map a struggle that is related to, if not symptomatic of, society’s treatment towards women. My newest song “Daughters” feels both deeply personal and political to me, something increasingly hard to avoid in today’s political climate as a woman. AHC: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for other musicians and singer-songwriters out there who are trying to find their voice and their way in this world? beccs: There’s only one you. Get intimate with yourself, catch yourself in your stylistic traps and keep checking in and challenging yourself so that you can evolve as a person and an artist. Try not to separate the two. Most importantly, feed yourself with a variety of things, people, places and scents you love. Sometimes the soul gets dry. Keep finding ways to keep it moist. Stay full and let your voice stem from a place of stillness as much as you can. AHC: Do you have any new projects in motion you'd like to tell people about? beccs: I just released by debut EP ‘Unfound Beauty’ produced by Richard Barone and my music video “Therapy” directed by Julia Barrett-Mitchell. I would love for you to listen to ‘Unfound Beauty’ EP available on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Spotify & iTunes. To hear about future shows and projects, you can keep in touch via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and www.beccsmusic.com.
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