Like so many, the past year in lockdown has been a reflective experience for Bea Anderson, whose debut EP Eden dropped this month. The London-based singer-songwriter deftly captures both the intimate and existential: the warm, deep feelings enveloped with love as well as bold confidence that comes with self-discovery. “It’s something that accompanies people in their vulnerable moments but gives them strength as well,” Bea Anderson shares in regards to her music.
Eden is the name that Bea says she intends for her firstborn. Given that it’s the name of the garden that anecdotally was at the center of our existence, it feels fitting that she’s attributed it to her first body of work, the opening chapter of sharing her music with the world. The 6-track offering serves as a self-portrait of one of the most radiant emerging voices in R&B and Soul.
For our latest interview, we got to chat with Bea Anderson in regards to her new EP, tapping into her Caribbean heritage, and much more. Check out the conversation below.
If you could pinpoint a specific genre to describe your artistry, what would you choose?
I’d say R&B slash Soul. To be honest, I’d put the Soul first. I grew up listening to a lot of old school R&B which is why you’ll hear a lot of harmonies in music. Destiny’s Child, Motown, and anything that really hits you in the chest.
Your debut EP is out now—with that being your first official project, what type of emotions and feelings did you want to capture throughout it?
Because it’s my first, I really wanted to make sure that I gave not only a good interpretation of me, but me as a human. My opening track is about me coming into myself and understanding who I am as a woman and being worthy of love. It goes over into “Easy,” which is the debut single. Then “Shrugs,” which is the lead single of the EP and it shows a bit more diversity to me. The last song, “Outro,” gives a nice taste of what my next projects will be like.
Emotionally, I wanted to convey myself as human so it’s really about love and how to navigate through the highs, lows, the ins and outs.
Of course with you all being on lockdown, what were some of the challenges you faced as well as some of the ways you benefited from it while making music?
It’s funny because me and my producer, Aaron Baker, only met once. Apart from that, we’ve literally been doing studio lockdown sessions for three years now. So when it came down to lockdown, I was like “I’ve been doing this!” Thankfully, most of the songs weren’t written during the lockdown. Inspiration-wise, it was kind of hard to find inspiration to write new material.
If you could sum up your style in three words, what would they be?
I think I would say: authentic, nostalgic, and soul. I say soul more because everything I write, I try to reach the soul first. Just relatable topics so that when people hear it, they’ll go “oh my gosh, I remember when this was me.”
You’ve grown up in London and you come from a Caribbean heritage, does that influence your music or even way you express yourself through songs?
So my opening track, “Dear Me,” is where my heritage ties into my music. I’ve never written anything in regards to the Caribbean or Dancehall sound. That was important to me because that song is literally about my native self and it was important for me to capture my heritage within it.
Do you have a dream collaboration in mind when it comes to your music? Why?
Daniel Caeser, that’s who I would love to collaborate with. I feel like he’s such an incredible artist and he really encompasses soul music. I feel like even when you listen to his songs, I resonate with a lot of his influences.
What type of emotions do you want to elicit from your fans when they listen to your music?
I really want people to be in their feelings when they hear my music. So far with the two releases that I’ve put out so far, seeing how people respond on an authentic level. It’s something that accompanies people in their vulnerable moments but gives them strength as well.
If you enjoyed our interview with Bea Anderson, check out our chat with ROE!
Published by Malcolm Trapp
