with Beabadoobee
Congratulations on the release of your new album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves. What are we getting into with this album?
Beabadoobee – It is basically about me becoming a woman. I admit a lot of things on this record that I have never admitted before. It’s always been a blame game for me and I think there’s a sense of maturity throughout this album that I’ve never sung about before.
What do you mean by blame game?
B – In my past records, I would blame my actions or things that have happened to me in my life on other people. That's a classic thing to do when you're still trying to figure out how to live this very strange life we live in. I think now I can admit my own fault in that.
Your lyricism has always felt raw, sweet, and honest to me throughout your career. I was curious what songwriting means to you as we enter into this new era of you. What are you listening to? Where do you pull inspiration? I hear Incubus heavy in “Take A Bite”.
B – What's strange is that I never intentionally referenced Incubus. I grew up listening to them, but it was only after we finished the song that I realized it reminded me a lot of “Drive”. I have so many references. Fiona [Apple] was a big one on this record. At times when you listen to something a lot, it threads its way within the music and you don’t realize it’s happening. I think that's what happened a lot with the songs on this album. I was listening to a lot of Elliot [Smith]. I was listening to a lot of The Beatles. I was listening to Pinegrove, a band I fell in love with while writing this album. I wanted to be much more direct with the writing on this album. I took that from Fiona’s writing. At times, when you’re in the industry and you’re playing loads and you see all these musicians, you try to overcomplicate a lot of the things that you do in hopes that it makes you look more impressive. In reality, all you need is three chords and a beautiful melody with lyrics you want to say.
Did you have a lot of people working with you on this album?
B – It was honestly just me and Jacob, my main collaborator, co-produced with Rick.
Rick Rubin.
B – Yeah.
How was that?
B – It was awesome. We were posted up in Shangri-La for a month and a half. He was a highly influential voice in this album and gave me the confidence I needed to make this record.
Beabadoobee – It is basically about me becoming a woman. I admit a lot of things on this record that I have never admitted before. It’s always been a blame game for me and I think there’s a sense of maturity throughout this album that I’ve never sung about before.
What do you mean by blame game?
B – In my past records, I would blame my actions or things that have happened to me in my life on other people. That's a classic thing to do when you're still trying to figure out how to live this very strange life we live in. I think now I can admit my own fault in that.
Your lyricism has always felt raw, sweet, and honest to me throughout your career. I was curious what songwriting means to you as we enter into this new era of you. What are you listening to? Where do you pull inspiration? I hear Incubus heavy in “Take A Bite”.
B – What's strange is that I never intentionally referenced Incubus. I grew up listening to them, but it was only after we finished the song that I realized it reminded me a lot of “Drive”. I have so many references. Fiona [Apple] was a big one on this record. At times when you listen to something a lot, it threads its way within the music and you don’t realize it’s happening. I think that's what happened a lot with the songs on this album. I was listening to a lot of Elliot [Smith]. I was listening to a lot of The Beatles. I was listening to Pinegrove, a band I fell in love with while writing this album. I wanted to be much more direct with the writing on this album. I took that from Fiona’s writing. At times, when you’re in the industry and you’re playing loads and you see all these musicians, you try to overcomplicate a lot of the things that you do in hopes that it makes you look more impressive. In reality, all you need is three chords and a beautiful melody with lyrics you want to say.
Did you have a lot of people working with you on this album?
B – It was honestly just me and Jacob, my main collaborator, co-produced with Rick.
Rick Rubin.
B – Yeah.
How was that?
B – It was awesome. We were posted up in Shangri-La for a month and a half. He was a highly influential voice in this album and gave me the confidence I needed to make this record.
What’s your favorite Filipino song?
B – That’s a tough one. Hmm, it’s either going to be Eraserheads or APO Hiking Society. I love “Awit Ng Barkada” by APO Hiking Society. It’s about being with friends.
B – That’s a tough one. Hmm, it’s either going to be Eraserheads or APO Hiking Society. I love “Awit Ng Barkada” by APO Hiking Society. It’s about being with friends.
Oh sick, yeah, in Hawaii where I’m from they have all kinds of Filipino songs on the karaoke machines.
B – It's been a dream of mine to play in Hawaii and it's been a dream of mine to play in the island I was born in, which is Iloilo. I've only played Manila, which is the main city in the Philippines. There's so many places I want to play shows in, but Hawaii is definitely one of them. My boyfriend tells me this all the time. He's like, “You feel so happy when you're on an island, this is where you’re meant, this is where you belong.” It's true. I was literally born on an island. Every time we're on a little, small island, I'm like oh my god. I’m home.
“The Glue Song” came out last year in 2023, a simple love song I adored that you ended up shooting a music video for in the Philippines after. Is there any underlying relation with this album to that single release?
B – I think I just found myself in a healthy relationship. There's no double meaning. It's just a plain old in-your-face love song, but then you have songs such as “Take A Bite,” where I’m finally in something healthy, but I find comfort in the chaos that I was so used to…so I want to constantly ruin everything. It’s like, at least I’m in a healthy relationship!
How would you define love?
B – Love is something that you can't necessarily describe. It can be a very confusing feeling, but I think deep down, your body always knows that - whether it's real or not. I feel like if you have to question it, then it’s something that you should stand by.
What is the first boundary you set in relationships?
B – Space is important. I got scared of space when I was a kid, but I think taking time away from each other is important, you need it. You need to make time to miss each other, because missing someone makes the love grow fonder.
B – It's been a dream of mine to play in Hawaii and it's been a dream of mine to play in the island I was born in, which is Iloilo. I've only played Manila, which is the main city in the Philippines. There's so many places I want to play shows in, but Hawaii is definitely one of them. My boyfriend tells me this all the time. He's like, “You feel so happy when you're on an island, this is where you’re meant, this is where you belong.” It's true. I was literally born on an island. Every time we're on a little, small island, I'm like oh my god. I’m home.
“The Glue Song” came out last year in 2023, a simple love song I adored that you ended up shooting a music video for in the Philippines after. Is there any underlying relation with this album to that single release?
B – I think I just found myself in a healthy relationship. There's no double meaning. It's just a plain old in-your-face love song, but then you have songs such as “Take A Bite,” where I’m finally in something healthy, but I find comfort in the chaos that I was so used to…so I want to constantly ruin everything. It’s like, at least I’m in a healthy relationship!
How would you define love?
B – Love is something that you can't necessarily describe. It can be a very confusing feeling, but I think deep down, your body always knows that - whether it's real or not. I feel like if you have to question it, then it’s something that you should stand by.
What is the first boundary you set in relationships?
B – Space is important. I got scared of space when I was a kid, but I think taking time away from each other is important, you need it. You need to make time to miss each other, because missing someone makes the love grow fonder.
Interview Jasmine Reiko
Photography Clare Gillen
Excerpt from Issue No. 5 (2024). Read the full interview by ordering your copy here.