“IT’S LIKE AN EXTENSION FROM FAKE IT FLOWERS.” – BEABADOOBEE ON HER UPCOMING EP, OUR EXTENDED PLAY

Words and Interview by Camille Ignacio| Photo by Callum Harrison

Every single day has been all about writing and making music for singer-songwriter Bea Kristi, more popularly known as Beabadoobee. With her upcoming EP, Our Extended Play, nearing its release this Spring, she drops her latest single “Last Day On Earth” last March 25 (PHT). The music video recorded in Paris and directed by Arnaud Bresson of Division Paris was something new for the 20-year old singer as she was used to making music videos with her boyfriend for her previous releases.

“Last Day On Earth” was written at the start of the pandemic and talked about the things she would have done if she knew what was to come. When asked about what she discovered about herself during the lockdown, Bea says “I realized I had to open myself up more to enable myself to grow as an artist.” Collaborating with Matty Healy & George Daniel of The 1975 for the song and the EP made her feel comfortable working with other artists which she says “would help discover my sound more”. She also took the chance to be thankful for everything that she has accomplished so far, especially with the success of her previous album Fake It Flowers.

Beabadoobee shares more about the creative process in making her EP and her preparations for her upcoming Fake It Flowers Tour in an exclusive interview with PULP.

PULP: Working with Matty Healy & George Daniel, what did you learn from them that you think you would use and apply moving forward as an artist?

BEABADOOBEE: It was lovely working with them. They’re so passionate about everything they do and we were on tour prior so it was like, we had a relationship built. We’ve just been really excited to work with each other and I think, the one thing I saw from them that I really picked up from them and I want to use in my work is that they are always so passionate and so enthusiastic about what they do. Matty showed me all these amazing chord progressions that are so simple and how you can manipulate these chords and find a good melody to put over, and how to make just a good song. Just a good classic song. That was really nice. He’s been in the industry for a really long time, he’s been playing for a long time so you just pick up on a lot of things as you go, sometimes without realizing. With the music that I’m writing, I have really been taking into account everything he has helped me with in Oxford.

PULP: Did you encounter any clash of ideas while writing the songs?

BEABADOOBEE: Not so much really because I think me and Matty have a very similar taste in everything. We’re going through the same things because we are all living in this house, away from lockdown. “Last Day On Earth” was talking about what all of us are experiencing. There was not much of a clash, and if there was, it was just little things and it’s important to not take anything too seriously. It was just a very chill atmosphere from the get-go so it was very comfortable.

PULP: You’ve mentioned that for this EP, you wanted to be more experimental on your sound. Did you take any risks or tried a different style of music from the ones you’ve done before?

BEABADOOBEE: I guess it was just a mature way of executing it, not much like sonically, the music I’ve been writing recently is very different. But I think with this, it’s like an extension from Fake It Flowers, and a bridge to what I’m making or what I could be making in the future. I guess it touches base on like, you can tell it’s a Beabadoobee song but you can tell I’ve collaborated with Matty and George. You know, there is like a 1975 hint. And that’s inevitable because we’ve worked on it together. There are some songs he’d written himself, there are some songs I’ve written myself, there are some songs we’ve written together like “Last Day On Earth” where we collaborated on both and “Animal Noises”. It’s just a mixture of a lot and what I mean by experimental is like working with new people and opening myself up to collaborate with new people. It’s just trying to find my place in the world and trying to grow up as a human being and grow up as an artist.

PULP: Working on the EP, did you have an overall theme or concept for the songs to be included in the album?

BEABADOOBEE: There’s not a theme, it’s just where I’m at right now. With Fake It Flowers, there was a theme, it talked about my whole entire life. And with this EP I was like “Look, everyone knows about me already. Everyone knows how I am” so I just wanted to write music about what I was feeling at that certain point. And every time I do EPs, I talk about myself at that particular time so that’s what I did. It’s a little bridge from Fake It Flowers to the next EP so it’s a little thing to get over in between.

PULP: You’ve played shows with your labelmates before the pandemic. And now, you will be headlining your own tour later this year for the Fake It Flowers Tour. What have you learned while touring with your labelmates which you will apply to your tour and what are your preparations for this?

BEABADOOBEE: I love headline tours because they’re super fun and everyone goes wild. I think it’s just to have as much fun as possible. There’s no rules. If it’s your own show, if you’re having a shit day and if you’re in a bad mood but you still perform a good show then people accept that. People don’t care, it’s just like “Yeah, she’s in a shit mood but she’s still playing”. I’m just gonna try to have as much fun as possible because I just miss playing live. I miss playing live to people. It’s been a while because of COVID.

PULP: If you can drop a line or two from any of the songs in your upcoming EP, what would be your favorite line that you would like to share with your fans?

BEABADOOBEE: This line from “Animal Noises”: “I miss making animal noises with you”. I think it’s much deeper than that. Like it’s talking about me missing the innocence of how nice it was to be naïve and to just be in love and make stupid animal noises. It’s sweet. It’s one of my favorites of the EP.

PULP: Lastly, what is your message to all your fans?

EABADOOBEE: Thank you for listening to my music. It really does mean a lot to me and I hope that “Last Day On Earth” makes you feel like the free-spirited bitch you deserve to be. PULP

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The Fake It Flowers tour will take place across the UK and Ireland in September and October, taking in 14 dates across the country, including a hometown show at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town. Final tickets are on sale now.

Tue 07 Sep – MANCHESTER – O2 Ritz
Tue 07 Sep – MANCHESTER – O2 Ritz
Thu 09 Sep – LEEDS – Beckett University
Fri 10 Sep – NOTTINGHAM – Rescue Rooms
Sat 11 Sep – BIRMINGHAM – O2 Institute
Mon 13 Sep – CAMBRIDGE – Junction
Tue 14 Sep – LEICESTER – O2 Academy
Thu 23 Sep – LONDON – O2 Forum Kentish Town
Fri 24 Sep – BRISTOL – SWX
Sat 25 Sep – OXFORD – O2 Academy
Tue 28 Sep – DUBLIN – The Academy
Wed 29 Sep – BELFAST – Oh Yeah Music Centre
Sat 02 Oct – NEWCASTLE – University Students Union
Sun 03 Oct – EDINBURGH – The Liquid Room
Mon 04 Oct – GLASGOW – SWG3