Bebe Black

Bebe Black is undoubtedly one of the names to follow in 2013′s top tier of upcoming UK talent.

With a big voice that flits between obvious comparisons with Clare Maguire and La Roux, and a striking aesthetic defined by her days working in fashion, Bebe’s upcoming debut album Burn My Love is a much anticipated follow up to her critically acclaimed EP Deathwish. We caught up with the multi-talented artist to find out more about her inspirations, her journey so far and what her undoubtedly bright future has in store.

What inspired you to go for it and make music your career?

I just had a funny feeling it would work. So I packed a suitcase and moved back to London. I was engaged at the time. Nobody wanted me to leave. But I just had a funny feeling that it could work and usually you should pay attention to the funny feelings. My spider senses were tingling.

Was music a passion of yours growing up?

Writing and music. That’s all I used to do. My mum would bribe me with me a tenner if I’d sing the songs I’d written in front of my family when they’d visit. I was so terrified of singing in front of people. I had this cherry red acoustic guitar that I swear to god was bigger than me. I found some of the lyrics in an old exercise book the other day – they are so sad! I can’t believe I was such a sad teenager! I blame hormones.

Is Bebe Black your real name? If not, why did you go with it as a stage name?

My real name is Naomi Black. Actually, it’s Naomi-Kim Beauvoir Black. That’s a long name. Can you imagine introducing yourself every time you went onstage with a name like that? I wasn’t born with the ‘Beauvoir’ bit. I paid for that one through deed poll to sound posh when I was applying for fashion jobs.

Who are your musical idols ?

Siouxsie Sioux, Courtney Love, Billie Holiday, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Kate Bush, Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse.

You’ve been pursuing a career in music for a few years now, and redefined your sound – what inspired the change of sound / direction?

I think the sound has changed a couple of times. It’s quite a natural progression. Initially I just started writing alone – away from the band I was in – and the songs were darker and had a poppier feeling compared to when I was writing jazz or blues structured songs.

How would you sum up your sound in a sentence now?

Pop songs for the broken hearted.

Where did you draw inspiration from when writing and recording the album?

It’s an obvious answer but the inspiration came from my love life. Falling in love, falling out of love, infidelity, one-night stands, infatuation.

You used to study fashion at Central Saint Martins, and went on to work in styling. How does your appreciation of fashion impact on your aesthetic as an artist?

I like dressing up. I like clothes and jewellery and beautiful things. I think aesthetics have always played a big part in music and performance. They go hand in hand and some people get a bit cross and say it should just be about the music, but whatever. Dressing up is fun. It’s a working class thing, a mod thing! My nan always says “Look rich, live poor.” It’s an old fashioned idea that I love. We had no money growing up but we always tried to look our best! Our mum would never have us looking scruffy or dirty!

Tell us about ‘Never Forget’.

‘Never Forget’ is a song I wrote with Crispin Hunt around a year and a half ago. It’s about being infatuated with a man and trying to make him feel the same way about you but he’s a drug addict and coincidentally doesn’t like you very much but sleeps with you from time to time. That’s the honest answer. It’s tinged with dub-step but the drums were inspired by old Creatures records.

What can we expect next? Is the album complete? If so, is there a favourite track of yours we should watch out for?

The album is complete and I’m really looking forward to releasing it. I’m calling it ‘Bury My Love’ and I’m hoping it will be released after the summer this year. My favourite track is ‘I’ll Wait’, which is also the next single. There’s a track on the album called ‘Sweet Lullaby’ which I love that only a few people have heard. I want to do an acoustic version of the whole album, just piano and vocal. The songs from the album are very beautiful when they’re completely stripped back. I think I prefer them that way actually!

Who of your contemporaries in the music scene do you particularly admire?

Iggy Azalea is beyond brilliant. Brooke Candy. She scared me a bit at first. I’d never seen anything like that before. I like Lana Del Rey more now than ever. I can’t stop listening to Travis Bretzer and Susanne Sundfør at the moment. I don’t know if they really count as contemporaries though.

If you were stuck on a desert island with a record player and one album, what would it be?

I would build a ukulele out of coconuts and palm leaves and write my own desert island inspired songs. Sort of like the ‘Under the Sea’ segment in The Little Mermaid. I would play a porpoise and a sea turtle’s shell.