An Interview With The Rising Pop Singer-Songwriter, BECA On Her Newest Music, Biggest Inspirations and More!

The moment you lay eyes on Beca, her kinetic energy, dark-disco-pop style, and ethereal voice make it impossible to forget her. The Los Angeles transplant effortlessly carries herself with the swagger of a star. She’s a force of nature in concert and in front of a camera and possesses an alluring radio-ready sound, knack for smart storytelling, and a sharp ear for a seductive hook. Her irresistible song, “In Deep Love”, is a dance club slow burn that offers a transcendent message of hope and comfort in difficult times.

Beca started her journey in NYC attending The Juilliard School, learning through the focused lens of a performing arts conservatory. Here, she honed her musical chops as a multi-instrumentalist skilled at piano, voice, and music composition. Yet her rebellious soul grew frustrated and restless, yearning for more. She turned to the vibrant club scene both on the dance floor and as a performer, embracing electronic dance music as a provocative way of expressing complex, and sometimes conflicting emotions. She released two EPs via the UK label This Is Music Ltd. – working with notable names such as artist Findlay Brown, producer Morgan Wiley of Midnight Magic, and remixers Ashley Beedle, Night Drive, and Madeaux. After experiencing a traumatic heartbreak, she packed up her things and moved to Los Angeles with a mission, half a heart, and nothing left to lose.

Since moving to the west coast, Beca has self-released her debut full-length album Ecliptic as well as her latest In Deep Love EP, co-produced by Luxxury and Fabian Ordorica. Her collaboration with Jayson Martinovich of Bluemilk Images led to the striking music video he directed, brimming with sensuous pop-tastic visuals of the title track. Beca, in op-art cherry red, pulses out of the screen with every word. Her Cleopatra-esque counterpart mourns lost love while radiating the golden light of inner strength. Throughout the video, dancer Kyle Thomas Shea dressed all in white, freestyles to the music – completing the bold visual triangle that speaks directly to Beca’s chic aesthetic, distinctive sound, and hypnotic presence.

Connect With Beca Here:

@becadreams

instagram.com/becadreams

facebook.com/becadreams

twitter.com/becadreams

To Purchase Beca’s Music: https://awal.lnk.to/InDeepLoveRemixes

Learn more about Beca in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! So where does this interview find you? What’s on tap for the rest of your day?

Thanks for having me! Today I just released my new EP – In Deep Love (The Remixes). It’s a collection of remixes done by some of my friends and I’m so excited to share it!

Overall, how do you think 2017 was for you and your career? What are you most excited about for this year? What is one big goal you have for 2018?

2017 was an intense but very productive year for me…it felt like a year of completion. I released the In Deep Love EP, which I had been working on for a few years between other projects including the Ecliptic LP – so it felt really good to finally finish and release it. The video of the title track was the result of an awesome collab at the end of last year into this year with Bluemilk Images and it’s something I’m really proud of. I also attended my first songwriting retreat last fall hosted by Sway Music Group, and am continuing to co-write with the amazing writers I met there. This year I hope to write more music for TV and Film and play more art-driven shows that are curated in a unique and beautiful way. So I guess that was two goals, but yeah I tend to aim high.

Growing up, did you ever think that this would be the kind of life that you would have? Has music always been a big part of your life? Can you recall your first ever musical experience? 

I never questioned that I would be doing music – it’s always been like breathing and it’s hard to imagine what on earth I’d be doing without it. The path my life has taken has evolved and shifted with the people I’ve met and the various projects that have come along. But music has always been a core part of my life since childhood. I remember going outside into my backyard, hearing songs carried by the wind blowing through the trees, then running back inside to sing and play them on the piano. It was always been this otherworldly kind of thing and that hasn’t changed one bit. Music is always there…as long as I’m listening.

How do you think growing up in your hometown has influenced your sound and who you are as a musician? How did moving to Los Angeles affect your music? 

Growing up in a small sleepy suburban town gave me a lot of time and space to explore different types of music. I was lucky to go to a school with a strong music and arts program and had inspiring teachers who encouraged me every step of the way. Going to college at a conservatory in NYC was invaluable since great concerts, performances, you name it – were always at my fingertips. I really got to try things out with my writing, push boundaries, and explore what was possible sonically. Moving to Los Angeles has shaped my sound too since our surroundings and experiences influence us as individuals and collectively. I’ve been exposed to a lot of new artists and sounds I may not have known otherwise, and have worked with a lot of different writers, producers, musicians, and film makers. Each collaboration is a unique mix of everyone’s talents and energies. The feeling of having more sunshine and everything being so spread out here has also altered my mood and daily routine, which I’m sure seeps into how I express myself. We are constantly changing -inevitably impacting what we create.

Let’s talk about your newest single called “In Deep Love.” What was the inspiration for this track? How creatively involved were you with the making of the video for it?

The inspiration was going through the most painful breakup I had ever experienced and finding the strength to say goodbye to someone I truly loved. I wrote the song as a catharsis and a reminder to myself that this was the best choice for everyone involved. At the end of the day, we ultimately need to take care of and honor ourselves. And apparently that was a hard lesson for me to learn not just in theory but in practice. The line “in reverence we walk away” captures the essence of the song and the intention behind it.

I was very involved in the making of the video. Jayson Martinovich, who directed/edited it, and I spoke early on about our ideas about the elements we both wanted to incorporate – the monochromatic red look, the cage ((which I knew he already had in his prop arsenal) a dancer (played by the awesomely talented Kyle Thomas Shea) all in white as a contrast to the red – symbolizing wiping the slate clean. The gold look came together later in the process after bringing on Zoe-Zoe Sheen (art director) and Josiah Cracraft (our fab make-up artist) and we all decided to do something really abstract and wild…so we went with this enigmatic Cleopatra figure who can magically see into the future. A few things came together on the day of the shoot as they usually do – such as the scissor which ended up being an accidental prop we picked up from James Dii (costume designer) as it looked a bit dangerous and fit with the theme of cutting oneself off from the past. Videos are one of my favorite mediums since they’re so much fun to plan and produce, and this one was one of my favorites.

What was it like putting together your debut full-length album “Ecliptic”? Did anything surprise you about the overall process? Were there any unexpected challenges?  

Working on Ecliptic was one of the most creative projects I’ve ever worked on. I co-produced it with Morgan Wiley of Midnight Magic (who’s insanely talented) at his recording studio in Brooklyn…the place is filled to the brim with analog keyboards and beautiful gear which felt like a giant playground to me. I hadn’t experienced anything like it up until that point and it was so much fun writing, recording, and producing it. The greatest challenge was learning just how much work making an album is. I didn’t want to rush the process and needed to be totally happy with it. In the end, all the time spent was totally worthwhile and I love how it came out.

How do you think you have grown as an artist over the years? What has remained the same about your sound?

My writing and production skills have gotten stronger, as well as my confidence level as a performer. The qualities that remain constant are – my love for strong melodies, an underlying pulse that makes people move, lots of synths, a pop sensibility, and sparkly sonic quality.

Where can fans see you perform next? What do you think makes for an ideal concert for you?

I’m currently in the process of restructuring my show and will be announcing new dates soon! The best concerts are when there’s a synergy between myself and the audience…they’re singing/dancing along, and there is a palpable sense of excitement in the room. It’s more about the feeling of being connected to everyone there. That’s what I love the most about performing and there’s nothing else in the world quite like it.

We are living through a very trying and politically charged time right now so I am curious how you think being a musician gives you the most joy in life today? How do you think that music is going to reflect these challenging times?

This really is such a crazy and volatile time we’re living in. I think people look to music especially during tough times to help themselves express their own challenges, share them with others, feel understood, and also sometimes escape to a happier place where they can forget their troubles for just a few moments and regain the strength to go back out there and face reality again. Music has the power to uplift weary spirits when it’s most needed. A lot of musicians are creating material that deals with all the issues we’re having and I find that so courageous and inspiring. I believe we’re all part of this new paradigm now where we all need to be part of the answer instead of burying our heads in the sand in order to make some big and meaningful changes. We all need to do our part and bring what we do best to the table to lift each other up, so we can write a new story for ourselves and forge a new, more productive path where we can all live in harmony and thrive.

Who are some of your favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? What musicians would you absolutely still love to work with in the future? 

I have a lot but to name a few artists who continue to inspire me, I’d say Prince, Aaliyah, Madonna, Janet Jackson, The Cure, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Debussy, and Stravinsky keep coming back around. Some of my dream collabs include Daft Punk, Steffi, Hans Zimmer, Vangelis, Tom Misch, Tokimonsta, and Giorgio Moroder.

What do you hope your fans take away from your music?

I hope they can lose themselves in the moment, dance with reckless abandon, and feel like they’re not alone. To have transformational moments while listening. And to celebrate life together, both the dark and the light.

Would you like to share anything else with our readers about yourself or your music?

Never give up on your dreams and keep doing what you love most. No matter what.