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Bel on navigating identity through intersectional art

6 February 2017 | 12:25 am | Rosie Rae

Budding electronic talent BEL opens up about her experience as an outsider and how it's shaped her her latest body of work, a soon to be release EP

There's something truly striking about Melbourne's newest pop icon, BEL. Having exploded onto the scene in the last twelve months, she's already achieved some amazing things. Off the back of her single 'Melancholia,' Bel managed to land herself a national tour supporting E^ST and even played one of Australia's biggest festival stages at Falls Festival in Lorne. Despite a busy few months, she's showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.

We had a chat with Bel to talk this formative period of her career, and how fashion and art have both help shape her identity.

What kind of music did you grow up listening to and how did it influence your foray into music?

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Well I’ve had quite an interesting journey into music. I certainly did not grow up in a musical home, I grew up in quite an academic home, and both my parents are medical specialists. I went to a school that kind of revolved around science, maths, literature, so the arts weren’t really endorsed. My creative outlet was very personal. Also, my mum was creative, so we did a lot of creative things together like writing poetry, and that was sort of how I expressed myself.

In terms of personal music taste, I tended to have more of an interest in the sort of classics, Simon and Garfunkel, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, because that’s what my dad liked and you always kind of want to be close to your family. That’s what got me really passionate about music.

How’s it for you to be compared to artists like BANKS and playing big stages such as Falls Festival? What’s it been like to see your profile elevate so quickly?

One of the things that I learnt in university, that I’ve really taken with me, I studied music at RMIT was, that genre conventions are quite limiting and I think that they’re a totally important part of music culture, because they help fans and listeners. If listeners like Banks and are looking for artists similar, having people compare me to that, then it’s good for them. For me, I tend to not focus on who I’m being compared to, I just want to make music that makes me feel, and it’s up to the general public to place me where they want, essentially. In terms of playing big shows, especially off the back of one single, there’s no other word to use than gratitude. For me gratitude is my form of happiness. Playing Falls was the most nerve wrecking thing that I’ve ever done but it was also the best thing that I’ve done in terms of my confidence and feeling like I belonged amongst these other artists. I have a very self-deprecating nature, so for me, being on that stage was incredibly humbling.

What advice would you give people who had an opportunity like you did, to perform on such a big stage off the back of a single, and preparing for that massive platform?

The best thing that I would say, and the thing that I’ve learnt from my mistakes, would be to trust your own gut intuition above anything else. Don’t listen to other people if it goes against your core and your gut. Also, enjoy the process because it’s so easy to get caught up in the industry and compare yourself and your successes against everyone else’s then you don’t appreciate what you’ve got. As corny as it sounds, it’s 100% true- it’s about the journey, not the destination. If aren’t enjoying yourself along the way, then you can’t appreciate the bigger things that come. For me Falls was that moment. I have to appreciate this because not a lot of people depending on where you live, where you come from, your emotional support, your resources, have the opportunity to do what I’m doing, and I know so many people would kill to have a go.

Is there a clear process for you when creating songs?

I used to have to actually sit down and tell myself, "Today I’m going to work on a song." That was sort of when I was developing my craft. I put the same process to song writing to musical theory, because I didn’t have a musical background to work in with my study. "Today I’m studying pentatonic scales," or, "Today I’m studying refrain," and that made it very easy for me to write songs naturally and organically. So now if there’s a thought in my head, I hear the tap running and I want to sample it, it’s completely different process because of the foundations I’ve built for myself musically. It now can be anything, but it almost always stems from some sort of melody. I’ll be humming something or there’ll be something in my head, and then I’ll write my melody and my lyrics first and then I’ll compose and produce.

It’s really interesting the way that you incorporate fashion into your work, do you want to talk about ‘Collision’ that you worked on with Jerome Tomashi?

As sort of a background as to why fashion is so important to me growing up in the school I went to, I felt incredibly displaced and out of touch with who I was because I wasn’t immersed in a creative environment. Fashion very much taught me how to be myself. I say that absolutely truthfully. When I became involved with fashion, I became the person that I emotionally wanted to be. It’s really hard to explain because it’s due to a superficial thing, and a luxe thing. But you can have style and grace no matter where you come from. Essentially I didn’t have enough time to make the music video I would have liked. Jerome and Sebastian are really good mates and we got together and decided to do a shoot, [and] within a week we pulled it together. I really love unisex clothing, I believe clothing is meant for everybody whether it’s a man or a woman. So we got together mens PRADA SS17 and we made that ‘Collision.’ I suppose the concept was just about colliding emotions, colliding thoughts, retrospect, and we just wanted to visually convey what 'Own Home' was about. We shot all through the night, it was actually freezing, it was like 4 degrees, and I was in practically nothing in the middle of the CBD, but it was cool seeing the final images, it’s like you can’t even tell how freezing I was.

How do you see the potential of further incorporating fashion into BEL as a brand and into your performances?

Essentially I see music and fashion as the same thing, they’re both art forms. One is an audible form of art, another is a visual and for me they completely interrelate and interlock.

I have so many ideas in my head, that I really just need budget and support to make it happen, but I would love to collaborate with more designers and lines to an art direction, and make music for it in galleries. I essentially want my music and the way that I visually process things to align to create a brand, or something that sums up my thoughts. I firmly believe they can work together. My perfect example is what FKA TWIGS did with Nike which is such a highly accessible brand. It’s a brand that everyone knows, it’s for everyone. And she curated the sound and directed the video, I’d love to eventually do things like that, collaborate with visual artists and kind of align with the world.

Is there any particular designer or brand you’d aspire to work with?

That’s like when people ask you what’s your favourite song of all time- don’t make me do it, it’s too hard! Currently I’m collaborating with some smaller European designers, and that’s super fun but I’d love to one day collaborate with GUCCI. In fashion, I’d love to see more diversity in terms of body images, different sizes, different heights, different ethnicities, sexualities. I’d love to see a more diverse fashion industry, I guess that’s a sort of huge goal of mine. The body diversity in the industry is really quite appalling and that’s probably the one thing that makes me really squirm. I’d love to change that. Otherwise it’ll forever be this unattainable thing, and it shouldn’t be. It’s beautiful when you look at it like I do.

What was it like supporting and touring with E^ST?

E^ST is such a legend, the nicest human being on the planet. We had the best time. I’ve heard some not so good stories from friends of mine that’ve done their first big national tour and been really intimidated and really neglected and not really treated that well. Mel was so kind, I was worried that it would be weird, but she was amazing and we’ve become good mates. ALICE IVY was there as well and she was a cracker, it was incredible. Every show was very different but so much fun. Again, it gave me a lot of confidence in preparation for Falls. It was really fun because I’ve never played in places like Adelaide before and the response was really awesome, and I just wasn’t expecting it. I felt so lucky to have had that experience for my first national tour. In Adelaide after my show all these people were buying me beers and it was very cool to engage with listeners that were into it in other cities, that I hadn’t even been to.

Talking about interacting with fans, what’s the response to the EP been like so far?

I showed quite a lot of family, and friends and of course my team and some other industry people, and the response has been surprisingly lovely. For me, I always think they’re going to hate it, but it’s actually been really nice and quite humbling. I’m hoping when it’s out that it gauges the same kind of reaction. The main thing that I’ve heard from a stranger after my Falls set, they actually wrote about it publicly. I got a message from a girl who was at Falls, about her response to ‘Melancholia’ when I was performing it live and it absolutely broke my heart, she was talking about her experience with bullying and how it really sculpted her in a way that she wouldn’t have liked and when I get messages like that all the superficial stuff and industry stuff becomes incredibly unimportant compared to a real human response. That for me was a stand out response for sure.

You talked openly about your own experience with bullying and harassment that you received from a fan for quite some time and how you dealt with that, what was that like for you and how has your music helped you?

During school, I always had heaps of friends and but I was also incredibly bullied at the same time. All through my school life, I never really felt I belonged in the environment that I was in, and when I started writing music I was very angry and upset and through the last few years of developing my artistry, my emotions have changed and it’s really actually been therapy for me, in terms of getting over that and becoming comfortable with myself, not just as an artist. And coming out of my shell a bit more, because I tend to be quite shy. That’s what music has done for me personally in terms of bullying. It’s not easy to go through life being told you’re a freak and that sort of thing. But I’m very lucky to have music as an outlet, because not many people have any form of expression that they can get it out on paper and see it for what it is.

‘Melancholia’ is a little bit nostalgic and as the name implies melancholy, is that the vibe you were going for with this EP?

This EP definitely has that sort of undertone, which is why I called it Melancholia. It’s funny because the definition of melancholy is being sad but being okay with it, contemplation and strong nostalgia. For me, I was actually writing this EP from a place of contentment which is something I really want people to understand. Because it’s really easy to see something at face value that it’s really, really sad. Someone actually told me that it reminds them of AURORA in terms of theme, and that’s such a beautiful compliment. But I was actually writing it from a really calm place, kind of looking back on what I used to feel. This next stuff that I’m working on now, I’m actually in Sydney working on this second body of work, and it’s totally different, because I’ve grown up, I just turned 21 a few weeks ago and I’m in a totally different place. It’ll be a journey. I want each body of work to sound cohesive. If anything, I’m proud that this first EP does that.

Do you have anything planned in terms of live performances and touring?

I don’t have any shows in Sydney this time round, just here to catch up with my team who are based here in Sydney and to do some work in the studio. But I do have a show coming up that I’m really stoked about, it’s my EP launch at the Toff in Melbourne on Saturday February 18th. I’m particularly stoked about this one because it’s the first event that I’m actually curating entirely. I really want it to embrace all the art forms. The way that I view it, fans and listeners really pay a lot of attention and in some cases, money, so they deserve my attention and effort. So we’re getting all the art forms involved and I’ve already got some incredible support. [We're] announcing the second one soon, but ELKKLE is the first support, which I’m very excited about because he’s the coolest dude ever. Very Berlin vibe which is the theme I’m going for; very Euro, Berlin underground. Then we have local Melbourne designers showing, as well as a friend of mine that makes sculptures and art to showcase and animation. I won’t give too much away but local businesses... Like, one thing that people may not know is that I’m very passionate about veganism and sustainability, so we’ve got kombucha being served instead of alcohol, because obviously I’d rather everyone be sober and enjoy the night for what it is. I’m pretty stoked to be putting together my first event.

How has growing up in Melbourne influenced your style and artistry?

I’ve loved growing up in Melbourne, I think it’s a very diverse city, you have choices, which I think is nice. An amazing art scene, fashion scene and a very strong cultural scene as well. But for me, I try not to get too attached to places. One of my friends, he’s a photographer and he lives in London half the time and in Melbourne half the time, so he always brings back a lot of inspiration from Europe. Growing up in Melbourne, I would say, has been a really good environment for me because obviously I grew up in more of an academic area. Melbourne is so diverse, it was easy for me to find the arts, find the culture, which has been really good for me personally.

Do you have any exciting musical collaborations that you’re working on at all?

I do but I can’t talk about it just yet. I always want to spill the beans on everything. It’s under wraps, but there is definitely exciting material coming up.

You can catch BEL performing live alongside Elkkle at her EP launch event is happening in Melbourne on Saturday February 18th at The Toff In Town.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sebastian Petrovski

Words by ROSIE RAE

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