21-year-old, Philippine-born, and London-raised, musician beabadoobee is back and ready for more with the release of her second studio album.
Step into the world of “Beatopia” and take a look around its sonically psychedelic landscape. Set to release on July 15 via Dirty Hit, beabadoobee has given us a teaser of “Beatopia”’s general mood and sound by releasing the songs “Talk” and “See You Soon” from the tracklist of the 14-song album.
In a press conference for her new album last April 12, beabadoobee explains that the quick turnaround of this album from her first (highly anticipated) album may be attributed to the forced isolation that the pandemic offered. As horrible as the onset of COVID was, the days of isolation allowed her to widen her taste in music.
Bea spent her days listening to music and expanding her listening range. She describes “Beatopia”’s sound as being a culmination of the inspiration that she got from all the songs she listened to at this time. She also mentioned that, whether she realizes it or not, OPM always seeps into her subconscious when she makes new music.
From the Philippines, beabadoobee’s influences are the likes of APO Hiking Society and Eraserheads. She explains that OPM is “classical” and filled with “amazing songwriting.” These songs give her a “feeling that you can’t get in English” while also making her feel like she is at home with her family.
In her time of isolation, Bea mentioned that she forgot that there are people out there who listen to her music. With this thought out of her mind, she continuously made new music without caring about what other people might think. All that mattered is that the song made sense to her, it’s not important if no one else gets it.
Bea explained that she felt free while writing the music for “Beatopia”. She did not care about genre categorizations. She just made the music that she always wanted to make. Other than her constant craving for nostalgia, Bea believes the unapologetic mood of Y2K is an attributing factor to her gravitating toward this era. Saying that it was a time when people were very unapologetic about being themselves and made the music that they wanted to make regardless of genre or other people’s perception of them.
Unlike her first album, “Fake It Flowers”, beabadoobee feels that “Beatopia” is all about the present. She explains that “Fake It Flowers” was very much “tangled in the past”, she isn’t “bashing the past”, but now “Beatopia” illustrates her coming to terms with the present. It describes her feeling of accepting the past and the fact that she can no longer change it and must move on. She also hopes that the album will convey her experience growing into adulthood, a journey that she acknowledges is a continuous process.
The world of “Beatopia” originally came to Bea when she was only 7 years old. She described it as an “escape”, with a name that she “found within herself.” She could see “Beatopia” so clearly that she was able to draw out a map of the countries of the world. She even knew what languages would be spoken in the world of “Beatopia”. For a while, the world got brushed under the rug when her teacher took her drawing and stuck it in front of the classroom for all to see while criticizing “Beatopia”.
After 14 years under the rug, she has rediscovered this part of herself and is ready to show it off for all to see. When beabadoobee thinks of “Beatopia” she sees the colors pink, gray, and green, mentioning the art for the album which she feels encapsulates it completely.
As a Filipina raised abroad, Bea noted the lack of Philippine representation in the media she was consuming, even mentioning how we are sometimes fetishized instead. Beabadoobee strove to be the representation that she wanted to be for herself. Describing “the dream” as “inspiring just 1 girl” to do music. As the youngest Filipina to perform in Coachella, she describes the experience of having Filipino girls approach her after shows and telling her their stories as a high that beats any concert or award.
Getting further into her career as a musician, beabadoobee explains that she “became so much prouder of my roots.” She mentions how grateful and in awe she is of seeing how far her family has come since her parents first arrived in London, and their shared experience as an immigrant family.
With the world of Beatopia first being found when she was 7-years old when asked what her 7-year-old self would think about her now, Bea believes her younger self would be happy with who she has become today. Though she mentions that she was “a Christian girl” who disapproved of “tattoos and boyfriends.” She may have mixed feelings about 21-year-old Bea, but she knows that her 7-year-old self would “definitely be proud” of her. She adds that everything she does is for the sake of her 7-year-old self.
The release of “Talk” and “See You Soon” is just the beginning of a big year planned for beabadoobee. Confirmed for the year are her supporting performances for Halsey and Bleachers, her Coachella performance, and her biggest ever UK headline tour to date.
Bea reiterated how much she still considers the Philippines as her home, where all her family are, and with this in mind – she teased that she will be coming home “very soon.”
Bea doesn’t see any more collaborations in her immediate future, not thinking about them presently, but she does hope to release an acoustic album following the release of “Beatopia”. Referencing her Pinoy roots once more, she let loose that there may be a song written in Filipino in the mix. A song she is supposedly writing with the help of her mom.
With her heart set on becoming a nursery-school teacher and an author of children’s books, Bea is amazed and grateful for where her life has taken her. She notes that she still wants to become a teacher and author one day, but for now she is happy to be given the chances she is receiving.
As the release of her sensational second album comes closer and closer, Bea hopes that as a token from Beatopia people take with them the knowledge that this is a place that you “discover inside yourself.” “Beatopia” is not a place that you need to dig up, but it is something that has always been inside of you, waiting to come out.
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