"I was always a little bundle of stardust": A Conversation with Brooklyn's beccs

A bundle of stardust on- and offstage, Brooklyn-based indie pop artist beccs caught up with us down in Austin, Texas to tease her upcoming EP and talk all things music!

Stream: “I Don’t Do Fun” – beccs

Ah… SXSW…

We managed to find some fun amidst the chaos.

Atwood Magazine’s staffers caught some great sets and enjoyed some nice chats along the way. First in the series is Brooklyn-based indie pop musician beccs, the stage name for Becca Gastfriend.

Dance-inducing sonics and pop hooks traveled from stage to crowd at Austin Garden & Studio as beccs performed at the Women That Rock unofficial showcase.

A Portishead cover finds her backing band giving it their all as she dances and sings her way through her own rendition of “Glory Box.” Upbeat closer “Good Comin’” spotlights her vocals as she continually asks herself, “Why do I try to run away / When I know something good’s coming.”

Now on the horizon of a new EP, Stay Moist (out this summer), beccs caught up with Atwood Magazine following her set to talk all things music!

Every song I make is just me inching closer to the sonic world that I want to live in. It’s sort of like a beautiful failure in every song in a way that really honors growth.

CATCHING UP WITH BECCS

Atwood Magazine: When did music first enter your life?

beccs: I grew up in a really musical family. My dad is multi-instrumentalist and I grew up with Klezmer band rehearsals every Sunday. But my brothers and I… we all started on classical instruments at like age 4. And then I was just kind of always like a little bundle of stardust and always performing and singing every chance I got. I started songwriting more seriously in my teens, around the time of my eating disorder and it was sort of my outlet to just channel everything. It was sort of the only pastime that connected me enough to delay urges and self-destructive stuff.

Was there a moment where you knew music is what you were going to follow or did it happen more gradually?

beccs: I started acting in college but I was always gigging. I knew that singing and writing was always… I knew pretty young I wanted to do it.

How would you describe your own sound?

beccs: I describe it as indie/alternative pop music. But it’s really dynamic and really vulnerable and I like to say it’s not chill [laughs]. But my buddy used to describe it as “if Adele packed up her studio gear and went into a cabin and took a bunch of shrooms and made a record.” [laughs]

Do you think your sound has changed since you first started making music? Do you think it’ll continue to evolve in the future?

beccs: Yeah! My voice has definitely evolved and it keeps evolving. I keep shedding layers and trying to find my authentic voice with every record and every song I make. Sonically, I feel like every song I make is just me inching closer to the sonic world that I want to live in. It’s sort of like a beautiful failure in every song in a way that really honors growth. And yeah, definitely, I feel like any artist always wants to keep evolving.

Do you find yourself being more of a lyrics or a sound person?

beccs: Ooh! I’m definitely a songwriter. I f*ing care about the song [laughs]. I love studying songcraft and just chipping away and finessing and editing. But then sonically, I’m also really particular. I think sonically that is something I’ve had to work to grow in.

Do you have a favorite lyric you’ve written?

beccs: Yeah. It’s on YouTube – it’s not released because I want to record it with an orchestra… the song is called “Make Him A God.” It’s about my relationship to men and turning men into Gods in my life – be it professional, personal or romantic – and losing my own identity but also [it’s about] divinity and divine power. I have this lyric in it, “Someone stop me from making Gods out of these men / Gods out of these men / I become a pond filled with debris / I’m not meant to be small / I am meant for the sea.”

I keep shedding layers and trying to find my authentic voice with every record and every song I make.

Do you have any past demos that didn’t make it onto a previous project that you re-worked and have made it onto your upcoming EP?

beccs: “I Don’t Do Fun” and “Food.” Both of those are really old. I’ve made a few demos of “Food.” It was really interesting to pull a song from so long ago and find the world for it and realize “Oh, I have these tools that I didn’t have then” and I’m able to use old material and make it new.

Do you have any questions you would like to ask a fellow artist?

beccs: I’m really curious how other people make it work (balancing the creative with the business). Also, I’m curious about how people continue to trust their instincts as artists when their careers start becoming busier and growing. How do you really check in with your own intuition?

— —