Bel – Better Than Me

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) I would describe my sound as poetic, experimental, pulsating and emotive. These are not words commonly used to describe one’s sound, but I much prefer using terms as such because genre conventions are extremely limiting and usually prevent an artist from going outside of the prescribed societal box they are placed in.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) Some of my greatest musical influences include Leonard Cohen and Simon & Garfunkel for their lyricism, Sevdaliza, James Blake and FKA Twigs for their production, Arca, Solange and Sampha for their bravery and so forth. I also listen to a lot of classical music as I enjoy the rigor and precision in its form.

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Better Than Me.”

A) “Better Than Me” follows the narrative of a girl who is going through various metamorphoses; from passive to assertive, teenager to adult, quiet to loud. It’s a very important track to me and I hope that the lyrics provide solace to those who are wanting to scream out the same message to whomever or whatever made them feel like they are second best.

Q) Roxie Halley and Phebe Schmick directed the video. How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

A) When we conceived the video treatment together, it was very important to me from the get-go to inject the strong sense of visual artistry, fashion and creative direction that feels unique to Bel. Creatives such as Phebe and Roxie from the Eye Sea Films crew were on the same page as me so it was easy to work together to conceive this video, which at its core is about not giving a fuck and being goddamn fabulous.

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music? 

A) I am always a co-producer. Every sound, beat, frequency and production element must be approved by and created with me in the room. I’m not an experienced producer by any means, but I can hold my own in a music studio. I studied production and sampling at university for a year, so creating the soundscape and making instruments/samples from scratch is one of my favorite parts of the music creation process. I don’t think it would be possible for me to hand over creative control to a producer. I have to be there and genuinely enjoy co-producing. This will not change.