A Quick Chat with St.Bedlam

How did this collaboration with DeliPres come about?

Me and Deli were in the studio together years ago, but life took us on separate journeys for a while. Last Halloween he was DJ’ing for It’s All Love Fest at Knox Street Bar, this was the first time we’d been in a live space together. I put on an absolute burner performance and after I got the whole place pumping he was like, “Bedlam, we HAVE to work together.” About a week later, this song was born.

What was the creative process like working together on this track?

I rolled through to the studio with the first verse already written on a YouTube beat. I showed Deli, and he immediately started cooking and going ham on the guitar. Within the space of three hours, the beat was done, I’d finished writing, and we recorded the thing. Then we started working on another one from scratch. He’s a dream to work with, proper genius for real.

How would you describe the sound and genre of this song?

"Veggie Patch" sounds like what a freshly squeezed glass of orange juice tastes like. This one’s a way more relaxed vibe than what folks are used to from me. Ima call it “Kitsch Rap.” Like, it’s still badass, but it’s quirky with funk and ska elements. Perfect backing track for an ultra-utopian Sunday session or a road trip. The video clip matches that vibe too—super home video style from my trip to Fiji.

What’s next for St.Bedlam after "Veggie Patch"? Any upcoming projects or performances?

I feel like I’m definitely in a period of re-establishing myself as an artist. I’ve been doing a lot of healing behind the scenes, and as a result, my music and vision have changed, moving in alignment with my personal evolution. So I’ll drop a few more singles this year, including more work with Deli. I’m moving to Nipaluna (Hobart) at the end of February to study yoga teacher training—on the low, I’ve already booked a couple of gigs down there, so I’m really keen to reach the hip hop community there. Then, towards the end of the year, I have an EP ready for release, and this one’s really close to my heart. I’ll be touring it for sure.

What do you hope listeners take away from this song?

I want them to feel really, really inspired, yeh? I feel like there’s this weird conditioning in humanity where we think destruction is cool. Drugs, violence, and being damaged are kinda glorified, and it feels like it’s really trending at the moment. As someone who’s been through a lot of hardship and come out the other side (and is surrounded by the most awesome people who I can say the same about), I want to help shift the paradigm and make a regulated nervous system the new hot shit.