Get To Know Beks
Inspired by a new era of music and songwriting, former RACKETT frontwomen Rebecca Callander recently announced her official name change to Beks and her debut single under the new alias ‘Stars in My Eyes’
‘Stars in my Eyes’ is an indie-pop track that showcases Beks rich vocal tones and progressive songwriting. With a swelling bass, layers of melodic vocals and velcro accents and beats, the single echoes similarities heard from artists such as Caroline Polachek, Sophie and Allie X.
On release day for her new single we thought we would sit down with her to discuss life, music and name changes
Congratulations on both the single and your new re-brand very spick and span!
Coming from RACKETT whose music was heavily influenced by alternative rock and heavier sounds, can you talk to us a little bit about the inspiration to change into more of a commercial angle?
That’s a really good question. There’s a little popstar inside me that’s been dormant for a long time. Over the years I’ve seen glimpses of her, but feel I’ve fully unlocked this part of myself recently through the music. I’ve been writing with pop producers like Jim Eliot (Ladyhawke, Kylie Minogue) and artists like Taka Perry, Xira, Cam Nacson and Lucy Neville that I’ve encapsulated in my 2021 mixtape.
The process of changing direction and name when you have an already inbuilt fan base must be a tough decision, but now that it's done, can you explain how it has bred more life into your creative process?
Yes it was so tough, but that toughness came from raveness insecurities that I’ve had to handle within myself. Luckily I have fans that have stayed with me on this journey, some have left, but they left when I changed my sound so a lot of the detoxifying was done in 2019 when I released ‘Machinations’. I’ve been wanting to identify as a solo artist for a long time, with a name that strips back the ulterior. The authenticity is already so strange and amazing, I wanted to strip back the extra layers. My name is Rebecca, my friends call me Beks and I wanted my fans to feel that personal connection with me and the stories I tell through my music. In terms of creativity, it’s been explosive. Introducing myself as Beks and working everyday with a new artist or producer, walking into unfamiliar studios with nothing and leaving with an amazing song everyday, has given me new confidence in my ability to write and executive produce my sound.
Stars In My Eyes is an impressive first notch for this project! Is this single stand alone or is it part of a bigger body of work?
Thank you so much. I love it too. This is a milestone track for me. It was the first session I’ve ever done with someone new and basically catapulted me into my making my mixtape. I went into that session with nothing but a title and walked away with ‘Stars in My Eyes’ in four hours, thinking ‘yep, I got this, I’m gonna do this everyday’. So after that day I reached out to Taka Perry, Cam Nacson, Xira, Jim Eliot, Lucy Neville, Nina Jirachi, Korkey Buchek, Doolie, Muki, Kim Moyes (The Presets), Clara Fable, Lupa J, No Frills Twins and more, writing from my room, in studios and via zoom everyday and have completed 9 of the 12 tracks that will be my debut 2021 mixtape. It’s developed me at a rapid pace, each of them bringing a new seasoning to my songs that I’ll be dropping continuously into 2021.
Now that touring is very slowly returning to Australia, where do you want to perform for the first time as BEKS?
I like to think big so I’m gonna overreach and say, ‘Like a Version’. I’ve been curating a list of covers for years now, fantasizing about how I’d rework songs like ‘Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover’ by Sophie B.Hawkins and ‘Ray of Light’ by Madonna. I’d also love to perform at Laneway or Splendour when they return. The thing I miss about live shows is test driving my work. That’s how I’ve always chosen which ones to record, by gauging the audience's reactions to a track, now I have to listen very closely to my intuition and quiet all the voices in my head (and there are a lot of those).
What can we expect from this project in the next 6 months?
Yay! So, I’ve got ‘Stars in My Eyes’ out on the 6th November and a music video for that shortly after. THEN a track I did with Cam Nacson and Xira called ‘The Thing About Us’ just before Christmas. Then in January 2021 I’m putting out ‘Make Believe’ a co-write with Lucy Neville and produced by Jim Eliot (Ladyhawke, Kylie Minogue) via zoom in the UK. In March, a new one I did with Taka Perry called ‘Sugar Baby’ and ‘Hard to Love’ by Tasker. Basically I want all 12 tracks to have their moment before the full body of work is released mid next year. I’m also travelling to Queensland throughout November 2020, to write with artists and producers, stopping along the way to the Central Coast for a session with Airports, Lovemedo and finally Doolie in Brisbane. It’s basically a songwriting road trip and I’m excited to see where I land. I’m just gonna keep writing and developing and hopefully get on stage again.
LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS HERE: https://ffm.to/beks_starsinmyeyes
