FEATURE: Spotlight: BENEE — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

BENEE

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WHEN choosing a subject for Spotlight this week…

I just had to include Stella Rose Bennett, a.k.a. BENEE. She is not really underground or rising now, as her music has been shared around the world and her social media figures tell you that she is a hugely popular and loved artist! That said, there are many who will not be aware of her so, for that reason, I want to expose her music and drop in some interview quotes where one really gets a sense of who she is and what her music is about. Her anticipated debut album, Hey u x, was released on Friday (13th), and it an album you need to order and play - it has received huge applause already. The New Zealand-based artist has a bittersweet life at the moment. On the one hand, the country is allowing live music again, so there is a rare freedom that the vast majority of musicians do not have right now. On the other hand, she is cut off from the rest of the world and, just as her career is taking off, she has had to reschedule some big dates! Before going on, I want to borrow from a COMPLEX interview where they introduce BENEE:

“New Zealand’s Stella Bennett, better known to the world as BENEE, has had a crazy year. After taking a leap to pursue music full-time in 2017—the Auckland native left after two weeks in a communications program at Auckland University of Technology—her career has grown at breakneck speed. Shortly after taking the leap, BENEE earned the attention of fellow Kiwi Josh Fountain, a producer and founding member of the band LEISURE, and the two started working together.

Their collaboration spawned “Soaked,” BENEE’s second single with Fountain and the 19-year-old’s first breakout hit in 2018. This year, BENEE built on that foundation with the release of her debut EP FIRE ON MARZZ earlier this June and the follow-up STELLA & STEVE in November. All that, along with her energetic live performances, laid the groundwork for BENEE’s sweeping four awards at the 2019 New Zealand Music Awards.

How did you get started making music?

I started posting a few covers on SoundCloud in 2017, and that got me into contact with my producer who I still work with, Josh Fountain. That was when I properly got started. I had a Gnarls Barkley cover—they were stripped back, acoustic versions. I played the guitar in one of them, weirdly.

What’s your process for making a new song?

I always take notes on my phone of lyric ideas. Like with the dream thing—I’ll wake up and remember everything about the dream and I’ll write it down or record it on my phone. I do it on the Voice Memos app with melody ideas. And I’ll bring those ideas into the studio, have a conversation with the producer and play Josh a bunch of music I’ve been listening to. He’ll whizz away on the production side, and we’ll bounce ideas off each other while I’ll be writing lyrics.

What was it like to be an artist in New Zealand? How did you break out of the local music scene?

New Zealand’s quite small. We’re quite isolated and it’s this nice, quiet place, and that inspires and drives a lot of us to be creative. And because it’s small, the music industry is pretty small here. Everyone kind of knows everyone in the industry. It’s not as hard as, say, America to release a song and be like, "Hey I’m a musician." People are constantly looking for new music—it wasn’t so hard to say, "Hi, I’m BENEE".

I guess social media provides artists from smaller nations like New Zealand promotion and opportunity that wouldn’t have been available decades ago. There is no fluke when it comes to BENEE. She is an exciting young artist who defies comparisons; someone who is resonating with so many people and creating music that is instantly wonderful and easy to appreciate! It must be tricky having all of this great music that you cannot bring to the world but, like so many artists, technology has allowed her to deliver in a new way. Even though it is not ideal, this year has been quite a busy and eventful one BENEE. As this feature from The Guardian highlights, the songwriter has enjoyed some highs among the lows – and they go on to comment on BENEE’s accessible and endearing mannerisms and personality:

“But by forcing almost all performance and press opportunities online, the pandemic brought the world to Benee. She made her US television debut from Auckland, performing for Ellen DeGeneres and Jimmy Fallon, and collaborated remotely with Grimes, Lily Allen and the rapper Flo Milli. “Sometimes I feel a little bit guilty,” she says. “This year has been so hectic, and so horrible for so many people; it feels weird for me because it’s been the biggest year so far of my career. It feels very weird to celebrate anything when the world is literally falling apart.”

There is an endearing goofiness and intimacy to Benee that feels like a tonic in this doomed year (and which distinguishes her from the major-label pop stars desperately trying to go viral on TikTok). Advised to follow up Supalonely’s smash with a “relatable” song, she instead wrote one called Snail, sung from the perspective of her favourite animal. She is entertaining company, even at a remove of 12,000 miles and 13 hours’ time difference, speaking in slang (“next-level shooketh” – meaning shocked) and revealing her self-doubt in a way that feels true of a new twentysomething. On World Mental Health Day, Benee shared seven photos of herself crying to show her 560,000 Instagram followers that “most people feel shit sometimes”.

In New Zealand, there is less pressure for pop stars to fit a “certain mould”, Benee says. Naturally, some have made cheap comparisons between Benee and other young, female pop stars. But if she is anything like Billie Eilish, as some headlines have suggested, it’s that she shares that musician’s irreverent approach to presentation: Benee often performs in cat ears, cargo pants and a spacesuit, and was disgusted by the recent social media body-shaming of Eilish. “I’ve never been someone who likes to put her body out there anyways,” she says. And while she was frustrated to be dismissed early on as a “knock-off Lorde”, she envies how her countrywoman has balanced celebrity and anonymity. “She hasn’t been active on her Instagram for, like, a year, but she’s still relevant”.

Before he debut album came out, BENEE already put out a couple of E.P.s already. Last year’s Stella & Steve is a fantastic effort, and one that really announced her as a seriously strong and promising talent. If you have not heard the E.P., then have a listen, as it is a really great listen! I am slightly new to that E.P., so I wanted to find out a bit more and what it was all about. BENEE spoke with Billboard last year - and the subject of the E.P. was at the fore:

“We're meeting a few weeks before the due date of BENEE's Stella & Steve EP, a tight handful of R&B and electronic-tinged pop tracks that showcase where she is here and now. There's the buoyant "Find an Island," which is about wanting to get far, far away from someone ("Find an island far away from me/ A shipwreck lost at sea"), and “Monster,” a silky, spooky ballad with a twist: “But then instead of eatin' me/ He offers me a blueberry.”

Quirky lyrical twists like these -- coupled with rich vocals and smooth production -- are a trademark of BENEE's style (which has quickly earned her chart success in New Zealand and Australia, and tens of millions of Spotify streams). That style then translates to her songs, artwork, and even the clothing she wears. All of this is what the singer-songwriter calls “BENEE vision.”

“I'm still experimenting, still molding BENEE,” she explains. “It’s like, I have this blank canvas and I'm just starting to add some paint and stuff, but it's going to kind of create a big thing.”

As for the title, BENEE's obviously the “Stella,” but who’s Steve?

“I call everything Steve. Since I was little, I'd go on, like, holiday and call hermit crabs Steve.” She chuckles. “And I still do. I'll name a snail Steve. Everything is called Steve in my world. My car is also called Steve.” (Steve the Car also features in the EP artwork, with BENEE standing on top of him.)”.

I am going to finish off in a minute, but there are a couple of other interviews and bits that I want to get together and put out there. I think the R&B and Pop sounds BENEE is putting out are among the most arresting and memorable out there! She is an artist who will continue to build and produce ever-brilliant work. The frustration of having all this energy and brilliant material when the world is restricted and closed off is a clear frustration. So many artists will be unleashed next year, and we will see more live music than ever before! Many might know BENEE from the aforementioned hit, Supalonely - and it is a good starting point if you are yet to discover her music.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, BENEE talked about the song and what it is like rising in popularity during this current time:

“What is it like having your breakthrough moment during a global pandemic?

It's pretty strange. I mean, it's the first time it's ever happened to me, so I'm not used to it or anything. It's crazy, but I feel like it's kind of nice, because I don't have to move anywhere. I don't really have to do all the stuff that you would usually have to do if you had a song that was doing something. I've just been literally in the same spot doing Zoom calls.

On "Supalonely," you're sort of wallowing in your own sadness, but it is an extraordinarily buoyant and effervescent little pop song. So it does have that down in the trough and up on the rooftop [feeling] at the same time.

It does, yeah. I think writing it, I was trying to be super self-deprecating, because it was a breakup song and I was poking fun at myself for being sad. I don't know, with most of my music, I think, the themes are quite sad but I'll want to keep it kind of upbeat and happy to contrast”.

It seems like the future is very promising for the twenty-year-old New Zealander. Here is an artist who has the talent and ammunition to go as far as she likes in music.

Her sound is fresh and unique, but she has always been surrounded by music. I was keen to explore what her influences are, and what comes next for her. 2021 is going to be a pivotal year and, when she spoke with DORK recently, my questions were answered:

“What kind of artists have inspired you over time?

Ohh my there are so many! I have been obsessed with Radiohead, Bjork and James Blake forever. I grew up with my parents playing me a bunch of Grace Jones and Groove Armada, but I'm constantly finding new artists to listen to and all of them inspire me in some kind of way.

You've got two EPs under your belt now, is there an album in the works?

There is! My first evaaaa one, I'm so excited. I plan on releasing one before the end of the year.

If so, who are you working with on it?

Mainly with my producer Josh Fountain! I'm also working with a pal of mine Djeisan Suskov who's worked on a bunch of ma other stuff with me. But also worked with Kenny on a beat and a couple of other people!

Obviously, times are tough at the minute, but are you planning to get on the road when 'all of this' is over?

Faw shawww! I can't wait till it's safe for me to start touring again. I didn't realise how much I'd miss it”.

Make sure you follow the incredible BENEE and follow what she does next - and go and get her new album. She is a fantastic artist, and I hope that she does get to travel the world and gig as much as possible very soon. I guess she is lucky living in New Zealand, but it won’t be too long before other countries open up for business. This year has been a rough one but, with artists like BENEE out there, there are these real…