Interview: BEX @ 2000trees
BEX by Gareth Bull
BEX is such a cool artist that we always look forward to chatting with, and we were thrilled to learn she'd be gracing the Main Stage at this year's 2000trees festival. We got to catch up with BEX during the weekend, after almost a year since we last spoke, and through lots of giggling we heard about the immense year she's having, from big festivals to new music on the way.
Hello! We haven’t seen you since Misery Loves Company almost a year ago now, how are you? What have you been up to?
Everything and a lot of things? Too much. We played Download. I went last year but didn’t play and this year got to play. Download was amazing. It was so much fun. We started playing during the golden hour, so the sun was in my eyes for the pictures. I'm smiling but can't see a thing. It was really great and super busy.
Amazing! And…this wasn’t your first Trees right?
No, I played the NEU stage last year and played the Main Stage this year! It was really good. There were people moshing at 11 in the morning. They went so hard. At Download, we didn’t have a mosh pit, but everyone was smiling and bobbing their heads. That’s all we wanted. Today though, we started playing and everyone started moshing suddenly. It was crazy. And I thought, you do you. Amazing.
We talked so much about you in the lead-up; so excited that you would be on the Main Stage! Tell me about the set.
It was massive. I ran to one side, but my cables weren't long enough. I was like, "Whoa, I need to go back!" It was crazy, so big. I clearly need a bigger backdrop and longer cables because none of it was big enough. I've never played on a stage that large.
You’re here all weekend, I peaked you from afar yesterday. Who are you looking forward to seeing?
I really want to see Creeper. I've already seen them a million times this year, but they're my favourite.
Everyone is so excited for Creeper! So you’ve had a big year, you went independent. How has that been?
Honestly, it's been really good. Like, really easy. We had our release plan set up, and we could change it and just do our own thing. We get to work with different producers and write more. Plus, we can actually see how much money comes in from streaming, which is nothing, so doesn’t matter anyway, wasn’t getting it in the first place. It's just nice to have the freedom to do what we want. The team size is smaller, mainly just me, Grace, and Sarah, my mom.
Your mum is the coolest. She’s all over the Facebook, I love it.
Oh, my mum! So, we just did this t-shirt customisation thing with Marshall. It was the busiest it's ever been. Someone even said, "You've outdone Boston Manor," and I was like, "Oh my god, okay."
About an hour in, when we were supposed to leave, the queue was still out the door. They told us, "You can't leave, you have to move to this table," so we kept going. The Nova Twins were doing it too, and it was manic. My mum was sat there, sewing patches onto tshirts, thinking “I didn’t sign up for this.”
Such a champ! How is it having such supportive parents?
It’s great! My mom and my dad are both here. They booked an Airbnb so they could stay. It's great. It's really, really helpful. They're really proud. And I think they want to be doing it to be honest. I think like them taking the bass onto the stage is them being like “this is my moment look at all these people!”
That’s so fun, we love it. You also had a new single out last month, “FIGHT” which we hear has powerful messages about trust and betrayal. Can you share about the experiences that led to this song?
Well, basically, I had a boyfriend and I broke up with him. Six months later, I found out he had been cheating on me the whole time. I was like, what? It just baffled me. At the time, I didn't know how to feel. I was confused because we had an okay relationship, nothing was really wrong.
So I wondered why it happened, and he cheated with my friend as well. But I wasn't even sad it happened; I was more annoyed because I lost a friend, who wasn't actually my friend the whole time. It was just confusing and a really weird time in my life. I remember finding out and not even knowing how to react. I remember she told me, I responded with “okay”, walked off and that was that. It was really weird.
People are weird. Tell me about the video though. Obviously I watched it. Loved it. The thing that I really like is that you go from blood covered massacre in the wods to like, sexy swordstress. It was hot.
Haha thank you. When it comes to making my videos, we brainstorm outfits. We don't really do stories; we focus on imagery. I thought it would be really cool if I had a sword and was fighting. When I think of a fight, I think of a sword fight. So we got some swords, and someone suggested we could do it at the church. I tried to teach myself how to dance…the edit is good but the actual video, I probably wouldn’t watch that.
I taught myself some dance moves. One scene represents the anger you feel when you find out something devastating, like breaking all the chairs and stuff. Another scene shows being covered in blood, symbolising someone attacking you. But you still have to power through because there's nothing you can do about it. It's happened, you can't go back, no one can change what's happened, and you're just getting covered in the problems everyone else has made.
So, yeah, that's the video. Oh, and we actually had these tiny mini water guns, did you know? Full of blood! That’s where the blood came from.
Beyond the music, you’re super known for making your clothes and selling clothes. And now I hear you’ve put out a clothing line?
Scallywags! So basically, I really like making clothes. Music doesn't make you much money, so I needed a way to earn money on the side. People always say, "Oh, I love your outfit," so I thought of creating an affordable alternative clothing line that's accessible to everyone.
BEX in a nutshell!
Yeah, that’s me. So I just did it. It's fun, pays the bills, and keeps me alive. I enjoy doing it, and it's really nice to see people wearing my clothes in public. When you walk past them, you're like, "Oh, wow, I made that." It's rewarding and amazing.
So, what else do you have planned for this summer?
This summer, we have Burn It Down. We have some other tours that haven't been announced yet. We also have a headline show on November 1st. November 1st in London.
Oh with Gurl!
Yes Gurl!
They’re so fun. A BEX / Gurl show will be so good.
It’s gonna be really good. And we're gonna have pop up shops, dancers, we're going all out. It's gonna be a night, like the whole night. That's what's coming up. Oh and another song.
“Friday the 13th” - it’s basically about people always thinking they know better. You know, like when you go on stage, and they're condescending when they ask, "Do you need help plugging that in?" And you're like, "No, it's mine. Why would I need help?" It's about that feeling of knowing your own gear and abilities. It'll be out soon. It's pretty good and went down really well today, so that's good.
So “Friday the 13th” out on Friday the 13th? I love Friday the 13th.
We were picking a day in the diary, and Friday is release day apparently. Then I saw there’s one coming up and said that’s it. That’s the day.
Single just out, another single coming….anything else in the works?
No, not this year. This year we're just releasing singles. Next year, yes, we'll have lots. I'm just writing this year because sometimes you need time to write. I released so much last year that now it's time to figure out what I want to release. Since I don't have a label, there's no pressure. I don't have to release anything urgently. Of course, I want to release stuff, but for now, it's all about writing.
Can’t wait to see what you do. Last question I have for you is, what are you listening to?
Creeper. I listen to Creeper all the time. Honestly? Olivia Rodrigo. I love Olivia Rodrigo. A bit of everything, Sabrina Carpenter. I'm in my pop phase right now. Download is finished, metal is done, and I'm right into my pop phase for the summer. I'm like, woohoo!
Thank you so much to BEX for taking the time to chat with us. We can't wait to see what you do next and look forward to the next single!
