“Maybe I’m writing a song and it doesn’t follow the exact rules of songwriting. Or maybe this word doesn’t make sense next to this one, but that’s how I speak”: Beabadoobee says that “missteps” are more important than perfection in songwriting
She also reveals what supporting Taylor Swift taught her about touring
Having previously opened up about her unconventional guitar playing style, Baebadoobee has now been discussing her songwriting, which she says can also be a little unorthodox.
Speaking to Vogue, Beabadoobee (AKA Beatrice Laus) says that sees similarities between physical beauty standards and those in music. In each case, she argues, imperfection is more interesting than perfection: “You want to hear the missteps, because that’s what makes it special,” she argues.
Explaining further, Laus says: “Maybe I’m writing a song and it doesn’t follow the exact rules of songwriting. Or maybe this word doesn’t make sense next to this one, but that’s how I speak. That’s why people relate to my music.”
This singular style corresponds to what Laus recently said about her guitar playing, and the way more traditional players tend to react to it.
“The way I play guitar, every time I play with a session musician, they’re like, ‘What the fuck are you doing? What chords are you playing?’” she told Mix Online. “They’re always like, ‘It sounds pretty, but that chord does not even exist!’ I don’t really follow any rules.”
Elsewhere in the Vogue interview, Laus touches on her experience of supporting Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour in 2023. In fact, it was seeing Swift in action that convinced her to stay off the booze during her own current run of shows.
“She said she was doing this tour sober, and it made everything make sense,” says Laus. “She’s a beast, dude - three-hour long shows every night, choreo. All this crazy shit. No sipping on alcohol! She also helped me see that even when things are so epic, mistakes happen. You keep going. She helped me learn to stop freaking out about the little things. It made me a better artist.”
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Beabadoobee wraps up the UK leg of her tour this week before heading to mainland Europe for another run of shows.
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I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.
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