Waiting For The Sun is the second of a special trio of songs recorded at SPQR’s Yellowbird Studio and produced by Sam Baker, long-term collaborator and pal. Each single is accompanied by a limited edition signed and numbered art print featuring the single artwork created by Beija Flo herself. Previous single, ‘Heads or Tails’ gained Beija her first BBC 6Music play, courtesy of Tom Robinson assisted by a personal recommendation from Dave Monks at her local BBC Introducing in Merseyside. ‘Waiting For The Sun’ got its first radio play from Dave this week.
Beija Flo ended 2021 with an invitation to join American new wave trio, Princess Goes To The Butterfly Museum on their first UK tour in support of their debut album. The band are fronted by Michael C. Hall, best known for starring in Dexter and Six Feet Under, alongside his notable work on Broadway, starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Lazarus, the creation of David Bowie and Enda Walsh. Beija opened for them across England in November and December. She embarks on new journeys in 2022 with new friends, live dates being added including Deer Shed Festival in July.
Impossible to pin down, Beija Flo’s sound is one that encompasses everything from open hearted balladry to acerbic punk. Tackling everything from love and relationships through to mental and sexual health. She is truly an artist for our times, juxtaposing her darkest moments against those of enduring hope. To witness Beija Flo live is an unforgettable experience. Songs, performance and costumes aside she provokes a conversation that many would shy away from. Beija Flo’s reality is weaved through music, poetry and the narrative she shares with an ever growing audience.
About new single ‘Waiting For The Sun’, Beija shares:
“I find it hard to describe what ‘Waiting For The Sun’ is – not because I don’t know what it’s about, but because it’s emotionally challenging to talk about. It feels like such a milestone in my life to finally be releasing it. I’ve been sitting on it for the entirety of my adult life, it’s had many guises.
I wrote the song at the start of my journey into the real world. I’d just moved somewhere new to start something new. It was also born not too long after being diagnosed with MRKH syndrome and after experiencing heartbreak for the first time.
I’ve been through so much since then. The meaning of the song has changed so much over the years and I suppose continues to. I’ve been lonely, bruised, forced, scarred. Nostalgia has always made me sad. It’s hard to be happy whilst time travelling when there is just so much grief to revisit. There are also so many mountains that I have climbed and claimed whilst carrying these weights around.
I have become quite the mountain climber I suppose. Forever chasing the sun over monstrous hills. But I’ve done it and I continue to do it. I look back at what I have battled and won and I can’t help but be in awe of that young woman. I imagine this is what motherhood feels like.
I suppose I find talking about Waiting For The Sun so difficult because it’s a medal. It’s a big medal I wear across my chest, day in, day out. It was born in the middle of a war, and is now a growing series of very precious battle scars. It’s hope.”
The Essex-native now calls Liverpool her home. Involved in lots of happenings in the burgeoning arts scene, she is a regular life-model, part of the Eggy Records (who released singles ‘Mary’ and ‘Nudes’) fold of exciting musicians, and a member of performing arts collective The Secret Circus. Spontaneous and with an undying lust for creative output, it’s impossible to say what she’ll turn her hand to next.
She has made a name for herself at independent music venues throughout the UK by rocking up with her laptop and leotard and demonstrating her deep ability to captivate audiences with this simple set up. Beija Flo’s live set has since evolved to incorporate a full band experience into what she can offer. Sometimes she can be found with a piano, sometimes just her poems, but she is always the centre of attention.
Beija Flo is a recent recipient of Help Musicians’ Do It Differently fund, which is enabling her to fund vital promotion of her next two singles.
All of Beija Flo’s music, along with a selection of poetry, merch and artwork, is available on her Bandcamp, with all the proceeds funding these current releases. She recently launched a fanclub, to share exclusive art prints, demos and more: https://iambeijaflo.bandcamp.com/
