JUNO nominated artist Begonia has shared her new single Right Here as she looks to introduce herself to audiences beyond Canada.
The singer had her break through moment in Canada with her 2019 debut album Fear. The album found Begonia nominated for JUNO Awards and longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize.
Right Here lands as Begonia (Alexa Dirks) builds towards the February release of her second album Powder Blue.
Speaking about the track Begonia said, “Right Here is a love song for all my friends. We started writing it in December 2019 about how I was on tour all the time: always feeling like I was missing my friends’ milestones, parties, birthdays etc. I love what I do, but the sacrifice is that you’re not really someone who can like… BE THERE physically for a lot of important (and unimportant) things back home.
“We never fully finished the song that December, but then we picked it up again during pandemic lockdowns and it started to take on a whole new meaning. At that time, it felt like everyone was missing everything/everyone because we had to stay apart. Another way this song could be interpreted (that I didn’t originally intend) is that I’m haunting all my best friends when they go out without me. Maybe that’s creepy but also… tender? It’s meant to be tender, haha.”
Begonia wrote and produced Right Here with her regular collaborators Matt Schellenberg and Matt Peters (both of Royal Canoe) along with Marcus Paquin. The song is released alongside a video that was directed by Eric Peterson.
Powder Blue promises to find Begonia channelling Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Fiona Apple, Erykah Badu and more as she looks at religion, virginity, gender identity and sexuality.
“Powder Blue is more of an emotion” she added. “It makes me think of my baby blanket, the colour of the virgin mary’s shawl at the church Christmas play, the airiness of clouds on a summer day, chlorine filled water in a hotel pool, Elvis in the ‘70s wearing an ill-fitting jumpsuit, the wallpaper in my room growing up, the collection of faded denim jackets in my basement. The name of this album needed to be something that encompasses all of the feelings that these songs give me when they are put together.”
Image of Begonia courtesy Calvin Lee Joseph
