Speaking to Dan O’Connell on Radio X, Beabadoobee opened up about the influence that touring with Taylor Swift had on her new album, saying that seeing the pop sensation perform every night inspired the songwriting that made up This Is How Tomorrow Moves, her third studio LP. Beabadoobee also discussed how producer Rick Rubin acted as a therapist for her, helping to give her confidence in her songwriting.
Key
Beabadoobee – B
Dan O’Connell – DOC
Beabadoobee says that seeing Taylor Swift every night on The Era’s Tour inspired the ‘country hook’ songwriting for her new album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves
DOC: “You’ve obviously been on the road with Taylor Swift as well. What’s that like?
B: “I mean, it was very overwhelming. It was really fun. It was really, really fun. We were taken care of really well. But I think the one thing I took from that experience, was that if you mess up in front of like that many people, it really doesn’t matter. Because you still wake up the next day and feel fine. Literally, I messed up so many times on stage, and like the equivalent of messing up in front of like 50,000 people, it’s like messing up in front of like 5,000. It’s like no difference at all. So, it was chill.”
DOC: “That was the big takeaway?”
B: “That was the big takeaway. Like, if I mess up, it’s okay. I’m still going to live my life.”
DOC: “Is it something that you’ve thought about in terms of collaboration? Is Taylor Swift, somebody that you go to as a mentor, or somebody for advice or anything like that?”
B: “Like, I’ve definitely asked her for advice? We chat here and there, but she actually inspired me a lot in terms of some of the songwriting on this record. Because I saw her live every night. I loved her little country hooks, so I tried putting that in one of the songs on the album.”
Beabadoobee says that ‘incredible guy’ and ‘therapist’ Rick Rubin gave her the ‘confidence she needed to make her new album’
DOC: “Okay, so we’ve had Fake Flowers, we’ve had Beatopia, we now have This Is How Tomorrow Moves, which is out on Friday. I know you made this in Malibu with Rick Rubin – the wise old owl himself. How was he, what’s he like as a person?”
B: “He is so awesome, very spiritual. He is, like, such a vibe, and he helped this album a lot. He helped my brain a lot. Yeah.”
DOC: “Okay, what does that mean?”
B: “He gave me the confidence I needed to make a record like this, I think.”
DOC: “He seems like more than a producer. He seems like a spiritual guide and a therapist.”
B: “Well, the first time I ever met him – and we had no conversation about making a record together – but I remember I missed my therapy session that day, and then I went and met Rick, and I was like, ‘Whoa!’ Because, like, I actually had a therapy session.”
DOC: “Here’s your £150, thank you very much!”
B: “Exactly. Here’s my album! But yeah, he’s just an incredible guy, and he did this thing at the beginning of when we were making the record where he wanted me to play not my demos that we made in London, but how I wrote the songs in my bedroom, so acoustically. And I think hearing my songs stripped back like that really gave me the confidence and the way I wrote my music.”
