Events

[POP] Sometimes life on the fringe is just more rewarding. More varied, more exciting, and hopefully, more fulfilling. Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/composer Becca Stevens is a great example of the amazing things that can be accomplished when you’re willing to strike careful compromises. “It’s unfortunate that what’s most marketable in this country—what gets radio airplay and sells out Madison Square Garden—is so inauthentic,” she said during a recent call after a week in Europe. “But that’s what the public seems drawn to. More importantly, though, it gives me something to wrap my head around in a positive way. It’s a reminder that, often, less-is-more, and that finding that balance between accessibility and authenticity is the g-spot. It’s something I can strive for without sacrificing my core.” Stevens, who plays Buffalo Iron Works on Thursday in a trio formation, leads the Becca Stevens Band, an ongoing project that repeatedly hits that aforementioned g-spot over the course of three releases in eight years. The most recent, 2015’s Perfect Animal, was licensed through Universal Music Classics, intended to introduce her to a broadened audience, but it’s no simplistic pop record: time signatures shift and occasional, unexpected pockets of dissonance temper the melodies, creating heightened moments of tension along the way. If it sounds jazzy, that’s because it is, but the instrumentation speaks to a folk-pop sensibility—ukulele, accordion, charango, upright bass, etc. It’s the sort of quirky presentation that requires repeated listening to find your way, but her covers—in particular Usher’s “You Make Me Wanna” on Perfect Animal and Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose” on 2011’s Weightless—make excellent cheat sheets for how to tune your ears to her musical instincts. And Stevens, who majored in classical guitar at North Carolina’s School for the Arts and later received a BFA in vocal jazz and composition from the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York, says she usually lets instinct run the show. “I tend to go by my feelings to figure out what’s right when I’m creating something,” she said. “I throw shit at the wall and see what sticks. The sense of adventure keeps me feeling inspired to take new approaches and see what happens.” The licensing deal with Universal came with an option, which will result in a project called Regina that she’s still in the process of fleshing out. It was initially inspired by one of those nights getting lost online, clicking link after link. “I had one of those completely random late night rabbit hole experiences about the story of Queen Elizabeth,” she said. “I found myself intrigued by her story, the secrets surrounding her life and all the conjecture about why she may have kept so many secrets, why she reigned the way she did—all the way to her look, her white-painted face. The word ‘Regina’ is Latin for Queen, and the project broadened from Queen Elizabeth’s story to being about dead queens and then finally to the word Regina.” The disc will be a departure from the Becca Stevens Band format, featuring collaborations and guests culled from various corners of the contemporary spectrum. Having guests on your album makes for additional marketing possibilities, so Universal is particularly pleased… and given that her previous collaborations with jazz pianist Billy Childs, Esperanza Spalding, and Snarky Puppy (to name a few) have all proven stellar, it’s easy to understand the enthusiasm. For Stevens, it’s a chance to get out of her own story. “Working from an established concept makes the writing easier, since it’s not just about your own traumas,” she said. “You can get your baggage out of the way and write about something that’s beyond you, which is a much more spiritual, less selfish process. You can’t have a broken heart all the time.”