Words by Andy Kovacic //

Grab a rainbow Paddle Pop and settle into that beach chair, singer BENEE joins us for a sunny Q&A about art, musical philosophy and the cringey – yet addictive – phenomenon of TikTok.

If you are new to her music, twenty-year-old BENEE is a Kiwi singing fairy with a bluesy voice and a quirky, lovable attitude towards life. Over the past year, she’s conjured up some jammy tracks that have had us spellbound all summer long. You may have already heard her not only once or twice, but three times in Triple J’s recent Hottest 100 with the songs ‘Glitter’ #19, ‘Find An Island’ #25 and ‘Evil Spider’ #51 in the countdown!

BENEE is a special artist, not just because her songs are bananas (crazy good) but also because she’s an absolute joy. The glow of her fun, bubbly personality is easily felt through her music, her on-stage performances and even her media interviews – as you’ll find out for yourself below. I’m not sure what ingredients are required to bake up the cake that BENEE’s been selling, but I’m pretty sure it’s what dreams are made of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb6Scz-5YOs

Enough from me, I’ll hand the mic over to the dream-weaver herself:

Hi BENEE! First up, a warmup question that speaks volumes – what’s your spirit animal?

Probably like a seal or something, huehue!

2019 has been an incredible year for your music, how does it feel to have three songs in the Triple J Hottest 100?

Pretty epic! I was stoked last year having ‘Soaked’ at 58 so having three was a pleasant surprise!!

Let’s talk about ‘Glitter’, which received your peak place of #19 in the countdown. What inspired this song?

I wrote it about this night out I had at a Charli XCX afterparty! The night was supa fun & someone ended up covering me with glitter at the end of it which inspired the whole theme of the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3gmU0GOTXI

Can you describe the meaning behind the recurring lyric ‘Maybe let it burn out’?

The lyrics follow the events that happened in the night so it kinda starts out all fun and stuff everyone is out havin’ a good ol’ party and then slowly it kinda fizzles out! With the line “Maybe let it burn out”, it’s kinda me accepting that the night is coming to an end when, really, I wanna stay out for longer, heh!

Lime Cordiale spilled to us that your songs, especially ‘Glitter’, have become a viral sensation on TikTok. Have you seen any of the dances to your music?

I have!! I only recently found out about the app by people sending me links to the dance & it’s pretty crazy, haha! I still don’t entirely understand it but it’s awesome that people like dancing to Glitter (:

Take us through the artistic vision behind your music video for the single ‘Blu’.

I worked with director Charlotte Evans on this video! I loved the creative process with this one as I felt super involved the whole time!

The song is sad, and I wanted to have a sad/kinda weird/slightly off video to go with it. I knew from the start I wanted it to be shot in a theatre with me performing to camera throughout. I wanted it to be like a conversation with the person I wrote the song about. It was a really fun process working with Charlotte. From the start she got what I was talking about & I love all of her other work, so I knew I’d love the finished vidddd ❤️.

You’ve travelled and performed all over the world, but what’s one place on your bucket-list?

Definitely Japan! I’ve been talking about going for ages and it’s probably where I’d most wanna play a show at the mo!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubE_ac2wYPQ

You’ve collaborated with many visual artists like Ricardo Cavalo and Che (@hotandsad). Describe the kind of artistic style that gets your heart racing and do you have a favourite artist?

I think I just like artist who very clearly have their own thang going on! I like to look for something different to the last art I had! Jean Michael Basquiat is probably my favourite artist at the moment! I love a busy looking piece!!

Since you’re a local, where is your favourite place in NZ to daydream?

I love the beach so probably somewhere like Whangapoua!

What can fans expect from you next? Can you spill the beans on any upcoming projects?

I’m working on a bunch of new music at the moment and look forward to releasing some of it soon which I’m really excited about! I’ll also be announcing more tours over the next couple of months which I’m also supaaa stoked about