Beth Roars is defying expectations and she thinks you should too.
Up until now, Beth’s 720,000 YouTube subscribers have known her for her upbeat and positive music critiques. But now she’s ready to show another side of herself with a fierce and edgy pop track that explores the dark side of human nature and our ability to numb ourselves with self-destructive behaviours.
As an independent artist, Beth Roars has overseen every step of the creative process in her debut album Fable. The music video accompanying Power of the Wolf, made by Beth herself, explores our relationship with addiction, female body image, online culture, and the rules placed on us by society. Can we be brave enough to confront the stories we tell ourselves?
We sat down with Beth Roars to discuss her music and much more. Here's what she had to say:
Hey Beth Roars welcome to FLEX! How are you?
Thank you for having me! A mix of emotions - I'm excited and nervous but mostly really happy to share what I have created!
Congratulations on your new single ‘Power of the Wolf’ - what inspired this particular track?
Thank you so much! Power Of The Wolf has been a long journey! It was first written by a great producer friend of mine Luca Harb over a decade ago. We wanted to create something that embodied bravery, independence, youth, and the wild lifestyle we were both living at the time. The wolf represents a free spirit and the being lost in the moment. Now 10 years on, that wolf has taken on a different meaning to me. When I look back, the wolf now represents the goals, rules, and stories that society had set for me. It represents a self-destructive nature driven by what we think we need. This is the first track on my debut album and it was the start of a journey for me, from a time before I knew I could change my perspective.
And do you have to be in a certain mood to write?
I used to write when I had an emotion that I needed to process. This was at a time when I didn’t know how to deal with my emotions and often neglected them. It was healing. But now, after plenty of therapy and self-reflection, that doesn’t have to be the case. Although sometimes I still write when I have something on my mind, I also just sit down for fun and enjoy the textures of sound I can create. It comes from a more peaceful place. However, I do need space around writing. As soon as I am overworked or too busy, I find it difficult to be creative so making space in my life to just be, is really important to me, for my writing and my happiness.
How was the recording and writing process?
It felt like a long time coming! I almost felt as if some of my songs were calling me to be completed - to give them a life outside of me. Initially, we went back to my hometown in Scotland because I felt like I needed the space to write. My flat there had a view over the mountains and river and that inspired me a lot. I spent 6 months taking my time making demos and going for walks in the countryside, really enjoying the creative process. Once I had a set of demos I took some time to find the right producer.
When Roy Kerr (producer of Aurora, London Grammar, Birdy) agreed to produce my album Fable, I was over the moon. And I headed back down to London to finish the production. Sometimes we would work on sections separately and send our ideas to each other and at other times, I would head over to Roy's home studio in North London. Because the songs are so personal there was a lot of emotion attached, but Roy made me feel really comfortable and it was so wonderful to see the songs grow, sometimes from bare bones and fragments, into complete cinematic works.
For viewers who don’t know Beth Roars, how would you describe your sound?
This particular track is dark, cinematic, witchy, Celtic, and alt-pop. Although the entire album is a journey from this darker sound into the light, the sound is unified by Celtic drums and an emotive cinematic feel.
And what are some of those activities that you engage yourself in when you aren’t writing or recording in the studio?
My life outside of my own songs is still pretty musical! When I’m not in the studio I am working on my YouTube channel Beth Roars where I look at artists and break down how they create their sounds. Or I am teaching singing. I love helping my students to find their voices and confidence. Outside of music, I love reading and learning. I always have a non-fiction book beside my bed to wind down in the evening, anything where I can learn a little more about what it means to be human. I have also recently gotten into aerial silks and running, both of which are really challenging in the most fun way, developing a skill and learning about yourself at the same time.
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