Paige Bea’s new single, 4x4, floats like a bee and and stings like a butterfly... Thick bass grinds your guts and bones to dust, whilst Bea’s vocals simmer and roar, the song’s production evoking like the titular 4x4 it is named after.
4X4 depicts what it is like to be bowled over by someone new, Paige’s vocal cursing her own infatuation, as she sings, “I could put you on a loop and I’d never get bored... You could run me over with a 4x4”. Describing the song’s inspiration in more detail, Bea says:
“It’s an ode to the twisted honeymoon period after you first meet someone mesmerising, when you feel yourself falling hard and fast for someone and have the dark realisation you’d probably be happy to lose large parts of yourself to be with them. I wrote this song to perfectly encapsulate the feelings of dread and excitement that accompany a late night journey to that new romantic obsession - while also riffing off the sensory assault that London can be. Drinking in the cold air, watching the street lamps flicker, glass glistening, couples arguing on the street.
Having originally trained as an opera singer, Bea realised that the world of classical music wasn’t for her at the point her singing teacher told her that if she wore a suit to an audition, people might think she is fat. Following a degree in Russian, Paige spent several years as a journalist in Moscow, Kyiv, Hong Kong and Reykjavik. Eventually music called her back, but this time to songwriting, and an ensuring role in growing the musical community, co-running Higher Ground. The latter is a monthly jam session hosted at 91 Living Room, founded by musician and vocalist Sofia Grant. Bea also documents the real life dating and music-making experiences using her honed craft for writing in the form of tell-all monthly newsletter The Beamail.
With a wonky alt-pop sound that recalls Caroline Polachek, Tirzah and James Blake all at once, there is a sophisticated emotional rawness to Paige Bea’s sound that is infectious. 4X4 is taken from her new forthcoming and self-released EP, Goodbye, Then!. You can check her out live on 10 November, when Paige will headline The Lexington in London, with tickets available here.