"@bumblebea_tunin'." Beatrice Lee, MONTRÉAL, QC, Canada, 10 October 2016.
"I wish I WAS Sade sometimes. What a goddess!"
IT ALL STARTED WHEN...
One of my favourite things about these interviews since I started doing them in September has been reliving musical memories with my friends, and discovering new things about them that I hadn't known before — and in this case we're talking about over two decades of friendship between us.
Bea and I have known each other since we were nine years old, meeting on the playgrounds of the Bishop Strachan School in our sailor-collared uniforms (yep, they were white and burgundy, with grey pleated skirts, knee socks, Doc Martens Oxfords, the whole thing). Music was an instant connection for us — whether it was singing in the BSS Senior Choir during the Christmas Nativity and Festival of Carols performances, going to the Molson Amphitheatre with my parents to see Paul Simon perform, harmonizing in BSS' upper school Folk Group together, or making mix CDs for our raucous summertime BBQs and pool parties.
We also grew up listening to a very cheesy Easy Listening / Adult Contemporary radio station in Toronto — CHFI FM98 / 98.1 CHFI — that our parents had on all the time in the car, in the house (I can still hear the station's jingle in my head as I type this), and so have a deep appreciation for Lionel Richie, Hall & Oates, James Taylor, Foreigner, and all of those 1980s classics. CHFI also had a killer Rock & Roll and Motown show, Dazzling Don Daynard's "Saturday Night Oldies" that, along with 102.1 The Edge's "The Ongoing History of New Music" hosted by Alan Cross, taught us much of what we know.
I've been lucky to learn more about new artists and different genres of music over the years as Bea's tastes have grown and evolved. She's often on that new-new and picks up some incredible world music, especially from the archives, and always shares those finds with her friends.
When it comes to music, Bea and I just get one another. Sometimes the response to a text is just a track. Current mood: 📻.
What's your passion/hustle/profession?
Yoga, photography, and love. All interchangeably.
What kind of music helps you focus at work? When you’re winding down? Working out? Cooking? Kickin’ it with friends?
Ooh, I can get really specific with some of these...
When I'm working, as in when I'm up late at night editing photos, I will habitually put on either one of two moods: "Kind of Blue," an album by Miles Davis, or David August's Boiler Room Berlin set from 2014, which is captivating from start to finish. I am equally productive to both frequencies. Ha!
I hear you on the dual frequencies.
When I'm winding down? Al Green always soothes the soul, bless him — his slow stuff though, because he can also be a real firecracker. I've seen him live and he has a LOT of energy for a 70-year-old. I'm talking "Lay It Down," slow it down, calm the f*ck down Al Green haha. Sometimes after a hectic day I'll be in the mood for something a little more dark and cinematic. Pedro Almodóvar (the Spanish film director) is a genius when it comes to choosing memorable tracks for the most poignant scenes in his movies. Think Caetano Veloso's cover of "Cucurrucucú Paloma" or "Volver, volver" by Buika. There are more but these are my two favourites, from Talk To Her and The Skin I Live In, respectively. Actually, I have a playlist on Spotify (can I say that here?) dedicated to just songs from Almodóvar films. They're seriously like a really strong Spanish drug...they take me to another place, and I melt. How's that for winding down?
Not bad, not bad at all.
When I'm working out, a.k.a. when I'm practicing yoga, it tends to be a healthy mix of Nicolas Jaar, Sade, and now Ta-ku. A few years ago when I was still living in Hong Kong, Nico was making just about every teacher's playlist at the studio until there came a point when I couldn't listen to him without thinking of going into a handstand. He's just an incredibly talented and experimental composer, period, and I have found that house and electronic music can be really interesting to move to in general, and not just at a nightclub! There is also another side to me that loves to move to more R&B, neo-soul music too though — Sade and Erykah Badu can be powerful to flow to. Lately, I have been REALLY into Ta-ku. That's my own personal go-to these days. He slows EVERYTHING down, which makes for an interesting practice. You really feel it. Yoga is amazing because it is very much about body awareness, so having nice, sexy beats to practice to can really add a whole other level of depth to it.
Namaste. 🙏
When I'm cooking, I like to sing, so classic rock anything. Easy listening is primo too. Give me some CCR, CSNY, The Eagles, Hall & Oates, I'm into it all, baby. Keeping this one short because it has the greatest potential to be the longest answer. Elton John, Billy Joel, Foreigner, Queen...can I keep going? You're literally going to have to put tape over my mouth to shut me up now.
Grabs roll of hockey tape.
When I'm kickin' it with friends? Okay, this one is impossible, Britt. Seriously? I generally go full chameleon here, so it really depends on who I'm with. But if by "kickin' it," you mean dancing, then it'd have to be deep, sexy house music. Something I can move for hours to — at a nightclub haha. I am really into John Talabot and Pional (who are both Spanish and often collaborate with one another) lately because they've come out with some really solid tracks that I have been playing on loop, ugh they're so good. Those guys can keep me KICKIN' IT with anyone until 3 a.m....or later.
What’s your most memorable musical moment? This could be a live show or festival that really stuck with you, meeting a music icon, etc.
Meeting and squeezing Lionel Richie, dancing on stage with De La Soul in Barcelona, photographing Pharoahe Monch on the set of his music video and soaking in his zen rays. Every live concert, big and small, I have ever attended.
Bea with Lionel Richie. Squeeze-tastic.
Favourite love song? Slow jam? Between the sheets track?
I'm going to have to refer back to Sade and Ta-ku for these...see the clear link between yoga and sex now? The force is strong with these two. Haha. "In Another Time" by Sade is a sweet, truly romantic track that really touches my heart, but if we're talking between-the-sheets, then "Cherish The Day" or "No Ordinary Love" for sure. She's got so many great ones. I wish I WAS Sade sometimes. What a goddess! I could have sex to any Ta-ku track, really. He's impossible to narrow down. "Beginning to End" is probably my favourite though. I mean, when you call your albums "Songs To Break Up To" and "Songs To Make Up To," you're not leaving much up to the imagination! Haha. Ah, and "Pink Matter" by Frank Ocean. How can you not? Oh boy...
You need to hype up the crowd at a house party real quick. What do you put on next?
Why REGGAETON, of course! "Ginza" by J Balvin. I was in Colombia over Christmas last year and that was like the country's unofficial national anthem, I swear. They would play it out of every speaker anywhere you went, and at all times of the day. But you can't help but want to get up and dirty dance to it, even if you don't know how!
If you were stranded on a desert island with only one album, which would it be?
FLEETWOOD MAC'S "RUMOURS" IN ALL-CAPS, EXCLAMATION POINT!
[Editor's note: I would second this, but add the deluxe version with all four records. "Pieces of the Universe" and Stevie Nicks' original demo of "The Chain" stir something very deep in my soul.]
Best format? Cassette tape, CD, iPod, Vinyl, etc.
All of the above? I've been through them all, tried them all out. We go through phases, don't we? Sometimes I'll use more than one at the same time and there may be some overlap...wait, are we still talking about music formats?
What’s the most prized album/mixtape/musical memento you own? Your home is on fire and this is the only thing you can grab before it all burns down. (Sorry, that one’s grim.)
Nothing. I don't really get too attached to "stuff." Sorry! Boring answer. But I'd probably go for my baby blanket before my record player haha.
Dinner with any artist, dead or alive. They're paying. Whom do you choose?
Eddie Vedder so I could have sex with him to Ta-ku afterwards.
+++
Bonus: What's your go-to karaoke track? [Editor's Note: Thanks, Bea, for this new question!]
P.S. Are you going to include a karaoke go-to song question? You should. Mine would be "Zombie" by The Cranberries. Come to Montréal so we can do Irish rock and roll karaoke together. That's sort of like hip hop, no? ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE-IE-IE-IE!
Merçi, Bea!
(And, I'll see you in Montréal. Sláinte!)
"@bumblebea_tunin'" TRACK LISTING
- Miles Davis. "Blue in Green." Kind of Blue - Legacy Edition, SONY BMG Music Entertainment, 2008.
- Al Green. "Simply Beautiful." I'm Still In Love With You, Hi Records Under Exclusive License to Fat Possum Records, 2009.
- Buika. "Volver, Volver." Niña de fuego (Standard version), Warner Music Spain, S.A., 2008.
- Nicolas Jaar. "Mi Mujer." Time for Us, Wolf + Lamb Music, Inc., 2010.
- Sade. "Cherish The Day (Remastered)." The Essential Sade, Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited, 2011.
- Hall & Oates. "Rich Girl (Remastered)." The Very Best of Daryl Hall / John Oates, BMG Entertainment, 2001.
- Paul Simon. "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes." Graceland (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), Paul Simon under exclusive license of Sony Music Entertainment, 2012.
- Alpha Blondy. "Cocody Rock." Fly African Eagle: The Best Of African Reggae, Shanachie Ent. Corp., 2013.*
- Paul Simon. "Graceland." Graceland (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), Paul Simon under exclusive license of Sony Music Entertainment, 2012.
- Gipsy Kings. "Bamboleo." Gipsy Kings, Nonesuch Records, 1988.
- Fleetwood Mac. "Gold Dust Woman (Early Take)." Rumours (Super Deluxe), Warner Bros Records Inc., 2013.
- Lionel Richie. "Hello." Gold, Universal Music Enterprises, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc., 2006.
- Frank Ocean, Andre 3000. "Pink Matter." channel ORANGE, The Island Def Jam Music Group, 2012.
[Editor's note: *I only just realized now when looking up the name of this song that it isn't actually called "Coco de Rasta." Bea and I heard this track play over and over on the radio during a high school community service trip to Cahuita, Costa Rica. Someone else made the same mistake as me on YouTube. My apologies to the three million people and counting that have watched that video, Alpha Blondy, and all the coconuts out there.]
