INTERVIEW: Eyes of Bel on her new music and upcoming EP 'End Of An Era': "I've stopped trying to push myself to be something I'm not…it's freeing to allow yourself to exist in the state that you are."

Interview: Shalane Connors

Naarm based singer, songwriter and producer Eyes of Bel creates intricate, intelligent pop music that transcends genre and has a way of drawing you deeply into a world you might not fully understand but that you never want to leave.

First releasing music in 2017, Bel dropped two EPs before taking a hiatus from music after the release of her 2020 EP T1. Last November she released her first new music in 5 years with the single ‘Down the Drain’, a glitchy, stuttering track that flicks from a drawling, slow motion beat to a frantic techno soundscape in an instant. The brooding sonics are the perfect backdrop to lyrics that question the madness of the world we live in: ‘I am sick / I am scared / There is madness everywhere.’

This year she has solidified her comeback with two new singles. ‘Melt’ is an impossibly tender, gorgeous pop ballad with semi-acoustic piano driven verses that merge into shimmering, pop choruses. Lyrically it is a love letter to her partner - ‘You ought to know that we are the perfect pair…I've lived a thousand years / Just so I could find you,’ - and appropriately the music video features Bel’s real life girlfriend.

‘Bygones Will Be Bygones’ was released last month, and it is a mesmerising, emotive pop song with a heavy 1990s trip-hop sound. Bel sings of letting go of pretence and the performance we can put on for other people and becoming your true self: ‘Why won’t you listen? / You are wasting your day.’

Both singles will feature on Eyes of Bel’s upcoming third EP End of an Era which is due for release on 13 November. The seven songs were written during a period of intense personal upheaval, where questioning identify and self lead to wondering what might happen if our old self is left behind entirely.

“None of the songs exist in a single emotional state,” Eyes of Bel says of the EP. “Hope and pain sit beside each other because that is how I experienced this chapter of my life, and how I continue to experience it.” 

Alongside her music career, Eyes of Bel is also the co-leader and creative director of ENRICH Skincare & Formulations, a brand that focuses on integrating clinical and dermatological science into skincare.

A true creative, Eyes of Bel is a fascinating artist that creates a whole world of emotions around her music and her return to music is a truly exciting moment. We recently caught up with her to chat all about her new music and the upcoming EP.

Hi Bel! Congratulations on your upcoming EP End of an Era. You've released two singles already, ‘Melt’ is a gorgeous love song and ‘Bygones Will Be Bygones. You said of this song that it marks the sound of an artist choosing peace over pretending, a slow exhale after holding your breath too long. I think it's quite a common cry for many artists to have this feeling, but I'm interested to know your your personal experience with this notion of having to constantly put on a facade and be the brand and how you circle back to finding yourself and keeping grounded.
I'm not gonna lie, with full transparency, my thing coming into this EP, particularly because it's been so many years since my last one, was a real intention of just being completely honest and upfront with who I speak to when talking about the songs or the EP. I've turned 30, I feel a lot more secure in myself, so that's allowing me to speak more freely and more confidently. But it's really difficult, there's no way to sugarcoat it. Particularly with the state of the industry now, I have never kind of been one to shy away from talking about real stuff, but I think the issue with it now is because of the oversaturation and lack of sustainability within our industry, when you do share these things, it can often fall upon deaf ears. And then you think, "Well, why did I share this in the first place? I'm being so vulnerable, but no one gives a shit.” I guess with this song, it was not about letting go for anyone else, it was about choosing to let go of many things for me.

I am who I am and I am what I am and I'm definitely not one of those artists that has real separation from the art and the personal life, or the art and the artist. I just am. I just exist. Even if I wanted to change it, and I have so many times, I don't think I could. When I was younger, I definitely was trying to fit into a box of artistry that I thought I should fit into. Whereas now, I don't care as much really, and I also don't have the time - I work full time, I run a skincare brand and I've worked in dermatology for over 10 years. Music is the love of my life and it is my passion, but I don't have the time to be so indulgent in that stuff anymore.

Have you found in that letting go a new level of authenticity?
Yeah, I think so. I'm figuring out what that authenticity looks like online. To be fair, that's been the hardest thing for me in this process, trying to figure out what my voice is online. That's not because I don't have one, it's about choice. I’m not that person who's chronically on TikTok, in my personal life I'm quite shy, I just find it really difficult. But I've stopped trying to push myself to be something I'm not, and I would highly recommend others who are struggling from that to try it because it is genuinely freeing to allow yourself to exist in the state that you are without feeling like you have to do all these other things that everyone else is doing. I guess that makes you more authentic.

I mean, social media in its essence is completely contrary to authenticity, everything you decide to put up is a facade, and it does play havoc with the artist's mind.
It's even harder now because everyone's fighting for attention. I've always believed that there's enough room for everyone to have their moment, no one needs to kind of fight for the limelight. But purely because of AI, because of the saturation of our industry, because of TikTok, because of what the industry values and thinks is art, or what they decide to champion, it does make it a lot more difficult.

I've been releasing music for almost 10 years now, and the industry has changed so much in a decade. I'm not convinced it's changed for the better, but I keep coming back to it because I love music and I love writing and I love creating art. I don't care how many people listen to it, as corny as it sounds, if I get a message from someone about the song or about a particular piece of visual art or whatever it is, I'm genuinely happy.

I'm interested to know about your journey into music because you grew up in quite an academic household with two medical specialists as parents.. What was the catalyst for you originally becoming a creative?
I came out of the womb creative, I have always been drawn to the literary world, to the arts world. When I was very little, I was sewing, I was sticking studs on shoes, I was writing poetry, it’s just how my brain was wired. My mum is really the main cause for that, she's incredibly creative. She's an amazing poet, she's got anonymous poetry published all over the place, and she's an incredible dancer. She showed me her love of the arts, and it was very much embedded within me despite being in a very academic family and an academic world.

I was actually going to do medicine, but I sung for the first time at a school talent show when I was 16. My music teacher invited some scouts to the show, and they came to the school the next day and took me out of class, and that's kind of how it all began. They took me to LA within a couple of months, it was very crazy for a 16 year old. I had a major record label deal, I was working in incredible studios, it was an amazing opportunity, but it was not the opportunity that was best for me. They wanted me to drop out of school, and move to LA, and I didn't want to do that. I was hell bent on finishing school. One of the execs said to me, ‘your music's too smart, it's not going to translate’. So I turned that down and literally did it the old fashioned way.

Once I realised that was what I wanted to do, it was a no brainer. That was the only thing that made sense until really only a couple of years ago. After working in dermatology for 10 years, I realised how much I love that as well, and how passionate I am about science, and I view science as an art. So it was very very easy for me to blend the academic background with the art because I don't see them any differently.

What sort of challenges did you face moving into the music industry? Specifically as a very young woman, and has that changed over the last decade that you've been in the industry?
Very interesting. When I entered the industry, I was completely green. I also was the kind of kid to see the best in everyone and to assume the best. Very, very naive and very innocent. That quickly changed. I unfortunately have had several bad experiences within this industry. I was so green, I was completely clueless. Looking back now, I'm like, ‘that is completely diabolical’.

I don't think there's been nearly enough change, particularly in this country. All I see is words, I don't see real change. That's not to say that there isn't change happening because there are so many wonderful people out there pushing and fighting for their voices to be heard, and they deserve all the recognition in the world. Do I think it's enough, and do I think it's being standardised and shared across an industry level to make actionable change? No, I don't. Unfortunately.

On to happier more exciting things, let's talk about your upcoming EP End of An Era. It's out 13 November. Talk to me a bit about the themes that you're exploring on the EP. What are the overriding themes and feelings that you want your listeners to walk away with?
End Of An Era has a couple of different meanings. It's good and bad. It's letting go of good eras in your life, but also the bad. It's the true, honest, put your hands up and say, "This is this is real change. This is a real shift’’. There are seven tracks, and they all tell a different story about those eras. ‘Melt’ is obviously the admission of love, and that's a really positive change and a really beautiful end of an era where you go from not thinking that you're able to love or be loved to then being in love. But then there are also songs on the record like ‘Visible’, which I co-wrote with Tony Buchen, which is about identity and saying, "I don't know who I am anymore”. What am I good for, why am I here, and those searching, overarching questions.I don't think that the record comes to a resolution. It's open ended.

What is really important is the last two EPs that I released, I was probably not in a great period of my life in either of those times, and I think this is the first period of my life where I'm releasing music where I can confidently say that I am. That feels really, really special to me, and I want to cherish every moment of that. That is the end of an era in a way.

So it's it's kind of layers deep I guess. It's all about change, it's all about shift, it's all about different eras and where they lead you to.

Your recent singles have been your first music releases for five years. How has it been taking a break and moving back into the industry? I imagine it’s a little bit daunting in terms of finding your voice in a public arena, but it sounds to me like you're also coming back feeling much more grounded and self-realised. What sort of headspace are you in in terms of people receiving your music?
Firstly, despite being this grounded version of me, I definitely don't feel cool anymore! And maybe that's a good thing, right? Like I said, I just am. I just am existing. But that does create feelings of insecurity because this is obviously a very important piece of work to me, and I want it to be received well. There are a couple songs on this record that I'm positive I don't think I'll ever write a better song. ‘End Of An Era’, the title track, particularly. It's the most special, beautiful piece of music I've ever written. It just means the absolute world to me. It really does, more than any other song I've ever written. So for that reason alone, I care a shit tonne, and I am scared because it has been five years, and over five years, you lose momentum. You lose a sense of agency over your artistry, and I'm having to rediscover certain parts about myself as an artist all over again, and that is very hard to navigate. That being said, I just really hope that the music speaks for itself. I've stripped back a lot of the other stuff, a lot of the bells and whistles, and it's just like this is the record. This is the body. But that song, man! It's very special.

What a wonderful feeling! I don't think many people get to experience that outpouring of creativity in one song.
It took a lot though. I was writing like 200 songs a year or something, I was in the studio constantly. My manager was really pushing me, and when I gave her that song, I was basically withered to nothing. I was exhausted. I felt like I had nothing left to say. And she called me and she just said, "You've done it, this is the track”. That was one of the best feelings.

Wow, 200 songs, that’s incredible. Talk me through that process of having to, I guess, kill your babies and not have the world witness them. You've got so much on the cutting room floor.
It's okay, you know. I was very happy to to do that. It was a really lovely time in my life where I was just in the studio with Adib Parker, who is one of the main collaborators of this record, we would just do two weeks at a time and work all day and all night and smash out like 10 songs in a two week period. We just did that over and over and over again, and it was amazing, an incredible experience. We were in Townsville, it was beautiful, it was hot, it was lush. We weren’t in a studio, we were in a bedroom, and our mattress was the sound room, but it was amazing. I'm going to look back on that so fondly, and depending on what happens next, there's a few of the songs that may have potential to go onto another record.

Is songwriting something that you feel that you have to do, an impulsive thing that you have to get out of you? Or is it something that you dedicate time and space to specifically write?
That's a really thoughtful question, and it's not one I've actually ever been asked before. People assume when you're an artist that you just carve out time for your songwriting, or on the flip side, it's like this burst of energy that happens in the shower, and sometimes it's neither. For me, it's both, It's neither, t's all of it. I've experienced every possible songwriting experience from planned days to having a burst of energy where I need to write something. I can only speak to my own experience, but I'm quite a fast writer, and that's because I've grown up writing. So it's quite natural for me to sit down and write something, whether I carve out the time, or it just happens.

I actually prefer it most when there's carved out time when I can actually think. I feel like that's when something more intentional comes. Even if I've set an hour for myself alone in my apartment, just me and a notebook, I like that because then I can actually think about what am I going to say. It's not just verbal vomit, you know. It's considered, and I try to be considered with the way that I write.

You've got the EP coming out. What's this next period of time look like for you? Are you are we going to see you on tour, are there going to be some new music videos, what's coming up?
I am open to all the experiences, it's still such early days for me re-entering the industry. I miss performing more than anything in the world, so I really hope that there's some touring in the next 6 to 12 months for the EP. From a visual perspective, I can't release something and not deliver on that side of things, but I might keep the other things a surprise.

‘Bygones Will Be Bygones’ is out now. You can download and stream here.
End of an Era will be released on 13 November. You can pre-save and pre-add now here.
Follow Eyes of Bel on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.