A VISUAL artist will launch her debut EP at an Edinburgh theatre later this month.
Norfolk-born polymath Hailey Beavis performs at the Traverse following the release of five-track collection Whatever You Feel I Do Too tomorrow.
Appealing to fans of the likes of Sharon Van Etten and Paul Simon, the EP sees the honey-lunged Beavis exploring love, loss and learning to be yourself in a tone that’s vulnerable and honest but resolute.
“It’s so easy to be much less than you are/It’s so important to see there’s a stranger inside,” Beavis sings on EP opener Stranger Inside, which she describes as “a testament to self-discovery”.
Recorded with Modern Studies’ Pete Harvey at his Pumpkinfield Studio near Perth, this EP may be the first official release by Beavis, but she’s been playing live for more than a decade since moving to Edinburgh at the age of 20.
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Encouraged by the inclusive, can-do spirit she found on the city’s DIY scene, Beavis went from singing traditional folk numbers to composing her own songs, often performing them live at gigs in front of colourful murals and vast textile collages she’d created herself.
The EP is the second release from OK Pal Records, the label Beavis formed with best friend and fellow visual artist/musician Faith Eliott, whose captivating album Impossible Bodies was a highlight of last year.
Though her more trad background is evinced in her imagery-rich lyrics, Beavis’s contemporary work is undeniably pop, especially on the star-twinkling melody of stand-out EP track You’ve Got To Go.
“I love a sassy hook,” Beavis says. “I love that I can write about something so heavy and then add a synth part that sounds like cartoon aliens landing on earth.”
January 25, Traverse Bar Cafe, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £7. Tel: 0131 228 1404. www.traverse.co.uk www.haileybeavis.com www.facebook.com/OKPALrecords. Whatever You Feel I Do Too is out tomorrow
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