BELQIS
... is an indie-pop artist who crafts irresistible songs that keep you hooked. Her voice is one-of-a-kind and her lyrics are witty, exploring life, love and fate in the contemporary world. She calls Frankfurt her home, where she fuses urban-beats and bedroom vibes, gentle harmonies and majestic orchestral instruments to forge a rich indie-pop sound.
Her artistic mission is to showcase the beauty and strength of diversity through her music. She articulates the crushing feeling of surrendering control and being paralyzed during a sleep paralysis, under a pounding synth bass. With “Dark”, Belqis shifts from the light to the dark side of music.
How did your passion for music begin and what are the main influences behind your musical style and identity?
Ever since kindergarden, I wanted to be a singer but for a long time, I was too shy to try it. So I learned to play the saxophone first. When I was 14 years old, I discovered the singer-songwriter Christofer Drew from “Never Shout Never” and fell in love with his songs – seeing him succeed as an autodidact inspired me to try it as well so I started teaching myself the guitar and the piano and wrote my first songs.
My roots definitely lie in the singer-songwriter genre but I always loved jazz due to the saxophone and growing up, I listened to a lot of pop and RnB but also classical music. My enthusiasm for music across all genres greatly shapes my musical style and identity, as I’m always drawing inspiration from the songs I like at the moment when working on new music.
What was the inspiration behind your release, “Dark” and what’s the story behind it?
I started writing this song a few years ago when I would often have vivid nightmares and even experienced sleep paralysis for the first time. I had a conversation with a friend about it that really stuck with me. She said that fear couldn’t control my dreams if I didn’t let it and it’s a matter of mindset only. Obviously, it’s not that easy though! But that conversation even made it into the song in the following line: “They say you can control your thoughts if you want it bad enough – so why doesn’t it work for me?”.
The track is also the first release from your upcoming EP. What can your fans and our readers expect from it?
During the recording process of the “Insomnia” EP, I discovered the metalcore genre and reconnected with my emo-side, so I’m really embracing that part of me on it. It’s still indie-pop of course and my singer-songwriter roots definitely shine through, just with a darker touch. “Insomnia” comes out on Friday October 13th.
What are the main steps and challenges of your artistic process when creating a new track?
I’d say for me, it’s defining if a song I’ve written is worth spending the money on to bring it to the studio and produce it. I really wish I was a producer myself but currently, I just don’t have the time to acquire a new skill, as I try to balance being an indie musician and still having a life, haha.
Do you have any plans to perform live on stage in the near future?
Yeah, I’ll be playing a big release concert on December 1st of this year! It’ll be in my hometown Frankfurt at the Club “Ponyhof”. Can’t tell you what I’ll be releasing just yet, but it will be epic for sure!
How do you perceive the role and impact of social media on the music scene?
Immense! Sometimes it kind of annoys me that you have to be visible and active everywhere at all times, ‘cause that’s a full time job by itself! On the other hand, if I see a musician I like live in concert, my first step is to follow them on Insta, too. It’s just a great way to stay connected. Plusl I actually get a lot of concert and festival inquiries via Instagram, so I’d say it’s definitely worth it to spend some time on curating your social media presence.
What is your opinion on “AI-music” and its potential for innovation or disruption?
I’m afraid I’m not the right person to answer this question as I don’t really know a lot about that subject yet. While I think it’s crazy that you can just replicate someone’s voice and use it in a song, it makes me wonder if the emotion can be transported properly if it’s AI generated.
What are your aspirations and plans for your musical career?
Honestly ,I just want to be able to keep doing what I’m doing right now, reach people with my music and connect through it. When people tell me that they really feel my songs, it makes me so happy! This might sound weird, but it happened a few times that someone started crying at a concert and that’s everything to me. When I’m on stage sharing something I created, it is always such an intimate process so seeing someone feeling so intensely about it in that moment is very special.
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