DEBUT LP, FEAR, DUE OUT SEPTEMBER 13 VIA REX BABY RECORDS / SONY MUSIC CANADA
WATCH AND SHARE “HANGING ON A LINE” MUSIC VIDEO HERE
PRE-ORDER FEAR HERE
SUMMER TOUR DATES CONTINUE JUNE 22
Fear Album Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
As Begonia, Alexa Dirks is bold, brazen with her florid, surprising pop that is tempered with sensitivity and wisdom. Today, Begonia announces her long awaited debut album, Fear, due out September 13 via Rex Baby Records (Sony Music Canada). On the LP, Begonia leans hard into a sense of arrival. She wrote and co-produced the record with a familiar team of Matt Schellenberg (Royal Canoe) and Matt Peters (Royal Canoe) along with Marcus Paquin (The National, Arcade Fire, Local Natives).
With album cuts, “The Light”, “Beats”, and “Living At The Ceiling” already released, Begonia is now sharing another new track from the LP. “Hanging On A Line” is a song about “seriously falling in love in the club,” says Dirks. “Sometimes anything seems possible when you're slightly intoxicated and there's a sub bass vibrating through your body. Amidst all this there are two extra underlying messages ; try to be a good person and remember to stay hydrated.”
WATCH AND SHARE “HANGING ON A LINE” MUSIC VIDEO HERE
Whether it’s learning to come into her own or processing a brutal heartbreak, Dirks’ intimate lyrics and audacious sound allows for her audience to relate to the messiness of life with an honesty that is refreshing.
Dirks' first solo EP, Lady in Mind, was well-received, being listed on NPR’s 10 Artists You Need To Know in 2017 and single “Juniper” reached #1 on the CBC Radio 2 Top 20. Noisey wrote that, “Begonia has one of Canada’s most extraordinary voices, and thankfully she uses it to obliterate the misery from this world one live performance at a time.” NPR wrote that Begonia is “the place where where synth-pop meets old soul and scrappy meets sexy."
TOUR DATES
Jun 22 - Vancouver, BC - TD International Jazz Festival
Jun 27 - Montreal, QC - Festival International de Jazz de Montreal
Jul 14 - Winnipeg, MB - Winnipeg Folk Festival
Jul 26 - Teulon, MB - Real Love Summer Fest
Jul 28 - Squamish, BC - Squamish Constellation Festival
Aug 6 - Grand Forks, ND - North Dakota Museum of Art
Aug 17 - Elora, ON - Riverfest Elora
Sep 14 - Hamilton, ON - Supercrawl
Photo Credit : Leeor Wild // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
PRAISE FOR BEGONIA
“...searing and dignified” - NPR Music
"...a complex, powerhouse synth-soul that hangs on one of Canada’s most
extraordinary voices." - Line Of Best Fit
“The woman has, you would say, presence to spare. When she opens her mouth to sing it's like, ‘What just happened?’” - Exclaim!
"an audacious adventure in modern soul, with gospel inspirations and updated takes on finger-snapping Motown pop and late 20th-century R&B." - Globe & Mail
“With her showstopping voice, Dirks blends acoustics and synths for her own
brand of gospel.” - CBC Music
FEAR TRACKLIST
01 The Other Side
02 Hanging On A Line
03 The Light
04 Fear
05 Every Day Interlude
06 Living At The Ceiling
07 Mirror Talk
08 Two Beers In
09 Beats
10 Cold Fire
11 Dead Flowers
12 Put It Away