Internationally acclaimed singer/composer/guitarist and GroundUP Music recording artist blurs the boundaries of folk, jazz, & pop in her highly-anticipated return to BLU with music from her latest album, Regina!
Always reaching, always expanding, Becca Stevens reinvents herself once again with her new album, Regina. In the years since the release of her critically acclaimed third album, Perfect Animal, Stevens has undertaken a journey that began with a study of Queen Elizabeth I. This expanded into tributes to various queens from history, literature, folklore, and her own imagination, to songs inspired by the regal and divine, and finally to Regina as a voice, like a trusted friend or an alter ego.
“I’ve found that by removing my plots from the storylines I’ve accessed more of my artistry than in my writing before,” says Stevens. “Even though my writing for Regina was inspired by other characters, I told their stories by means of relating to them on a personal level, which made them my stories too. Writing with Regina as my muse has allowed my art free rein to dance in new and unexpected directions.”
As for her muse for the album, Stevens explains, “Regina has become an alter ego, or an imaginary friend. Like a dream, she exists separate from me but is reliant upon my consciousness to exist. I carry her with me in everything now. So I guess you could say that neither ends; in Becca, there is always Regina, and in Regina, there is always Becca.”
Stevens’ style has always evaded categorization, and with Regina, even more so. One hears pop, rock, R&B and funk side-by-side with traditional Appalachian and British folk, classical, world music, and jazz. Intricate instrumentation and rhythms seamlessly intertwine with vocals and melodies that draw you in and stay with you.
The new album, Regina, was produced by Troy Miller, Snarky Puppy’s Michael League, Jacob Collier, Laura Mvula, and the legendary David Crosby.