BECKY HILL

INTERVIEW BY JULES BOYLE

NATION’S attention on The Voice back in 2012, the now-26 year-old from the West Midlands has established herself as one of the brightest talents in the UK music scene. Already clocking up over 1.5 billion streams in total, she has released a string of hit singles under her own name, collaborated with iconic producers such as Tiesto, Sigala and Jonas Blue and lent her songwriting talents to the likes of Oliver Heldens, Jax Jones and MistahJam.

Now, ahead of the long-awaited release of her debut album, Becky has just dropped another instant classic single, the astonishing Space. Produced by none other than Camelphat, it’s a track that stands on its own, but hints at even better things to come from this singular artist.

Becky said: “This song for me is superpersonal and a really nice moment for me to step out and be an artist. It’s letting me show people that I am an artist, that I write my own songs and it all comes from me, so it’s a really lovely time for me. I wanted to show people a different side of me too, just really let them in ahead of the album.

I wrote it originally with Mark Ralph (Clean Bandit/Years & Years) and Josh Record (Paloma Faith/Tom Grennan), then we sent over to Camelphat to do the production. I was really glad they were into the track and up for working their magic on it, as they really took it to the next level. They really gave it that anthemic, big-sounding sound which was exactly what I was looking for, as it perfectly bridges the gap between dance and pop.”

It’s been a long time coming, but that upcoming debut album, due to drop in March of 2021, is going to be well worth the wait and sees Becky at the very peak of her powers, both as a performer and a songwriter.

She said: “I would definitely say Space kind of bridges a gap between the dance music I have been on and the pop music I want to create in the future. I will never leave dance music behind and there are definitely those kinds of tracks in the mix, but it’s more of an artist album, one that’s full of songs that show off the different sides to me as well. I’m really excited about it.

I’m just excited to get more people on board who have listened to the album and to convince them that every song I’ve put out is a really good one. There’s no filler on there, the whole thing is exactly the album I

wanted to make. Hopefully they trust me enough to write an album’s worth of good songs.

It’s weird though, as I know I’ve written lots of songs that I would want to put out as singles, but I know wouldn’t work as they aren’t what most people would expect. I know what it takes to make a single now, they rely on a lot more than just being a good song. So I’m really excited about all these great songs on the record to be listened to in a way that they are intended, just like the way people used to listen to albums years ago. It’s a complete album, from start to finish, with each song in a certain place and laid out to complement each other, as opposed to a collection of individual tracks.”

Becky also has a reputation as a formidable live performer, but the current COVID-19 crisis has meant that she, like everyone else, has had to put live shows on hold for the time being.

She said: “It’s horrible, really. I love performing every bit as much as I do writing. If I had a gun to my head, I couldn’t tell you which one I loved more. Doing one without the other just doesn’t feel right. While I have really appreciated having all the extra time to focus on writing new music, I have desperately missed performing live. I even miss spending an entire day just to perform for half an hour at the end of it. I love what I do and it’s such a shame that a big part of it has been cancelled. Just seeing people dance, I miss that terribly. Hopefully it’ll all get back up and running next year. Obviously people’s safety is paramount, but I’m counting the days until we can all get together in a live setting.”

As well as her own music, Becky is one of the most in-demand songwriters in