Photography Sophie Gragg
BXB LOVE is the new project of Canadian-born, LA-based singer and songwriter Natasha Pheko. Through genre-bending musical production, reflective lyricism, and multidisciplinary creative works, LOVE captures the charm, discomfort, and introspection of being 20-something in the year 20-something.
She steps outside the proverbial box, allowing her artistic expression to honestly reflect the world around her. By choosing a purposefully ambiguous and androgynous pseudonym, LOVE is able to explore the fluidity that is the human experience and liberate herself from the unspoken expectations placed on women of color in the music industry.
The two singles sit on different ends of the spectrum — “matrix” is a soft and sensual acoustic-led track, while “IGNORANCE SONG” is an untempered, in-your-face anthem. Opening with the irrepressible chorus destined to be sung by future crowds, “IGNORANCE SONG” bursts into a bold, gritty alt-rock number that swells with infectious guitar, anthemic percussion, and hazy layered vocals.
Lyrically and sonically, it’s an anthem that celebrates self-discovery and self-empowerment in a world that encourages us to define ourselves before fully understanding who we are and who we want to be.
Tell us about the genesis of your project. How did you get to where you are now?
In a weird way, I’m coming to understand that I’ve been working towards this project forever. It’s essentially the synthesis of all the things I’ve come to understand about myself and the world around me. It’s the questions I ask myself before I fall asleep, the fears I’m working my way through, the healing I’ve done and have yet to do.
It’s the people I meet and the adventures I’ve been on. It’s a reflection of my years on this earth. Of the world around me while simultaneously being a reflection of my internal world. I got here by listening to myself.
By asking questions and being honest. By not being afraid to learn that my inner truth might not reflect the external reality I had built for myself — which turned out to be the step that allowed me to reimagine my career, artistry, and approach to life in general.
Is there ever a moment in the life of an artist where you feel 100% satisfied about your work?
I really love that moment where it clicks. Where you stop and realize what you’ve just done. When you finish tracking an instrumental part or finish writing the hook, or the album artwork goes from concept to realization, and you have that “oh F**CK, this is SICK!” moment.
There’s this rush zing of overwhelm and excitement. Like falling in love honestly. You fall in love with what you’re creating, or the way what you’re creating makes you feel. And I love that moment because now, when I have it, it’s coming from a place of “I think this is sick” instead of “ I think other people will think this is sick.” which was a huge shift for me to have, and wildly liberating. Cause now I get to share things because I am excited about them and think they deserve to be heard, instead of sharing to get the validation that it’s “good enough.”
Who are your all time musical icons?
There are honestly so many. Like what generation are we talking haha? I’m not big on favorites cause theres just too much out there to appreciate, and it can change depending on the headspace I’m in, but a good handful of humans whose work/artistry consistently floors me would be:
Alan Menken
Erykah Badu
Sade
Bob Marley
Beyonce
Bill Withers
The Beatles
Stevie Nicks
Dolly Parton
David Bowie
Queen
Tell us about a typical day at work for you
On an ideal day, when things are really working in my favor and the inspiration is flowing, my process is very spontaneous and fluid. The words and melodies just flow out of me, the musical ideas articulate themselves easily, and things come together in a really beautiful way.
If I feel like I’m trying too hard to find it or make the lyrics come together, then that’s usually a sign that it’s time to take a break. But my favorite songs I’ve created are the ones that just flow out. The ones where the 1st idea that comes out is the song. Where the words seem to be sitting in my fingers, waiting to be written down, and the melodies are sitting there at the tip of my tongue.
What inspires your lyrics?
My lyrics are inspired by life, my own and the lives of those around me. By a vision of the world I would like to one day see, and the healing I’m doing personally to align myself with and contribute to creating that future. By the one experience that we all share in common as beings here on Earth, regardless of our circumstance. The experience of being human. Of waking up in a human body and having our human feelings and perceptions. And by the myriad of ways that experience can and does look.
Tell us about your new release “IGNORANCE SONG” and how it came about.
IGNORANCE SONG has come to represent my experience of “ego death.” The song is me questioning my perceived role in this giant simulation of life, looking at the identities and labels that I have grown up attaching too much meaning too, and the ways that I had allowed the perceptions of others define me. It’s my anthem to a generation that is in no rush to put labels on themselves and is growing to understand that they have nothing to prove to anyone.
Especially not to those who don’t align with the sort of life, choices, and realities that we are interested in cultivating. It’s a song of self-discovery and self-empowerment in a world that encourages us to grow up too fast and define ourselves in society without taking the time to ponder who we understand ourselves to be, how we desire to express that being, and how we want to exist in the world.
I co-created the demo in my bedroom in LA, with a friend from college — D Phelps, who funnily enough, I didn’t really connect with until moving out to LA. Then the song sat on my computer for almost 2 years, until I was finally ready to take the jump and commit to BXB LOVE, as a concept and artistic expression. At which point, my partner and I took the song across the finish line, from demo to final version you’re hearing. And here we are!
Who inspires your style and aesthetics?
I would say that my style and aesthetic is inspired by the culmination of spaces and experiences I’ve had the blessing of being a part of throughout my life. It’s an outward projection of all the different things that make up me, and the things I am excited to share. The way that looks will evolve and adapt as I do, but it will always be a representation of a part of me, where I’ve come from, and where I’m heading.
Right now that’s translating as reimagining, reconnecting, and playing with things from my childhood and adolescence. Reintroducing myself to the energy of play and curiosity that existed inside of me during that time in my life, and creating an “adult world” through the eyes of my child self.
What is the best advice you could give to a young artist?
No two journeys are the same, but the keys for me and my journey have been collaboration, patience, trust, self reflection — in that order.
Connecting with people to collaborate with, people who I trust, who challenge and encourage me creatively. Learning about my creative process, the tools and environments that will enhance my ability to thrive and do my best work.
Next comes patience, which is required to develop, learn, or build any skill. To hone your craft and allow for your lane to be revealed to you.
Trust, in the process, the journey, yourself. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, why should anyone else?
And I believe self-reflection is simply a requirement of life. Checking in with yourself, being honest with yourself, understanding what you actually like and dislike — free from the opinions and reactions of the world around you.
And then, doing and cultivating more of the things you like. Understanding what works for you and what doesn’t makes the whole journey a whole lot more peaceful, because then you don’t feel the need to prove anything to anyone.
You’re simply doing what you like, and if it resonates in the external world, that’s a bonus. If it doesn’t, that’s okay because it was what you truly wanted to do. Why would you want to succeed with or at something that doesn’t actually resonate for you?
Something that doesn’t feel inherently good? If it requires the external validation to feel good or mean something, there’s a high likelihood it’s not for you. And that’s okay!
What are your thoughts on the music biz?
I think the industry is changing, and that it will continue to change quite rapidly in the coming years in light of the ways COVID have shifted our collective experience here on Earth. I’m excited for what I’m hoping will be a cultural and artistic renaissance, and to see, experience, and be a part of all the innovations that will likely emerge.
What’s the future looking like for you?
I can’t stipulate what may happen in the future, but I do know the kinds of feelings, experiences, and relationships that I am interested in cultivating in my life and career. I’m interested in doing things in a way that sparks joy in myself and others. In creating a space in which I can explore the things I’m curious and passionate about, share what that with others, and bring together a community. I just want to do the things that allow me to show up for myself and the people in my life in the most honest and present way, and enjoy the ride.
