Her new sophomore album has been a long time coming, but BENEE’s eclectic and endearing Ur an Angel I’m Just Particles proves worth the wait. The New Zealand-born alt-pop innovator talks about adapting to LA, chance meetings with Olivia Rodrigo, and the endless appeal of live instrumentation.

Sometimes, it takes time to find the right answers, the right ingredients, the right pathway. After a breakthrough duo of EPs, New Zealand-born, now Los Angeles-based alt pop crusader BENEE offered up a star-making debut album with 2020’s Hey u x. It was one of the most well-received, thoroughly entertaining and vivaciously engaging records that year, augmented with contributions from a slew of collaborators, including Kenny Beats, Bakar, Gus Dapperton and Lily Allen. 

With hundreds of millions of streams and an increasingly dedicated fan base, BENEE was quickly, somewhat quietly, becoming one of the biggest voices in global alt pop. Then, she didn’t release a body of work in five years.  

“It honestly has been a while,” she tells Wonderland candidly, speaking on her return to the fray. “I think in the first year of making the new album, I felt more pressure to get it out sooner.” The age-old tale says that the sophomore is the most difficult album to make, and the artist definitely felt that. She was experimenting with new sounds, vying to push herself to new artistic heights. But, at the core of her exploration, it didn’t quite feel like her. 

So, BENEE took it back to basics – live instrumentation. That’s what makes her feel something deep within. She observed the world around her, experienced the dread, and asked all the big questions. And wrote an album that feels as thematically relevant as it does musically precious, as emotionally mature as it does personally significant.

That album is Ur an Angel I’m Just Particles. Released on 7th November via Republic Records, it’s tighter, more mature and impactful than her vibrant debut, a deft and characterful look at an intelligent and introspective young woman who has grown up in the spotlight. There’s dreamy electro-pop, crunchier alt rock, soaring indie, massaged into a modern, majestic reflection on turmoil, triumph and humanity. Oh, and there’s a fabulous PinkPantheress feature on lead single “Princess”.

BENEE’s new album is full of standout moments and subtle sophistication. Below, she blesses Wonderland with an exclusive interview, discussing adapting to the LA lifestyle, bumping into Olivia Rodrigo at the cinema watching The Substance, and stripping back her ambitions to make her best music yet.

Listen to Ur an Angel I’m Just Particles…

Read the interview…

What do you miss most about New Zealand?

All of my family, all of my friends, my dog Tui.. and the air, the nature, the beaches.. swimming in the ocean. It’s the most beautiful place. I miss everything about Aotearoa for real. 

How was the shift in culture moving from suburban Auckland to the bright lights of LA? Did you struggle? 

I definitely struggled moving at the start, because there is such a huge difference between Los Angeles and New Zealand. I was incredibly overwhelmed when I first moved here, and I realised I had to make new friends and find community in a place that I had only ever spent short spurts of time in. But I do think it was a good challenge and an emotional learning curve. I definitely learned a lot about myself, and it’s good to be challenged in life – you come out of it with a lot of insight. In this case, it really helped to inspire this album.

It’s been five years since the release of your debut album, Hey u x. What have those five years been for you? Why did you decide to wait until now to deliver your sophomore full-length?

It honestly has been a while. I think in the first year of making the new album, I felt more pressure to get it out sooner. But, as I proceeded to make more songs, I started to realise that I needed more time to grow and learn artistically. To make the best art, I think that I needed the time to really process my emotions and the drastic move in my life. Also, I needed to come to an understanding of what I was really trying to say in this album. I think it took a lot of time for me to figure that all out for the album to get where it is today.

We love the title, Ur An Angel I’m Just Particles. Talk us through the meaning and how it relates to the album’s themes?

Thank you! I actually took the title from a demo I wrote around 5 years ago. When I needed to come up with a title for the album, I kept thinking of this line in that song – it stood out to me because it felt so relevant to the existentialism of the album and the ethereal side of the music. I think Ur an Angel, I’m Just Particles captures both of those themes throughout the work, and I also love how dreamy and whimsical a title it is. It kind of makes you want to know more, and a lot of this album is about that curiosity. Growing up and not having the answers to everything, but navigating my way through and discovering.

What makes an angel, an angel? 

I think an angel is more of an essence than a person. The idea of an angel watching over us reminds us of a genuine, pure and kind spirit. I would say my mom is an angel, a lot of my friends are angels, all animals are angels. People and beings who are lights in our life who make us happy. Being an angel is a kindness. 

What inspired the musical direction of the new album? How is it a growth from Hey u x? 

When it came to the musical direction of the album and how it grew from Hey u x, I realised how much I really wanted to get back into the roots of live instruments. Before I got to putting all the pieces together, I was making a bit of hyper-pop and thought that was the direction I was going in – but that just didn’t feel authentic to me. I realised how inspired I feel when I hear a guitar, or a bass, or live drums. The music really made more sense to me when I brought those elements back into my work. I studied a lot of the greats, and listened to my favourite timeless artists – The Beach Boys, Gorillaz, James Blake.. They all blend genres in a really tasteful and timeless way, while incorporating live instruments, and sounds that translate so well to a live show. That’s such an important aspect I wanted to incorporate in my music as well.

You’ve grown up in the public eye. Now, at 25, do you feel like you understand your artistry and how to navigate the industry more so? What are the key lessons you’ve learnt? 

Now that I’m 25, I have definitely learned so much in the last 5 years. It’s interesting watching how people consume music, and the pressure that audiences put on artists to constantly release – people are always asking something of you as an artist and expecting so much of you. Viewers don’t look at paintings and criticise what paint colours should look different or how the artist could’ve done a different job. It’s art, and it’s up for interpretation. I wish it were the same with music, where people could consume it and interpret it in a way that’s not so entitled.

I’ve learned how important it is to be happy with what I’m making in its best and truest form. That’s how I’ve always made music, and how my biggest songs exist – I was stubborn with keeping my music to what I believe it should be, not listening to what people wanted from me. I make music that’s inspiring to me and songs that I want to keep listening to over and over again. 

For the visual aspect of the album, you worked in close collaboration with your partner and creative director, Keith Herron. What do you set out to convey? How did you collectively bring the ideas to life? 

The visual aspect of the album has always been so important to me with all of my projects, but for this one, particularly, I always knew I wanted a photograph-first album. Working closely with Keith has been a great experience because obviously we are so close, and can understand exactly what we both want to execute it in a really organic and beautiful way. I set out to really enhance the visual world that already exists inside the music. I love writing lyrics that make people visualise, but to accompany that with such beautiful and intentional visuals is so important for tying everything together. I set out to lay out that world to people so that they can understand it and step into it, and immerse themselves.

When we collectively bring those ideas to life, it’s a collaboration working with so many talented people – directors, artists, stylists, makeup artists and more. It’s been so fun. I have such a clear vision for my videos and all of the visual world. I love being able to team up with the best people out there to make it come to life. It’s so incredible to be able to translate what I’m thinking into the visuals.

Describe your new album as a mood, a colour and a flower?

My album as a mood would be… existential or melancholic. The colour would be pink. Flower… maybe a Pōhutukawa flower: the native New Zealand Christmas tree flower.

You’ve recently joined Olivia Rodrigo on tour. What’s the craziest experience? 

I actually bumped into Olivia before meeting her on that tour when we both went to see The Substance in theatres. It was my second time watching the film, and she said “Hey!” but was wearing a mask, so I couldn’t figure out who she was at first, haha. She’s so so lovely, it’s been really fun to support the pop queens!

BENEE BENEE BENEE BENEE BENEE BENEE

Words – Ben Tibbits