Sugarmill, Stoke-on-TrentWith joy and candour, the 19-year-old songwriter brings the charms of grungy 90s indie to a new generation
‘I wish I was Stephen Malkmus,” sings Bea Kristi AKA Beabadoobee, referring to the 53-year-old singer-songwriter of US indie outfit, Pavement. The 19-year-old is paying homage to the fuzzy indie rock that inspired her; 90s acts such as Pavement, Sonic Youth and Mazzy Star aren’t obvious bands for a teenage girl to listen to in 2019, although by reacting against what her label calls “music that’s been styled to death”, the Filipina Londoner is making an impact. A
YouTube video of her song Coffee notched up 300,000 views and has led to a deal with the 1975/Wolf Alice label Dirty Hit, a Brits rising star award nomination and millions of streams.
None of which has, admittedly, entirely translated to a chilly night in Stoke, where a respectable, very vocal contingent of mostly teenage girls have come to cheer her on. Kristi is headlining a Dirty Hit bill that also includes bedroom star Oscar Lang and 1975 collaborator No Rome and she exudes unfettered, candid charm. “I need a pee so bad,” she admits.