Having spent the past few months getting to know Bedouine’s music, I now get a feeling of comfort every time it comes on. There’s something so intrinsically poetic about her style that I honestly feel grounded in some way when I listen to it – a rare quality that I’ve felt only through a handful of other artists (e.g. J.S. Ondara). And allow me a bit more dramatic praise when I say that through her music I think she touches on some fundamental meaning of experience, never over-embellishing.
She’s released two full-length albums to date, both phenomenal. But for now I’m going to focus on her self-titled debut, which was (naturally) lauded after its release in 2017.
Bedouine is a masterpiece of folk music. At times uplifting and light, a few of the songs give us an exquisite glimpse into the singer’s declaration of self. (We’ll talk more about Solitary Daughter in a second.) But most of the songs on the album sound, in a most charming way, feel like they’re just sitting there with you, daydreaming a little. The simple assuredness of her sound, exceptionally soothing to listen to, makes Bedouine the perfect narrator. She has such a sustained presence.
She once said in an interview: “I think I sometimes try to reduce anything to its most minimal form, whether that's an emotion or a performance. I do really value that approach. Using brevity to communicate, I think, is the most effective way to get across to someone, to encapsulate a feeling.” This minimalist approach allows her a certain whimsy --- especially during songs like One Of These Days (“You know I’m gonna set our hearts ablaze…”) --- and it comes through most obviously in her composition: a core part of her music is her use of real instruments, but never in a way that’s overdone. Every bit of sound is delicate and crisp --- even when the harpsichord makes its occasional appearance (not a particularly soft-sounding instrument) it isn’t at all imposing. I also love the way she constantly uses the faded sounds of horns in the distance, giving the songs such a dream-like quality.
Known really as Azniv Korkejian, the singer chose her moniker well. In the nomadic spirit of the word, “Bedouine” reflects the way that movement was a defining feature of her growing up. Her family was a part of the Armenian diaspora, during which between 1914 and 1923 100,000 people settled in Syria, where Korkejian was later born. Her family then moved to Saudi Arabia before emigrating to the U.S., where she has since also lived in several cities.
This background impacts her music both through the themes of her lyrics and the style of her production. In Summer Cold, for example, she samples sounds from memories of her grandmother’s home in Syria, and one of the record’s bonus tracks Louise is written and sung entirely in Armenian.
She once spoke about how moving from an American compound in Saudi Arabia to the bustling space of Massachusetts impacted her deeply: “There was a part of me that felt like as long as I’m not [in Saudi Arabia], it doesn’t really matter where I am…and it did, I think, shape my sense of detachment that I had for most of my teens and 20s.” This experience of detached restlessness pervades many of her songs --- “Some nights I get into the car and drive / Nowhere really could keep me satisfied,” she sings in You Kill Me. Later to come in her second album Bird Songs of a Killjoy, she continues this theme through the reoccurring imagery of a bird wanting to take flight.
She’s now long been based in L.A., and even devotes a love/hate tribute to the city on her debut album through Back to You. Positioning herself as a skeptic outsider, she sings in the second verse: “Though I’ve enjoyed the café haze / They play it as it lays / Can lives so designed be sustained?”
For most of the songs on the record, we get to know Bedouine both as a fearless woman on her own, and as a woman in love – also admitting the pain, at times, of being both. In the second verse of the album’s opener Nice And Quiet, she sings with a heavy sigh --- “I’ve tried so hard to be there for you / It seems it may mean disappearing for you."
But on Heart Take Flight, we find her fully and freely indulging in the comfort of a new love. One of the simplest songs on the record, it's also easily one of the sweetest love songs I’ve listened to. Doting on a loved one, she also conveys so many subtle nuances about her relationship with herself, speaking directly to her heart with such a sweet protectiveness – “Heart take flight / I give you every right when he’s around." The song is such a beautifully subtle expression of happiness (“I feel so free”).
Bedouine’s other declaration of love is Dusty Eyes (“The city lights / The lampposts burn the night / But they don’t come close to the way I feel about you now...”). This song has an ethereal grandness that makes it a clear standout of the record – and still my favourite of her releases so far. Dusty Eyes has all of the dusky romance of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon but with a slower reverie. Truly otherworldly – you can’t help but swoon with it.
Another unforgettable number is Solitary Daughter, her mini masterpiece. Over finger-picking guitar and sparse orchestral backing – including, of course, the ever-dreamy horns – Bedouine's honeyed voice sings in Leonard Cohen-esque spoken-word style. It’s a song of celebration for her solitude and inner self, with an underlying tone of defiance --- “I don’t want your pity, concern or your scorn / I’m calm by my lonesome, I feel right at home.” About the meaning, she once said: “The song is kind of a reaction to traditional gender roles. It was sort of a rejection of conventional romance; it’s not something that I needed. Sure, it might be something I would like, but I don’t need to be whisked away on someone else’s terms.” In that spirit she sings in the interlude ---“I don’t need your company to feel saved."
Solitary Daughter perfectly reflects the overarching narrative of this record – one that embraces romantic love, but that is ultimately a celebration of her own rich inner life. This was a perfect debut for Bedouine: with a self-assured poise, she presented herself a confident artist already at the peak of her craft.
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