Welcome to Pass the Aux, where KQED Arts & Culture brings you our favorite new tracks by Bay Area artists. Check out past entries and submit a song for future coverage here.
If you caught the Met Gala last week, you know that fashion is at its best when it tells a story. And the best stories, and outfits, need drama.
Bebe Huxley takes this philosophy to heart in her new music video for âJe Suis Bebe,â a cheeky manifesto of the singerâs flirty, campy persona narrated through over a dozen playful costumes. The dance pop artist came up in San Franciscoâs drag scene, where she was once a mainstay at the historic gay bar Aunt Charlieâs Lounge, and relocated to Los Angeles a few years ago to pursue her music. She clearly understands the power of a catwalk-worthy house beat and a look.
In the âJe Suis Bebeâ video, sheâs a disco chanteuse in a latex, feathered bodysuit, a vintage pin-up girl in a spangled leotard, an old-school movie star in a turban, gloves and sunglassesâ âoften all at the same time.
The characters dance around in front of a green screen with kitschy visuals. Impressively, Huxley filmed and edited the whole thing solo in her garage. And, ever-committed to the concept, she enrolled in a choreography course at Pasadena City College to create the moves with the help of fellow students and Professor Roberta Shaw.
The bouncy track conjures the fun-loving, unselfconscious energy of â90s house acts like Dee-Lite and Gillette. In her cooing voice, kindred to the sexy-baby timbres of Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue, Huxley delivers an earworm of a track that might inspire you to join the dance partyâor play dress-up yourself.
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