Beccy Owen, Beccy Owen & The Refuge, Musumba

Beccy Owen & The Refuge are a brand new all-female collective. They released their debut album on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The word Chaotica (pronounced: ‘kay-o’tick-a’) was coined by Anäis Nin and alludes to a constant ebb and flow of emotional states. In the context of the new album the word aptly reflects Beccy’s complicated, twenty-year experience of bipolar disorder.

The songs on the album deftly explore the shadowy sides of femininity and mental health, capturing both an earthy wit and an intoxicating dreaminess that not only bares witness to painful experiences but seeks to transcend them.

“Supple songwriting that is simultaneously elegant & forceful; weird & carnivalesque.” (Boff Whalley, Chumbawamba)

The band draw on a mouth-watering range of musical styles and influences, melding them into a bold, hypnotic sound that occasionally echoes a filmic approach, echoing the likes of the Clint Mansell soundtrack for Moon. There’s obvious links to water here, too, both lyrically and musically; a tumult and sway that mirrors the rise and fall of waves to create a woozy throughline whilst offering up a range of atmospheric wonders.

Be it the embrace of a depressive episode in the anthemic In Through The Walls, the rollercoaster of severe mood swings in Scattershot, an exposure to too much information in the beautifully off-kilter Anemone, the sensual stormfront of impending mania in Ceridwen Speaks, the threat of violence many women continue to experience in the swaggering Safety First, or the significance of support and compassion in order to get and stay well (Tawny Maker), the album explores a range of emotions and and states.

Chaotica is a sophisticated and potent monument to the fluidity of trauma and triumph that will resonate with many listeners. The eight tracks are in turn hypnotic, playful, weird, beautiful and decidedly jarring in places, and all the better for it.

Beccy is well known in Leeds as a singer, songwriter, theatre maker, choir leader and all round inspiration. The Live At All Hallows team were excited that a chance encounter at DeerShed festival led to us hosting this Leeds gig for her and The Refuge.

Suppport for this gig comes from Musumba, a 16-year-old singer-songwriter of Congolese heritage from Bradford who writes lyrics, plays piano and guitar and sings. She describes her art as a fusion of African rhythms with contemporary feminist lyrics, R’n’B vocals and rap. Since releasing her début single in June 2019, she has been played on radio multiple times. She has opened for Mercury Prize-nominated Kate Tempest and in October 2019 she was the first under 16 to be invited perform at BBC Music Introducing Live in London. She's currently balancing plans to release several professionally recorded singles during 2020 with studying for her GCSEs.