Having only released her first collection of music as Begonia last year, Chic Gamine vocalist Alexa Dirks is poised to see her solo project bloom early this year with the arrival of a new release. Titled Lady in Mind, Dirks's new effort will arrive next month.
A press release reads that the five-track Lady in Mind lets "the extremes of Dirks's past and present coalesce into a sound that is both battle hymn and breakbeat body mover, incorporating themes which are confident in and of themselves, and yet sometimes caught in the middle."
In a statement, Dirks herself had this to say: "Mostly, these songs are about love in different forms. Some of them stem from a pretty important and bad breakup, but they're not all about my relationships with men. They are about my relationship to myself as a woman and the others around me while I try to understand the joy, anger, and restlessness that fits into my life."
She continued: "It's like a second puberty, my body is changing, my mind is changing, and I know I'm not the only one who can relate to this journey. I want people to listen to this music and feel empowered. I especially want women who feel a little awkward and lost in their day to day life to feel like they are not alone."
Alongside the record's announcement, Dirks has shared "I Don't Wanna (Love U)," a song she describes as one about "not fully understanding how to let go of someone while also understanding that you can't and shouldn't have them in your life anymore."
"A few years ago Matt Schellenberg [Royal Canoe] sent me this sample idea he had been working on and we sat down and wrote the lyrics together," Dirks explained. "I was going through a messy breakup at the time and liked the idea of having more aggressive and emotional lyrics against such an upbeat production backdrop. It's basically the best I could do at writing a 'diss-track.' I'm not very good at confrontation, or 'diss-tracks.'"
Dirks has also detailed a short tour that will see her bring Lady in Mind through Saskatchewan, Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec from January to March. You can find a list of shows below.
Lady in Mind will arrive on February 10. Read through the tracklisting to find Dirks's upcoming tour dates and hear "I Don't Wanna (Love U)" in the player below.
Lady in Mind:
1. Juniper
2. Out Of My Head
3. Lady In Mind
4. Hot Dog Stand
5. I Don't Wanna (Love U)
Tour dates:
01/19 Regina, SK - Winterruption
01/20 Saskatoon, SK - Louis' Pub
02/06 London, ON - London Music Hall
02/07 Peterborough, ON - Red Dog
02/08 Montreal, QC - La Vitrola
02/09 Toronto, ON - The Drake
02/10 Hamilton, ON - Mills Hardware
02/12 Guelph, ON - Hillside Inside
03/03 Winnipeg, MB - West End Cultural Centre
A press release reads that the five-track Lady in Mind lets "the extremes of Dirks's past and present coalesce into a sound that is both battle hymn and breakbeat body mover, incorporating themes which are confident in and of themselves, and yet sometimes caught in the middle."
In a statement, Dirks herself had this to say: "Mostly, these songs are about love in different forms. Some of them stem from a pretty important and bad breakup, but they're not all about my relationships with men. They are about my relationship to myself as a woman and the others around me while I try to understand the joy, anger, and restlessness that fits into my life."
She continued: "It's like a second puberty, my body is changing, my mind is changing, and I know I'm not the only one who can relate to this journey. I want people to listen to this music and feel empowered. I especially want women who feel a little awkward and lost in their day to day life to feel like they are not alone."
Alongside the record's announcement, Dirks has shared "I Don't Wanna (Love U)," a song she describes as one about "not fully understanding how to let go of someone while also understanding that you can't and shouldn't have them in your life anymore."
"A few years ago Matt Schellenberg [Royal Canoe] sent me this sample idea he had been working on and we sat down and wrote the lyrics together," Dirks explained. "I was going through a messy breakup at the time and liked the idea of having more aggressive and emotional lyrics against such an upbeat production backdrop. It's basically the best I could do at writing a 'diss-track.' I'm not very good at confrontation, or 'diss-tracks.'"
Dirks has also detailed a short tour that will see her bring Lady in Mind through Saskatchewan, Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec from January to March. You can find a list of shows below.
Lady in Mind will arrive on February 10. Read through the tracklisting to find Dirks's upcoming tour dates and hear "I Don't Wanna (Love U)" in the player below.
Lady in Mind:
1. Juniper
2. Out Of My Head
3. Lady In Mind
4. Hot Dog Stand
5. I Don't Wanna (Love U)
Tour dates:
01/19 Regina, SK - Winterruption
01/20 Saskatoon, SK - Louis' Pub
02/06 London, ON - London Music Hall
02/07 Peterborough, ON - Red Dog
02/08 Montreal, QC - La Vitrola
02/09 Toronto, ON - The Drake
02/10 Hamilton, ON - Mills Hardware
02/12 Guelph, ON - Hillside Inside
03/03 Winnipeg, MB - West End Cultural Centre
