Begonia (aka Alexa Dirks) has released her new video for “The Light”. The clip was directed by Emma Higgins, Dirks says “she felt the emotion and saw my vision for the song right away.” The visual of Begonia singing in a store window surrounded by little dolls wearing white frilly dresses is one that Dirks says “encompassed the pure, ultra feminine ideals that women are told to take on from a very young age, juxtaposed with me, a woman that does not fit into those stereotypes, sticking out and singing amongst them.” Dirks and Higgins then took that idea a step further, making Begonia “the ‘creepy mother of the dolls’ going out for a night on the town with my pure, frilly, little, babies in tow.”

On the surface Dirks says “The Light”, is about “feeling like I’m over the casual dating and party culture that dominated my early 20s. In a deeper sense, it’s about growing up and coming to terms with what that growth and transition means to me as a woman. It also questions the expectations that are put upon women in general and how exhausting it can be to try and live up to them. We are told in many ways by many people to be some Hollywood version of gentle, to be more beautiful, to be soft but not too soft, to change our bodies but to be happy with the way they are, to be agreeable, to make ourselves desirable to the opposite sex and ultimately not to take up too much space while doing it. It’s all very confusing and frankly impossible to keep up with. I want to defy those ‘rules’ and I want to encourage others to do the same. I want to inspire women / people in general to take up as much space as they want while feeling empowered enough to be whoever they are in this very moment.”

Begonia’s current release The Light was Co-produced by Dirks with Marcus Paquin (Stars, The National), Matt Schellenberg (Royal Canoe), and Matt Peters (Royal Canoe), “The Light” is available to stream on all platforms. This week Begonia takes to the road with a full run of tour dates throughout Canada and the West Coast with Royal Canoe.

Begonia
Tour Dates

Sep 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Hi Hat
Sep 14 – San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall
Sep 16 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Sep 17 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
Sep 18 – Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret
Sep 20 – Calgary, AB @ Hi Fi Club
Sep 21 – Edmonton, AB @ Temple
Sep 22 – Saskatoon, SK @ Emmanuel Baptist Church
Sep 30 – New York, NY @ Rough Trade
Oct 3 – Ottawa, ON @ 27 Club
Oct 4 – Toronto, ON @ Baby G
Oct 5 – Toronto, ON @ Baby G
Oct 6 – Montreal, QC @ Bar L

W/ Royal Canoe