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 “Je Suis Bebe,” a cheeky manifesto of the singer’s flirty, campy persona narrated through over a dozen playful costumes. The dance pop artist came up in San Francisco’s drag scene, where she was once a mainstay at the historic gay bar Aunt Charlie’s 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 “Je Suis Bebe” video, she’s 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 sunglasses—often 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.
