If David Lynch’s fever dreams and Hitchcock’s grainy paranoia fused genius on an Area 51 film, then you’d get queer pop group BHuman’s “Believe” music video. Paying tribute to Cher’s 90s smash hit “Believe,” BHuman’s cover puts their own shimmering electronic spin on the classic bop. Directed by Eli Schmidt, duo Billie Loyd and Harrison Scott are shaded in a mysterious black and white, invoking X-Files special agents that science fiction knows all too well. With flashes of elegant yet frightened bold eyes, reminiscent of _Psycho_’s Marion Crane, Loyd transforms into _The She - Creature_ before our eyes. Unlike the beings expected at Area 51, the She-Creature glows galaxies better than any living being, especially me at my best shot with a highlighter kit and an instagram makeup tutorial. Glazed in electric green and iridescent blue, BHuman revamps our favorite dance tune, while playing off the feeling of alienation and the need to _believe_ in the queer and trans community.
“Believe” follows BHuman’s self-titled debut EP, featuring singles “[Safe](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__open.spotify.com_track_0hzO7Nnyh18IRc8ZbkXgpK-3Fsi-3DEvmb-5F3nGQBatNuVMPz5evw&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=FMtTu9oC8vaQHaDXt7FKog&m=DoB77lJDHwcJDT04bVBdFWz1oFklDkdCYQIgml9zxmU&s=kYQms-OBY1NrlCuK0XVatr6dbjZgYxmqB4UciXbBa-A&e=)” and “[Goodbye](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.youtube.com_watch-3Fv-3DQhqhuNIr7tg&d=DwMFaQ&c=slrrB7dE8n7gBJbeO0g-IQ&r=FMtTu9oC8vaQHaDXt7FKog&m=DoB77lJDHwcJDT04bVBdFWz1oFklDkdCYQIgml9zxmU&s=qoe2Sg3XOUCAGcG5dJtHOTDfPfetxvfLKnwLxwDGmew&e=).” Over the phone, with Billie Loyd in London and Harrison Scott in Brooklyn, we chatted about our mutual obsession of David Lynch, how they make long distance work by writing each other love notes in the form of songs, how to stay authentic when writing pop tunes, and more!
Check out the Q&A below!
Photo by Eli Schmidt
**Where did your name come from?**
Billie Loyd: After some time of searching for a name, eventually we just sort of stumbled across this name and it just seemed to fit. It’s got the B and the H, for Billie and Harris. Also we just love the idea of, it’s cool to be human, be authentic, to dissuade the idea that we are all disconnected, and to encourage people to connect in the real world. I also love the element of “B” Human, like the next stage of evolution, the second human “B.” So it just works on a lot of levels.
**And talking about this new stage of humanity is really interesting, with your new music video for “Believe” in mind: The cover of “Believe” has a UFO, and is very dreamy, alien, David Lynch esque.**
Harrison Scott: Yas David Lynch! I’m obsessed with David Lynch. Oh my god, I’m looking at my DVD box set right now, it’s incredible. \[laughs\]
**Can you go into perhaps how aliens, UFOs reflect and amplify the meaning of your song “Believe”?**
BL: For us it was about which song we wanted to cover, and we were so obsessed with Cher, obviously. I mean who isn’t obsessed with Cher. I think the link of “Do you believe?” that sort of iconic phrase, sort of feeds into aliens and X-files references.
HS: We also wanted to push the idea too of queer visibility and especially trans visibility. We wanted to emphasize that these people are out there and we need to believe in them.
BL: Yea, and playing with the idea of transformation and “The Other” you know, classic horror movie monsters, the original “othered” creature.
**Going off the idea of feeling alien or being alienated, what is it like for you both when you feel outcasted or the other?**
BL: Growing up in a very small, conservative town, having to figure out what that means and what parts of yourself you can let out into the world, while still ensuring your safety and your survival. And constantly dealing with not being the same as everyone else.
HS: I think we are so spoiled now with the way that music is and the way that culture is shifting towards acceptance in the queer community, I always think, “man, these kids now are so lucky!” Kids are coming out younger and transitioning younger, so it’s not that we are there, we have a ton of progress to be made, but the amount of visibility that queer people have, especially queer musicians, is like, “I wish we had that when I was little!”
**So Billie lives in London and Harrison lives in Brooklyn, right? How did you both meet? And what has it been like making music together long distance?**
HS: \[laughs\] Yeah, it usually works! We met, because Billie came to New York, we were both putting out music, doing the solo thing, and performing at venues all over New York. So she actually was performing at a gay bar around the corner form my apartment, so I was like okay I’ll just go by myself, she seems super cool I love the music. And I went to this show by myself, and we spent like five hours that night just getting wasted, talking about all the shit we love, like Hillary Duff and High School Musical. We connected on such a level I’ve never connected with anyone.
BL: \[Laughs\] You’re going to make me cry Harrison! There was immediately between us this kind of very intense personality connection and also an artistic understanding of each other. So both of us were doing solo stuff, and then I took some time off from music. I think we both felt we had gotten as far as we could with our solo projects, and that we should start playing around together musically. So we worked on a track together for Harrison’s solo album launch, and that was kind of the first time we had ever really worked together. So we just kept doing it. At the beginning it was a thing that was very fun, and we were in the studio just making good music until we were like, hey, we actually have something here we should do something with.
**And how does the long distance work?**
HS: We just send each other love letters in the form of songs. So Billie will send herself on piano, just her voice, and I’ll take that keyboard/ vocals and add synths and drums, add my vocals, and send it back to her. We’ll sort of bounce tracks back and forth until we get them to a good place. It’s fun, it’s a very interesting way to work, because it gives each of us space to craft our own vision, but then they come together. Billie, I feel like you bring a really vulnerable lyrical quality, and I enhance that through the production. So it’s a good trade off.
**What advice do you have for artists in a long distance band?**
HS: I would say just finding a flow that works right for you. We started working on our first album together in New York and then Billie ended up moving back to London. So there’s definitely a period of, “Okay, how are we going to continue to do this?” So I think you need to find a style that works for you and focus on your strengths.
**With your upcoming BMovie EP, how did you guys find the happy medium between making catchy pop tunes, while also touching on important messages?**
BL: You just have to be constantly standing back and looking at your body of work and making sure that it’s doing everything that you want it to do. You just have to feel it, and know it in your bones that the balance is right, and allowing yourself to have enough fun. It’s a byproduct of our natural flow, so I write a lot of songs that are very dark and sad, and Harrison is really good at turning those songs into fun bops.
HS: Yes that is our balance, between making serious music that is adding something to the conversation. But I love to hide a dark, sad, somber Billie Loyd vocal with a fun tropical marimba beat. I think it’s such a fun confusing balance. Like, I want to dance but she seems really sad so I’m conflicted?
BL: Crying while dancing.
Follow BHuman on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/bhumanmusic/) and [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/bhumanband/) for more exciting projects to come!
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