Photographer: Winston Sussens

Assistant: Mateusz Theo Frolenko

With Hard Gloss, Beks is done with playing it safe. The Australian-born, London-based pop provocateur makes a fierce statement on her debut EP, blending club-ready bangers with raw lyricism and unfiltered emotion. Speaking exclusively to FAULT Magazine, Beks opens up about leaving behind writing camps, shedding creative filters, and stepping into her most confident, empowered self yet.

FAULT Magazine: What did stepping away from writing camps and taking full creative control of this project teach you about your own voice as an artist?

Beks: My goal is to make confident music. I set out to make this EP without compromise, without lyrical negotiation or bending the sound to follow what’s trending. It was a risk, a leap of faith I had to take to find that confidence in myself and in my ability to create an EP that I would want to listen to over and over and over. Collaboration will always be a big part of my music, but personally, this solo project was important for my own identity.

FAULT Magazine: What were the most challenging and most liberating parts of that experience?

Beks: Having written songs for a lot of other artists’ projects, I’ve become conditioned to work as a writer in a somewhat diplomatic way. However, when it’s all your own work, there’s nowhere to hide. That was both challenging and liberating. I had the freedom to fully indulge my imagination, using lyrics to paint an abstract visual to tell my stories, but no one to validate those ideas.

FAULT Magazine: What inspired the title Hard Gloss?

Beks: Hard Gloss is being two things at once. The “hard” being the grind, the grit, the hustle—and the “gloss” being the glamour, the glitz, the IT girls and shiny top coat.

FAULT Magazine: How do you strike that balance between emotional honesty and the glossy aesthetic your music embraces?

Beks: I bring depth to my work, but my work shows my vulnerability. I balance this by delivering my message with conviction and strength on stage. I use fashion as my armour, so when you see me in an oversized jacket and a blowout to the roof, just know I’ve said too much.

FAULT Magazine: What inspired “Who You Kidding”?

Beks: The lyrics speak to an inner confidence—that even in a moment of setback, what’s meant to be yours is going to come back to you.

FAULT Magazine: You’ve said this project is about dropping creative filters. Looking back now, what were some of the biggest filters you had to let go of consciously, and what happened when you did?

Beks: You can see that this EP is distinctly different in sound from anything else I’ve released. I think it’s different because I really focused on making songs for myself, making music that I really want to listen to, instead of what was trending.

FAULT Magazine: How has making this EP shaped what’s next for you musically, and what can we expect from your debut album when it comes?

Beks: Now that I’ve found my autonomous creativity through this EP, I’m excited to bring that energy and confidence back into a collaborative environment—not just in the studio, but also live. I like to think of my fans as collaborators in a way. How they react to new songs on tour provides me with amazing feedback, helps drive my decisions as to what to release next. There’s nothing more exciting than writing, producing, and performing a song and seeing my fans singing the words and sharing in the joy of this journey with me.

FAULT Magazine: Queer joy and queer pain often coexist in pop music. Do you feel a responsibility to reflect both in your work, and how do you decide which side of the spectrum to lean into for a particular track?

Beks: I agree, queer joy and queer pain coexist in pop music, as they do in real life. Track 4, “I Knew A Girl,” is a perfect example of that. It’s a song about a girl who I caught sleeping with my boyfriend. What I set out to do was get revenge on him, but where it led was actually to the potential of pursuing her.

FAULT Magazine: What is your FAULT?

Beks: Perhaps my biggest fault is my tendency to normalise my life experiences. I’m starting to learn that not everyone is as open or willing to share the intimate details of their lives as I am. Despite this, sharing my stories, guts and all, has also been key to unlocking some incredible friendships.