Singled Out: Simon Richards' Bee Bopping to My Life

"Bee Bopping to My Life" is a fun, upbeat summer song but has an underlying message in essence: Live your life to your own rhythm and to your own beat. The song reflects what happens to many of us walking through life and coming across so many perplexing situations that we never really seem to fully understand.

The song in its inception had a slow jazz tempo. When I sat dawn at the piano and started composing the song it already had a reggae flavor because of the rhythmic phrasing. When bringing it into rehearsal one day and speaking with my musical director, Alejandro Devries, we decided that if we increased the tempo of the song it would become a more upbeat reggae song. We introduced the string guitars and a brass section, while leaving the piano arrangements to one side and it allowed the song to come full circle.

I think "Bee Bopping To My Life" fits perfectly into my album, Kaleidoscope Worlds, because it allows the audience to see the full scope of the versatility within my composition and vocal range. It allows me to flow from one style to another without losing the essence of the album