Crate Digging With Begonia

What is Begonia listening to when she's not making music? To get a glimpse into her musical world, we joined Begonia at Sonic Boom in Toronto to find out.

Winnipeg singer-songwriter Alexa Dirks, known as Begonia, has made a name for herself with emotionally honest pop music, powerful vocals, and theatrical flair. Since her 2017 debut EP Lady in Mind, she has earned two JUNO Award nominations and two Polaris Music Prize nominations for her acclaimed albums Fear (2019) and Powder Blue (2023).

On Fantasy Life, Begonia pushes her sound further with ambitious vocals, bold pop production, and dramatic flair. It's a confident exploration of fantasy, vulnerability, and the messy emotions that exist somewhere in between.

Here's what she picked out and the stories behind her selections.

Mort Garson - Mother Earth's Plantasia

This record is something I've been turned onto over the last few years. It's one of the first all Moog records by Mort Garson, and it's made for plants. One of my favorite tracks is You Don't Have to Walk a Begonia because I'm Begonia.

I play this a lot at home because we recently acquired snails, who were actors in a film, and they seem to enjoy the record. Whenever we put this record on, it looks like they’re living thier best life.

Personally, I can put it on anytime, and it automatically calms me down, no words needed. I feel like I'm thinking about music and listening to it so much that every once in a while, I need a record like this to clear my palate and keep me grounded. It's one I can come back to every day and not get sick of, so it's become a staple in the house.

Nina Simone - Emergency Ward

This is a live album. It's not a long record, but it has some beautiful moments. One of my favorites is Isn't It a Pity. A local Winnipeg musician, Kevin Waters, turned me on to this track.

We were at the Times Change at three in the morning, after my high school reunion. I didn't really know where to go after that, and then I ended up at the bar talking with Kevin Waters about Nina. I was already a huge Nina Simone fan, but I'd never heard her cover of Isn't It a Pity. If you listen to that song when the lights are low, the bar is dim, and you just came from your high school reunion, you are gonna cry. You're gonna cry even if you didn't come from your high school reunion.

She emotes throughout the record, and you can hear her genuine sorrow and confusion about the world. She’s so talented at tapping into emotion so easily. The sorrow, humility, and pain is so clear. The first time I heard it, I realized singers don't have to sound perfect to be perfect, and she is an example of that.

Fiona Apple - Tidal

This was my introduction to angst as a teenager who mostly listened to Christian music, and Tidal introduced me to a whole new world. I remember memorizing all of her album lyrics as a young teen and feeling really connected to her music. This album tapped into a different kind of feeling I felt I was missing in my life at the time. I connected with her vocally in a way similar to Nina Simone. I love the perfect imperfection in her vocals.

I love how she builds her career and how honest she is. I didn't know that people could write songs like this and be so guttural and raw. Hearing her for the first time unleashed something in me as a songwriter, because she has such an emotive voice. She makes music and then turns it into activism. She’s doing good work for humanity and doesn't care to publicize it.

To learn more about Begonia, visit hellobegonia.com or explore Birthday Cake Records, the label behind her releases and home to a talented roster of Canadian artists.

To shop Begonia’s records and discover more vinyl, please visit Sonic Boom.