Great News vive el momento y escribe glaze-pop para probarlo
En estos tiempos de incertidumbre, el pop es necesario para sobrevivir. Great News, trío de glaze pop, originario de Bergen, Noruega, es muestra que la honestidad lleva a una felicidad innegable.
Platicamos con Even Kjelby, compositor y vocalista, acerca de los inicios de la banda, de cómo un rompimiento amoroso fue el catalizador para su nuevo disco y cuál es la mejor manera para identificar si una canción vale la pena.
Aquí les dejamos la entrevista, en su idioma original.
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How did this project come about?
Even: I’ve been playing with a lot of bands for a very long time. Either by playing the drums or just being in the background. I guess my ego took over (laughs). I had a vision of creating, be really shameless actually, when it comes to copying my references and creating the music I want to. I got tired of doing something for somebody else.
How long has the project been alive?
E: I write the lyrics, and produce them too. We got together, Ole and Lars, put their footprint on it. We’ve been playing together since 2015. That’s when it really started to manifest into something real, I guess.
You can put a nametag on it.
B: Yeah, and from there we rehearsed for almost a year. We played our first show late 2016.
I want to talk about growth between your first release, Wonderfault, the new album, New and Then, released last April. What does it mean to you? What was the starting point for this new project?
B: For me, it’s so important. The first album is always difficult, but I think we are going into the right direction with this second one. It is a bit minimalistic. The lyrics have come such a long way from the first album. It’s just more grown up, it’s not as nerdy. I love the first one though. The second one is just real, it’s just me. Only thing that’s sad is that we released it in April.
With this release, what was in store for it?
B: The plan was to tour as much as possible. That ain’t going to happen.
How has this whole stopping scenario affected you? Mood-wise? Planning your next step? Reconnecting with fans under these circumstances?
B: Being in the music business has changed so much. I don’t know where to start. My mood is a little affected by the fact that we released the best album, I’m so happy with it. I’m a bit sad about it, but I’m so afraid that when things go back to normal the album would be too old to be able to tour, and we have to throw it out the window. But I know it’s the same for everyone. I needed to get a job for the first time in five years, I’m no longer living off of music. I’m driving around Bergen, collecting city bikes.
Can you thrive there or do you have to move to Oslo?
B: It’s really good to do music in Norway, especially in Bergen because it is a small town and everybody knows each other and helps each other. Bergen is the way out of the country. It’s much more interesting for me. I want to go out in the world, with music.
What’s there to do in Bergen? How much of a fanbase can you build there and translate to the entire country?
B: It’s big enough. Here you can do really well here. Norway doesn’t start to care for you unless somebody else abroad starts to care about you. If you get nice blogs from the US, Latin America, Germany, then people open their eyes and start paying attention, this must be good. It’s like they can’t decide for themselves. We have our fans in Norway, we love them and appreciate them.
What’s the least expected influence that this album has?
B: The first two chords of TV is inspired from ABBA’s Lay All Your Love On Me. I’m a huge fan.
Favourite song on this album? What was the writing process for it?
B: Someone Good. Basically improvised the whole song. One take. The theme of that song came naturally to me. When that happens, that’s my favourite way of writing. If you just get in the mood and sing, and don’t worry about the rhyming or if it’s melodic, it’s all about the meaning and what you want to say. Those are the best ones to me. I surprised myself when I heard it. If you really feel something, press record and sing it. If it sits, it’s a good song.
Was it hard to write the album?
B: The whole album it’s me writing about breaking up with my girlfriend at the time. Everything just wrote itself, kind of. It’s the most easy thing to write about, when you’re heartbroken. That’s when I work best. It’s weird, but it’s true.
Daze-pop. How did you decide it was the right term to define the band?
B: I’m a huge Kurt Ville fan. It’s pop, at it’s very core. It has guitars on it, so you have to call it pop-rock. Pop today is Billie Eilish. Daze sounds cooler than pop-rock.
Writing and putting out music is such a vulnerable situation. What made you want to share it with somebody else?
B: The first time I wrote a song and showed it to people, it felt so good. It’s kind of like a self realizing experience. I’m not pretentious. If I made something that sounds like clown shit, then that’s ok. I’m not going to be sad about it. As long as it means something to me, I’m happy. The music I make, I always show it to my closest friends. And if other people like it, that’s a bonus. If my friends dig it, then I’m happy. Maybe because, when we were younger, that’s what we did. Just hang and make beats, show it to each other. I still do that.
When I have new material, I send it to them and hear what they have to say. I don’t make a song thinking that it’s going to be a hit. I keep it simple.
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El nuevo sencillo Reality Show se encuentra en plataformas.
Gracias a Mariana Dorantes por hacer realidad esta entrevista.
