Interview: Introducing Bellman & His Nordic Dream-Pop Single “Getaway”

 

You could, and I will, make the case that one of the finest pieces of dream-pop released in the past ten years is Beach House’s “Norway.” The Scandinavian country full of its natural wonders and fjords can’t help but engender hazy feelings of nostalgia, so it’s no big leap to imagine a native musician would spring up with these aesthetics.

Enter Bellman, aka Arne-Johan Rauan, who just released an expansive, whirring new single, “Getaway.” The single also comes paired with a transportive video that will have you looking up plane tickets to Viking country.

To help get to know Bellman better, we sent over some interview questions to go along with “Getaway.” Check it all out below and be sure to follow him here for more.

Hi, Bellman! Congrats on “Getaway.” Can you tell us a little more about who you are and how you first started out as a musician?

Thanks! I’m a simple but troubled soul from a small town called Larvik, situated in the south of Norway. I formed my first band when I was about 14, which effectively ended my very promising athletic career. But I haven’t looked back since. After a few years in various bands, I started writing music for my Bellman project, which has up until now resulted in 4 studio albums, and taken me on tour to far corners of the world.

Over the last two years, I’ve toured 12 countries with sold out shows in Japan, China, South Korea, UK, and Russia. I just played Moscow a few weeks ago and was surprised to find thousands of fans coming out to see me. It’s those experiences that make all the hard work worthwhile and leave me extremely grateful.

What’s your songwriting process like? Who are some of your biggest influences?

I usually start by browsing through my rather extensive collection of recorded pieces of ideas I store on my phone. I pick one or two to continue working on, and they might become part of a chorus, verse, or maybe just a small piece of lyric or melody.

I often find inspiration from music, books I’ve read, or movies. But surprisingly, I often get ideas when music is on a very low volume in the background. Suddenly I think I hear a melody, which isn’t really there, but my subconsciousness picks it up. This is how many of my hooks have been born.

When I’m putting the song together, I try to build it like you would sculpt a sculpture. I have a unique form of synesthesia, meaning I see music as structures, and therefore I will try to make this 3D form with multiple layers of sound.

What are some of the larger themes at play on ”Getaway” or the album? What sort of headspace where you in when writing it?

The grand master plan behind “Getaway” and the rest of the album is to explore the meaning of Morphology. Morphology means “the study of how things fit together.” It may refer to many different disciplines, but on this album, I have taken on the morphology of lyrics and melodies. So, I have studied the interactions and explored what happens when one changes small musical or lyrical elements of a whole, like parts of or a full song.

In addition to this, I also wanted to combine my previous acoustic expression, with a bit more electronic elements. It opened a whole new world to me, although I think you will definitely find a common thread to my earlier albums. All this – mixed with my melancholic, twisted mind – and you’ll get the album Morphology.

If money were no object, what would your dream live performance look like?

In Norway, we have a famous mountain cliff called Preikestolen, which has a massive 604-meter vertical drop straight down a fjord. It would be amazing to arrange a full concert up there, where the audience would have to hike for 2-3 hours to attend. You can’t find a more beautiful backdrop!

Any artists you are loving these days you could turn our readers on to?

Twin Peaks is a recent discovery of mine. The Chicago-based quintet plays a nice mix of high-impact garage rock and nuanced indie-pop. Really rubs me the right way! Smidley is another rather new artist to me. Deserves more attention. Gitar-driven indie pop at its finest. And Candy Claws is a favorite these days. Trippy, dreamy and beautiful pop from Fort Collins, USA. Cigarettes After Sex have been around for a while, but haven’t reached my ears until very recently. Beautiful, laid-back dream-pop with a crooner twist.

Where can we follow you and any shows coming up?

At the moment we are booking our fall dates, and they will be announced consecutively on my webpage, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (www.bellmanmusic.com / @bellmanmusic). We are currently working on tours in Russia, Japan and maybe Korea. Hopefully some dates in the US soon also!

Any parting thoughts? Open platform!

I would like to thank everyone who buys and listens to my music! And I want to encourage all you music-loving people out there to support your favorite band/artist. Buy the album, stream and go to the shows. It truly makes a difference and will help the musicians to continue making the music you love to listen to.

Stay in touch with Bellman: FACEBOOK | WEBSITE