Ber
Ber only made her debut a few months ago, but the industry gem has most certainly hit the ground running. She’s released two songs, “Bad For Me” and a demo of her song “Worrying” (“Worrying - Demo”), garnering almost 60,000 monthly listeners in the process. Additionally, she’s managed to accomplish the impressive feat of landing spots on not one, but two of the most sought after Spotify-curated playlists: All New Indie and Fresh Finds: Pop. Hailing from an impressive friend group of fellow indie/indie pop artists, one thing fans can be sure to receive is more music from Ber, especially with a support system like that. We recently spoke to the epitome of a rising star about why she decided to make her Spotify debut in 2021, the inspirations behind her career and some of her songs, and more!
Ber! Thanks so much for speaking with us – Tell us a little bit about yourself! How did you get started making music?
Thank you so much for having me! Actually, this might be too much information, but I found out I could sing when I was five and had surgery to have my tonsils and adenoids removed. Ever since then I grew up in dance, theatre, and show choir, and had lots of instrument lessons when I was a kid (piano, cello, guitar). It’s always been the biggest part of my life, and I had a few fun projects before, but I really didn’t start writing for myself until my second year of university in England, where I met some of my favorite collaborators and started to explore songwriting.
You only made your streaming debut a few months ago! What made 2021 the year to start releasing your songs?
If I’m honest, I was really just ready to get some of these demos off of my computer. I think like most people, I had the most mentally challenging year of my life, which left me feeling really lonely and contemplative but also inspired some really creative and honest work, and I accidentally fell into a collection of songs that I wrote over zoom with my best friends. I really love these songs, and for the first time since I started writing I really just wanted people to hear them.
That being said, both tracks are absolutely stellar. “Bad For Me” was the song that we first heard, can you walk us through the inspiration for the tune?
Wahhh thank you so much! “Bad For Me” still makes me cry when I listen or sing it because it’s very personal for me. I wrote that out of nothing other than love for something that eventually was out of my control. It’s about how easy it is to feel addicted to someone to the point where it hurts you! (And recognizing that it’s not at all healthy even though you wish it was).
What’s your favorite thing about making music?
Music has introduced me to my best friends! I could talk about them for hours. Also writing is very therapeutic for me. I think that people say this all of the time, but my collaborators are some of my closest friends, and connecting with people through stories and words is so validating and has really brought me close to so many incredible people.
What is the one Ber lyric that best describes your life right now?
“My therapist told me that I think too much, and I’m still thinking about that” HA!
Say you’re in charge of a musical festival. Which three artists are you choosing to headline the event?
Oh Oh, don’t do this to me. I’ve actually never been to a music festival.
Harry Styles, Lennon Stella, and the Jonas Brothers (ca 2008 camp rock era) final answer. But Harry would bring on Stevie Nicks and they’d do a crazy rendition of Dreams and I’d probably melt into the field. I mean can you imagine.
Has there been a moment over the past year that still feels surreal to you?
I remember the day I woke up to 15k followers on TikTok… I’ve never been in a room with that many people and I can’t even imagine what that looks like. That was surreal and is surreal every day.
Can you pinpoint one song that inspired you to start creating music yourself?
My mom will be mad if I answered this with anything other than “True” by the Spandeau Ballet… I know that saxophone solo off heart. But really it’s gotta be High Five by Sigrid. That song came out around the time I started writing and I used it as a reference in every session.
What are some of your favorite hobbies to do outside of the studio?
I am actually bilingual (I speak Norwegian as well) and love traveling, but since the world stopped, I’ve leaned into binging Star Wars, illustrating lyric videos, overthinking, and trying every new vegan ice cream flavor. I also went through a baking phase during lockdown, but who didn’t?
We’ve all had quite the past year. What do you feel has been the most important thing you’ve learned during this time?
This year I’ve been trying to learn how to enjoy my own company and put less pressure on myself. I haven’t figured it out yet but I’m trying!
Just looking through your IG, you often share voice memos of your unreleased music. Our question is: when are these dropping?
Haha, probably never. Or maybe tomorrow. I’m pretty indecisive and just like sharing ideas/ pieces of my brain with people, I like how personal voice memos feel and always love hearing the original moments verses or songs were written. But oh boy there are so many voice memos on my phone I think the app is about to crash. To answer your question I have no idea.
Lastly, who do you owe your biggest thanks to?
My managers Steve and Jake, my parents, my friends Brandon and Bliss, and my uncle (for letting me live and write songs in his basement)