Gay&Night November 2016

Interview / Nils Bech
Norwegian artist Nils Bech (35) just released Echo, his fourth
album. The record is a departure for Bech, whose musical style
is best described as that of a young Patrick Wolf meets Klaus
Nomi meets Arca. “I want to dare to be amboyant.”
Your musical style is very hard to pinpoint. What
genre did you lean to for this album?
“For this album I looked to classical music. I used
to do classical music as a kid; I was a boy soprano.
For a lot of the songs I really wanted to test my
vocal range, which is why I’m often singing in a
high falsetto voice. I’ve used some falsetto on my
previous albums, but not that much, so I really
wanted to explore.”
Which artists do you look to for inspiration?
“Of course I love Arca and Björk. But I don’t listen
to music that much, so I don’t really look there
for inspiration. When I listen to music it’s mostly
when someone asks me to do a cover version of a
song, for an exhibition opening or a performance.
That’s how I discovered a lot of great artists,
like The Smiths, Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac and
more of that old stuff. But for pure enjoyment I
love listening to R&B. I really love Frank Ocean,
Beyoncé, Rihanna and all that. That’s why I ended
up working closely with [album co-producer - ed.]
Drippin’. I wanted to have a sort of R&B/club vibe
to my new album.”
How did your classical background and Drippin’s
club background nd a connection in the studio?
“It went surprisingly well. He normally works
with rappers, so it was really interesting to see
that we had a very similar taste when it came to
sound and what the synths should sound like.
But it’s also important for me to mention Øyvind
Mathisen. He’s a pianist and producer, and he
was a huge part of the project, working out all
the harmonies and helping us to make it sound
much more classical and grand. Drippin’ mainly
focused on the beats and hooks. I was working on
the melodies and lyrics and Øyvind did the rest
of the arrangements. On the album I also worked
with the composer Julian Skar for the last song “A
Sudden Sickness” and the composer Ole Henrik
Moe did a lot of the string arrangements.”
So apart from your falsetto voice, your general
appearance is quite feminine. In the gay scene
there’s a lot of prejudice against gay men who are
not masculine…
[laughs] “That’s for sure!”
Was it hard for you to grow up as a feminine boy?
“Yes, of course. I’m from a tiny, tiny little town. I
know it sounds like a joke, but I was literally the
only gay in the village. Even when I started going
to high school, and moved to the city, there was
nobody in my class who was gay. Maybe one guy
was said to be bisexual, but that’s it.
As a boy I had started singing as a soprano, I did
ballet and was interested in other less masculine
stuff. For many years people called me gay, even
before I knew what ‘gay’ meant, and I got teased a
lot for being feminine.
One day I saw a porn magazine, and it was like
a switch was ipped in my brain. I remember
thinking in that moment: this is the real deal, I
really like guys.”
So do you ever try to tone down your femininity?
“No! When I dance on stage, I dance in a
completely different way than I do at a club or in
my living room. My movements are more gracious,
more feminine you could say, or lyrical as I would
call it. I really want to push it a bit and dare to be
amboyant. I think it’s something people need to
see, and be confronted with. I was so surprised
that even in the gay community they can still
judge you for being feminine, or use it against you.
I remember having dinner with a group of
friends in my early twenties who are all gay. I
told one of them that the rst time I met him, I
never suspected he was gay, and he thanked me.
I realized that it’s a compliment to be seen as
straight, because it’s an ideal. It’s so sad.”
Do you still experience prejudice about your
femininity as an adult?
“A lot changed when I became a bit more famous,
to be honest. It sounds a bit silly, but suddenly
people were admiring me for what I was doing and
making. They saw that this feminine side of me
was part of my identity. I turned it into a quality,
or a strength, instead of something to be judged
about. Of course sometimes people comment on it
when I’m in a club. But it doesn’t offend me. I just
think it’s really sad that people are still like that.
I think it says something about that person’s self
esteem, insecure men that are frightened by
femininity, because it challenges the way they see
their own masculinity. If you’re insecure about
your own manliness, it can provoke you.”
224
021