Gay&Night November 2016

223
/ INTERVIEW
Male musicians are often expected not to be so
emotional in their music. Is it safe to say that for
you it’s not so hard to write personal lyrics and
show an intimate side?
“I nd it liberating and powerful. When I write
about my own life, it’s always about experiences
that I’ve worked through. It’s a nice way for me to
address those emotions. When I started working
on the new album I thought to myself: what have
I been dealing with these past couple of years?
When I start writing about emotions I’m already in
the process of healing or understanding them. So
by the time the album comes out I’m kind of done
with it. On this album I’ve mostly written about
things around me that I strongly relate to. That’s
why it’s called Echo.”
Can you elaborate?
“It’s like an echo of things that have happened in
the past, or things I’ve seen among my friends that
I’ve also gone through myself. For example: on
the song “Waiting’ I ask ‘Can’t I be loved?” and it’s
inspired by who I was in my twenties. But it’s also
something I have seen around me in all kinds of
people.
Whenever artists write songs about past
relationships, I’m always curious if their ex has
heard the material. What is your experience?
“My previous album, One Year, is about the
relationship I’m still in. And of course I’ve talked
with my boyfriend about how to present it. He
said I could present it in any way, shape or form I
wanted, but if I quoted anything he had said, he
wanted to know about it, to see if we had the same
recollection of what happened.” And he loves the
album, I think…
The last two songs on your new album are rerecordings
of songs you’ve released before. Why did
you decide to do that?
“They’re really personal to me. To continue the
theme of the album, I felt that they were echoes of
really crucial points in my own love life. I’ve been
together with my boyfriend for ve years now, but
during the rst years it nearly fell apart because
I was so jealous. It’s an emotion that was such a
huge part of the rst two years of our relationship.
When I decided I wanted to include echoes of my
own love life, it was very natural to re-record
“Jealousy” and “A Sudden Sickness” for this album.
The latter was really eye-opening for me when I
turned thirty and realized I can’t keep looking for
love in all people. I just really wanted someone to
love me so badly, that I didn’t really consider if I
was really in love with them.”
Did you change a lot since you rst recorded those
songs?
“I feel much more secure now, after I went to a
great therapist.”
Because your songs are so personal, is it difficult
for you to perform them live?
“I don’t nd it difficult, because I like revisiting
those emotions. Even though I’m not in the same
place I was when I wrote them, I think I can still
perform them and make it meaningful. It takes me
a lot of energy to build up to a performance. I start
going back to those feelings and emotions days
in advance. My boyfriend always says he notices
that I distance myself a bit. But it’s a good thing,
because revisiting something that has happened in
my past makes me happy with who I am now. It’s
like watching a movie: sometimes it’s good to see a
sad movie when you’re in a good place. But if you’re
in a bad place, maybe you should watch something
else.”
So would you say it’s therapeutic for you?
“I think it’s a good way to remind myself to not go
backwards. It reminds me of who I don’t want to
be. So yes, I guess that’s therapeutic, in a way.”
You’re no stranger to The Netherlands; you’ve
worked with the Nederlands Dans Theater for
your Shame video; could you tell me about that
collaboration?
“A close friend of mine, Silas Henriksen, danced
at the NDT for ve years. He co-directed my video
for ‘When you looked at me’, in which he dances
naked. He told me he loved Shame, and asked me if
he could do something with it. I was immediately
enthusiastic, because he’s such an amazing dancer.
He asked all the dancers of the NDT to participate,
and we lmed it in Amsterdam.
I’ve also performed at the Van Gogh Museum last
year, and at the Witte de With in Rotterdam. For
some reason I’ve been to The Netherlands a lot. I
would love to come there for some real concerts,
but it’s not planned. Maybe not that many people
know who I am yet, but hopefully that will change
with this album.”
Nils Bech was born in Hønefoss in Southern
Norway in 1981. Echo is his fourth studio album. He
lives in Oslo.
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