“Intricate instrumentation crashing into electronic flourishes, ambient sweeps” – Stereogum
“Absorbing soundscapes and shuddering beats… fragrant vocals” – Clash
“Combines the symphonic with the technology & musical currents of today” – Impose
Acclaimed Norwegian avant garde pop performance artist and stage actor Nils Bech reveals an alluring new video for the album single “Glimpse of Hope”. The track has been described as the sound of “soaring, operatic vocals with the sound of cutting edge club music”.
The video was directed by one of Oslo’s most revered artists, Ida Ekblad, whose artistic practices incorporates painting, sculpture, performance, filmmaking, music and poetry. Her bold and vibrant work, often characterized by the use of found materials is celebrated as a unique take on urban folk art.
Shot on location at the director’s home in Ekberg, Oslo, from dusk till dawn, the intriguing and playful video features 21 year old Norwegian fashion photographer and model Jakob Landvik. Ekblad describes the concept of the video as <<house>> and the elements that make up the film: “There is a household and time to be wasted. Playstation games, a glue-gun, lawn-mowing and ass-selfies, cigarettes, a robe, white wine, make-up, leg shaving, clear eyes and stockings”
The elegant use of natural light and movement within “Glimpse of Hope” is credited to the cinematographer Cecilie Semec, whose work has featured in the Venice Biennale and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
“Glimpse of Hope” follows the release of the theatrical video “Please Stay” earlier this Autumn, which featured a scene between Lady Anne and Richard, taken from Shakespeare’s’ tragedy ‘Richard III’, as performed at The National Theatre in Oslo earlier this year.
“I wanted to make an album where romantic harmonies meet hard beats, with sudden transitions between the painful and the beautiful. Just like love.” – Nils Bech
A favorite of the art world, Nils Bech has performed at such venerable venues and events as Venice Biennial, ICA (London), New Museum (New York) and the Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam). He has also featured in two plays at the Norwegian National Theater, most recently in Shakespeare’s Richard III; where he performed excerpts from his third album Echoout now on DFA Records.
Already a star at home, Echo is Bech’s first album with DFA. The album explores “echoes” of the people in his life over the past five years; their search for love, how love can deceive and destroy, but also be the key to everything. Sonically, the record infuses urban, contemporary dance music with hip hop roots – hard beats in juxtaposition to Bech’s vulnerable bass-baritone.
Echo is out now via DFA Records.
Musically Amusing 