As part of our lockdown series, we caught up with the Magnus Bechmann to see how he’s coping…
Hey Magnus, how’s it going? For those who are not familiar with your work, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hey, guys! It’s going quite well, thanks! For sure! My name is Magnus, I’m 24 years old and live in Oslo. I like to write music that sounds kinda happy, but has kinda sad themes (lyrics wise). It’s been a couple of years since I released any music, so it feels really good to finally be back! Last time I wrote about being lonely, and now I write about awkwardness and un-pleasantries. Fun stuff. But I’m a happy boy, I promise!
Your new single ‘Uneasy’ is rich with guitar melodies and vibrant drumbeats. What was your creative process behind the track like?
I had a session with my producer, Erlend Mokkelbost, and after spending some time working on old demos we figured it would be fun to write something completely new! So Erlend just programmed some drums while I noodled on the guitar. After laying the main riff down, we called it a day and I took the new demo home for further exploration. At the time, I went through some rough stuff, so the lyrics came quite quickly. The rest is a secret.
The song explores the feelings of discomfort when caught up in unnecessary situations. Is this based on your own experiences?
Yeah, for sure! I usually write about things that happen to me, but keep my distance by elevating it to something bigger. By doing that, I think it’s easier for people to relate to the lyrics as well.
‘Uneasy’ is lifted from your forthcoming album, which will be released in two chapters this year. What can we expect from it?
The album is consisting of nine tracks, all with thematics of some sort of awkward or unpleasant situation that we all have to go through at some point in life. But even though the themes of the tunes are kind of unpleasant, (most of) the tunes are uplifting and fun! I hope. That’s the plan, at least.
The first part is set for release at the end of May, and the rest will be released just over the summer. And then the two parts will be put out on vinyl, which is kinda cool.
If you could collaborate with any artists, who would you choose?
I recently stumbled upon Alice Phoebe Lou, and have listened to her albums quite a lot. I really like her writing, so that would be cool.
Random Question, if you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
To be really specific, I would like to be Aunt Marge’s bulldog Ripper from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He’s the favorite of 12 dogs, and who doesn’t like to be the favorite? He is also really spoiled, being allowed to lick the plates after meals and drink brandy and tea and stuff. I know he’s an evil little sh*t, but who cares? Dogs are quite short-lived anyways. So why not be the meanest, most spoiled dog of them all and make the best of it?
What is the rest of the year looking like for you?
As of now, it seems like I have to stay inside for the most part (like everyone else in the entire world, it seems). But hopefully the Norwegian government will open up and give me (and us) the opportunity to play some shows soon! And if that happens, I would love to travel around Norway and do some kind of intimate tour. But time will show. But if that doesn’t happen, I will release the album, and hopefully people want to give it a listen.
