Young Dreams

We’re heading to Bergen, Norway to track down the latest of our selections for The Line of Best Fit’s ‘Ones To Watch 2012′. Bergen is home to a thriving music scene. The most recognisable name to hail from these parts would probably be that of Kings of Convenience, and Sondre Lerche is from around here too – perhaps there’s something in the water surrounding this scenic city that helps aspiring musicians on their way to creating harmonious musical magic. The music made by our next selection Young Dreams most certainly falls into this category. Having recently been signed by Modular People, this dynamic 12 piece are proving themselves to be one of Norway’s most exciting and inviting musical prospects for the new year.

So what kind of music are we talking about here? Well, it’s hard to pin down. Young Dreams describe their style as “fusing Tropicália, psychedelic rock, classical, symphonic arrangements and traditional pop recalling the classic sounds of Brian Wilson and Phil Spector.” It’s a pretty fitting description, and goes a long way in defining the genre busting stylistics that have made us so eager to follow the progress of this group. What we’ve come to love about Young Dreams, having tracked pretty much their every movement over the past year, is the pop grandeur, the epic orchestrations, the lush layering and the absorbing vocals of their music. A hundred elements are poured into each song, but each track retains a serene sentiment and a simple statement. With a debut album due to drop in the new year, we highly recommend that you keep a very close eye on this lot. We certainly will be.
– Francine Gorman

The band’s Matias Tellez and Rune Vandaskog talk to The Line of Best Fit about what’s coming up for Young Dreams in 2012, and tell us to expect “ear, brain and spiritual candy” from their debut album. We’re not entirely sure what that means, but we’re excited to find out.

Can you tell us a little bit about Young Dreams – who are you and where did you meet? What do Young Dreams sound like, for someone that has never heard your music before?

We are a band from Bergen, Norway. We kind of met each other all around Bergen. Some have known each other for eight years, some for one year. And two have know each other their whole life. Big sound with a lot of musical details.

Can you tell us a little about the music scene that you hail from? Do you feel that Bergen has a good, healthy music scene?

The music scene is quite big when you think of the amount of people that live here. And people are open and including. Everyone knows everyone and everyone wants to help everyone. Probably because of the size of the city. But also because it has a music tradition and art history that goes way back. Also since the city is so small everyone knows what the others are up to and if they make something really good, it makes you want to make something that is better and the other way around. So it’s like a healthy competition where there is pushing and pulling.

Which artists, or what in general has the biggest influence over the music that Young Dreams creates?

People who have crossed boundaries. And have had ambitions of making something more, not just inside the frame of their time but “something more”. And people who have drained and used their brains for what they’re worth. Composers like Igor Stravinsky, Edvard Grieg, Juan Garcia Esquivel and Brian Wilson.

What musical backgrounds do you have and what do these backgrounds add to the sound of Young Dreams?

We are a lot of people and the youngest one is 20 and the oldest is 32 so we have all grown up in different musical times and trends. Some have a classical background, some have learnt to play the guitar at the local music school and some developed their music skills with the computer in their bedroom. All these different backgrounds form the instrumentation and the sound that we have.

As a collective featuring 12 musicians, how does the dynamic of the group work?

The music is written by Matias. Usually he gets the band members into the studio one by one for recording sessions and then he kind of puts it all together afterwards. When that is done Matias brings the sessions up to Njål’s studio (the one with the computer in the bedroom background) and they record the synthesizers. He has a lot of nice vintage gear. Then the song is sent to either the one who is going to sing the song or to one of our lyricists for lyrics to be written. Then the vocals are recorded and the track is done.

Congratulations on your recent signature to Modular People – what can you tell us about how the label found you?

The same week we uploaded our songs up on our BandPage we got booked to play a party in Oslo, hosted by the Norwegian blog Smug. They also had this band called The Swiss playing who are signed to Modular as well. They really liked our concert which was three songs long. When they got home to Australia, they said to Modular that they really had to check us out. The week after we got a mail from them.

Can you sum up 2011 for Young Dreams? Did you achieve everything that you wanted to?

2011 has been great. We had our one year anniversary as a band, we played a lot of great festivals in Norway, we played with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, toured Europe and signed to Modular. I guess you can say it was a good year.

What should we look forward to on an album from Young Dreams?

Ear, brain and spiritual candy.

What are your ambitions for 2012?

Play around the world and reach as many people as possible. Record a new album. Have fun. Afford to pay bills.

What are your plans for the new year?

Tour Scandinavia, UK, Europe, USA and hopefully Australia by the end of the year. Release a couple of singles and our debut album!

Are there any records you’re looking forward to hearing in 2012?

Put Your Hands Up For Neo-Tokyo’s debut album, Chris Holm’s debut album, Matias Tellez’s third album, High Llama’ if they are releasing something, Flaming Lips.

If you had to offer one piece of advice for next year, what would it be?

Take care of your ears, brains and souls.