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Photo by Daniela Shella 

On the eve of her debut album release, Good, Like It Should Be, we had the privilege of chatting with Minnesota-based artist Ber. We hear of the moments between the highs and lows, the feeling of jumping in a Minnesota lake, the perfect date in London, and the true blue that this album evokes. 

OnesToWatch: How has Ber been doing?  

Ber: Hi!! I’m good! been very very busy as I gear up to release this album, lots of tour planning and spreadsheets and travel, but I’m still managing to find some time with friends! Really enjoying this window of life, it feels like the calm before the storm, except instead of calm it’s hectic and stressful and wonderful all the same. I’ve not experienced anything like this before! 

Have things been good like they should be? 

Haha, I’d say so! I’m very in love, and I’m doing my best to soak all of the good bits in. Music is a wild industry, I don’t have to tell you that, the highs are highs and the lows are low. But the highs have been particularly high recently, and for that I am very grateful!

But really, what's your debut album all about? 

The album as a whole is about me learning to just get out of my own way and let things come as they may! Theres songs about crushes, about leaving home, about heartache and longing to be wanted and to fall in love.. and to even my surprise, theres a whole lotta love songs. But those love songs exist purely to challenge my own instincts, and to remind me to let a good thing be good for once and not sabotage it because it’s scary! 

Any collaborators? Who produced the album? 

Yes, many! I’m so lucky to have worked with so many friends on the album. Rob Milton produced two of the tracks on the record, “Cool, Boy” and “Smooth Ride,” Benjamin Francis Leftwich also contributed to Smooth Ride. We wrote that song the day we all met many years ago, which is wild to reflect on. Rob is one of my favorite producers, not only am I such a fan of his work but also of him as a friend, I really trust him. He always pushes and stretches my writing in ways I’d never imagine on my own, and I feel so lucky to have his influence and charisma baked into the album. 

The other 10 tracks were produced in my friend Brad’s (Brad Hale of Now Now) Minneapolis basement, over a fun and long year of me living with him as well. Brad knows me better than I often know myself. Austin Ward joined us for a weekend away in rural Wisconsin where we finished the album and wrote ‘Hey, Bluebird’, ‘Forget Me Not’, ‘Give It All Away’ and ‘Good, Like It Should Be’, which really tied up all of the strings and contextualised the rest of the album. That trip and those two were very pivotal for the record and helped me settle into my own thoughts and stories and skin. 

I also was really lucky to have so many artist friends join me in sessions and lend their brains… Katelyn Tarver, Martin Luke Brown, St Luna and Jamie Clarke (The Man The Myth The Meatslab) cowrote Bend, Who’s This and Wish You Were Here, respectfully. Truly I am just so lucky to have such wonderful friends in them all, and I think about them every time I hear these songs. And last but not least, Dan McDougall, who I’ve known since day one of Ber, penned ‘Next To Me’ (which is a sneaky favorite of mine) with me last year, we’ve been writing together forever and I am very happy to have a piece of him in my debut album. 

How do you feel your sound has evolved or changed since your first singles? 

I think with my first EP, I was really throwing things at the wall and trying to figure out what sticks, what I like, who I was! It was all so new and pure for me. I love those songs and I have a lot of grace and empathy for the version of me that wrote them. With my second EP, I think I was trying to be really cool and really over something I just wasn’t over, so there was some angst to swim around in that I’m glad to have shed since, but it was super fun and true to myself at the time. 2 EP’s later and now with a full record under my belt, this record almost feels like a return to some of that original honesty, but a bit more self-assured now. I feel like I’m not running away from myself anymore, and I’ve leaned into my folk and Americana roots much more here, which to be honest was something I really avoided at the start! And I’m not just heartbroken… I have so much more to sing about. Theres also some just like unashamedly pop tropes in the production; which again we didn’t shy away from because I finally was less scared to claim them. And I think that worked out for the best, but I’m biased. I’m super proud of this record and where it landed. 

Describe your music as color / activity / place! 

To me this album is a very deep, true blue as a whole. It always has been, throughout the entire process. 

If it were an activity I’d say its like, the musical equivalent to going for a swim in a cold lake in Northern Minnesota, then getting out and feeling the sun dry your skin and your arm hairs stand up a bit while the sun shines in your eyes. The sun sort of buzz’s in your ear and is too bright so you squint, and you’re cold and warm at the same time. That’s how it feels to me :) 

Besides this excellent album what else should we be on the lookout for? 

Oh man. Well more music of course! I’m not done yet! And I’m so excited to be touring this album, my London show is May 7th at Colours Hoxton and it’s going to be such a fun night. I wrote these songs with the live show in mind, and I can’t wait for that to become a reality! Crossing my fingers theres much more touring in my future! 

Take us on a date: where do we go? What do we do? 

It depends on where we are. If we’re in Minnesota, we’d meet at five o’clock for a sunset walk around one of the lakes or a game of cards on a blanket in the park. Then it’s straight to Bulls Horn for a burger and a beer or a chilled red. The burger will change your life. No dressing up crazy, but I did do my hair for the occasion. And honestly we’d split the bill and play card games until the bar closes at 10. 

Are we in London? We have two options, I’ll let you pick. 1) We’re meeting at Southbank, and we stroll down the bank until we get to London Bridge. Then we get the Uber boat to Greenwich (I LOVE a river boat) and once we’re there we go to the Trafalgar for a pint in their garden. 2) Exmouth market for dinner! Theres so many cute and amazing restaurants, some of my favorite food in London. 

Whats inspiring you right now outside of music? 

Nature! Springtime. The suns coming out again and thats really pushed me to journal, read, and get outside. 

Musically who is new but making all the right moves? Who are your current OnesToWatch? 

Oh my gosh. Well like the rest of the world I am obsessed with Olivia Dean, and I can’t wait to see what she does next. The Man The Myth The Meatslab is also high on my list, anyone who isn’t paying attention to him right now is crazy, I wish I could hear his song infinite again for the first time. She’s Green… Chloe Quisha… Hudson Ingram.. Abby Powledge… Liang Lawrence! I’m watching and learning!!!! <3