Be The Bear

Be The Bear is the alternative pop music project of Danish/English artist Christina Wehage in collaboration with Swedish music producer Mattias Bolin and mix engineer Unne Liljeblad. Their single Bad Things topped the iTunes electronic charts in Sweden in 2012^[1] and their debut album is set to be released in January 2014.

Behind the name

In interviews Christina Wehage has commented on the band name saying she "used to be scared of bears. I used to dream about them every night, often a big black one screaming and chasing me up old wooden staircases […] When dreams come back again and again, I think it's because you are trying to deal with something. I wasn't facing my fears and challenging myself".^[1] "Be The Bear is like an appeal to myself to do the things that I find scary or difficult. To stand up, make noise and challenge myself and others".^[2]

Critical reception

The critical reception of Be The Bear's music has been overwhelmingly positive with virtually no negative reviews. Elspeth Merry of 1883 Magazine wrote: "Topping the Swedish iTunes charts with single Bad Things and enjoying airplay in the US, Singapore, Germany and Japan, the pair are helping Scandinavian pop gain worldwide status".^[1]

Indietheka of Spain named Be The Bear "one of the most exciting duos in recent years from this region of the world", defining their music as "a mixture of sticky sweet electropop and acoustic elements that make this pair stand next to other acts like The Knife or iamamiwhoami, only Be The Bear do so with stronger colors",^[3] while Poland's Music Is wrote that "the voice of the singer seems to swim in places recalling the best achievements of Björk, or the charismatic voice of Florence Welch".^[4]

According to The Sound Of Confusion, Be The Bear "are somehow hiding under the radar of much of the UK’s music press, when really they’re producing the exact sort of music we should be doing our damnedest to promote and bring decent pop back to the forefront of our insipid commercial music scene. Surely it’s only a matter of time until NME Magazine, BBC Radio 1 and all the other outlets currently playing it remarkably safe take a leap of faith and embrace what this pair are doing. It’s time to give yourselves a slap in the face and venture beyond the usual suspects”.^[5]

Similarly, Born Music proclaimed that "if the pop music industry in the UK has any respect for itself, Be The Bear will be hailed like Gotye and Fun.".^[6]

Musical style

When asked about musical genre, Wehage responded "Alternative pop maybe? Haha, I don't know, we haven't really found a good one yet. Bad Things is electropop I suppose […] It all depends on where you are emotionally and what you are experiencing. At the moment we are quite colorful, jumpy and happy, so that is where the music is".^[1]

Acid Stag described Be The Bear's music as experimental pop and what would happen "if School of Seven Bells made love to Björk whilst on speed".^[7] God Is In The TV Zine depicts the music as "surging forth in a joyous ride of electro pop that shoos and coos bad karma away from your body".^[8]

Airplay

Both singles Bump and Bad Things were featured on Musikguiden i P3 on Swedish national public radio station Sveriges Radio P3.^[9][10] They have also received regular rotation on Polish national radio station Roxy Radio,^[11] Greece's Radio 1^[12] and UK's Phoenix FM.^[13]

Discography

Singles

• Bump (2013)
• Sparks (2013)
• Coffee Kids (2012)
• Bad Things (2012)
• My New Glow (2011)

Albums

• Fireships EP (2011)

Compilation albums

• Det är okej att känna (Ung Cancer) (2011)

Featured in films

• Det är okej att känna hopp (2011)^[14]

Featured in commercials

• Heart On A Line (2010, Saab 9-4X)^[15]
• Barfotavisan (2011, Blomsterlandet) ^[16]
• Sparks (2013, Volvo V70 Connected Touch) ^[17]

References

External links

• Official website