Interview: WinterBeach

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What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Tiam: “I have always loved music and especially pop music! Ever since I was a little boy, I have stood in front of the mirror and played air guitar while singing in a comb. First I wanted to be Paul McCartney, then Morten Harket and eventually Blackie Lawless ... I cannot really imagine a life without music, but if it exists I would probably have worked with architecture, design or cottage gardening”

Angel: “I started with music already as a 4-year-old kid when I first discovered a piano and asked my parents to give me the manual so that I could learn how to play it. After that it was more classical music playing the trumpet before giving all my attention to the synths. And if I had not gotten into music I believe I would have worked with much the same as I do today; making tv-productions, film editing and so on… but let’s be honest, there is no life without music 

Baz: “I've always been obsessed with drums and rhythms but didn't actually start playing drums until I was 19 years old! But the learning curve was fun and steep ...”

What do you like to do when you’re not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Angel: “I love to read, work with graphical productions and like to follow the public debate”

Tiam: “I love everything that is creative, artistic and beautiful and this constantly re-fuels my mind with new creativity”

How long has your band been around?

Baz: “WinterBeach has roots back to 2012 but did not get its name and current form until 2015.”

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

Baz: “WinterBeach is based in Bergen, on the western coast of Norway. A fantastic music city and the origin of many great artists like; Kygo, Alan Walker, Kings of Convenience, Sigrid, Aurora and not to forget the world famous black metal scene with bands like Burzum, Immortal etc.”

Angel: “The music for my part is a multidimensional concept. It reflects both my feelings, my awareness of what happens in the society and the music that I grew up with. So in a way you can say that the music reflects the place a grew up (both part of the world, the time and the city) and the world that I live in, but it is up to the listeners to find the key to that dimension.”

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you.

Tiam: “Well, it's almost impossible to find band names nowadays, since almost all the obvious cool names already have been taken! But we just started to write a list of all sorts of cool potential band names we came across and the list didn’t stop before we had 1077 names on the block! After googling all the candidates, it turned out that only 1 of them was available! The choice was easy. And by a strange coincidence WinterBeach fits perfectly with the mood the music stands for; Cold in a summery way ... Just like the summers in Bergen.”

Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.

Tiam: “The coolest venue and best show was at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Shanghai. The worst? Probably in a nasty pub in Coventry that I have kindly displaced the name of ...”

Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you haven't already?

Angel: “I have always wanted to play on Wembley stadium. And I don’t talk about football! That would be amazing”

Tiam: “Yeah, that would be cool. I also dream of becoming the first to play a concert on the planet Saturn”

Baz: “I'm happy with Betsey Trotwood in London”

If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket?

Tiam: “Then I would pick a lineup of bands that have an audience we could potentially steal & borrow fans from ;) Maybe Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys and A-ha...”

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band?

Angel: “I recon it is a bit of a cliché, but I still mean it. On your way you will meet people who talk you down. Who will tell you that your music is nothing special and would tell you that this just isn’t good enough. Don’t let this tear you down. Don’t listen to them unless they give you some meaningful inputs. Instead believe in yourself and what you are trying to accomplish.”

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Angel: “The same I gave to others… Believe in yourself and what you do. Music is art and art will always be perceived subjectively. There is thus no objective template for what is right and what is wrong in the music that is made”

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

Angel: “Good question and a difficult one to answer actually. But If I were to choose just one it would be “Playing Dead”. I love the lyrics in that song and it reflects some of our times most important challenges. What do we do with the world that we are handing over to our children…”

Baz: “But there is also something special and atypical about the first WinterBeach single "Sky & Stars". It sounds like lobster and canary”

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Tiam: “My personal favorite is “Dark Minds”, it’s an intricate dark pop song!”

Baz: “Many fans prefer “Star Wars””

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Tiam: “I can be inspired by everything and anything and constantly write down interesting text ideas, fascinating song titles and tone sequences that appear spontaneously in my head. Angel has his own ability to unstoppably come up with new synth themes that Baz and I taste, wiggle and twist, before we put them together as a band into complete WB compositions”

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Tiam: “The music comes first, and since there is not a single major tone in our songs, the lyrics tend to describe the more monstrous aspects of life. But there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. We prefer happy endings”

Baz: “Well actually we did notice a couple of major notes well hidden inside the sauce of minor chords, but don’t let me ruin your point ;)”

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Angel: “A lot! But we have grown with the challenges and become stronger both in understanding ourselves and how disagreements can be overcome. I also believe that our music has improved because of these disagreements. Although we are all quite different, we have found a common platform that is only ours and it is definitely something to fight to keep”

Tiam: “Actually I can’t think of a single thing we 100% agree on, maybe apart from this fact, haha... Joke aside. We are very different personalities and have different musical backgrounds, but that is exactly what makes the music so exciting. There is always a little dragon fight going on in every single WinterBeach song.”

Baz: “I am probably the bands leveler and leveling mandate that does bring out the compromises”

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that's coming up?

Tiam: “The imminent plans for WinterBeach is to release our first LP and promote it until we drop. After that, we look forward to working closely with the nice people at Animal Farm to further refine our music style. In the future WinterBeach hope to develop an even purer sound universe.”

Baz: “Of course, we hope it will be possible to do concerts soon!”

Angel: “And then preferably at Wembley … ;)”