‘BETWEEN A SMILE AND A TEAR’
MUSIC FOR DREAMS
VINYL & CD RELEASE FRIDAY 18TH JANUARY 2019
PRE-ORDER
(Rough Trade)
Be Svendsen is releasing vinyl and CD versions of his debut album ’Between A Smile And A Tear’ on the Music For Dreams label on Friday January 18th. A limited cassette version of the album will also be available.
The release of Be’s album on Friday 18th January coincides with a live performance at his album launch party being held at Cirque De Boneca, London, this Friday. The already sold out date will be complemented by Be Svendsen performing live at the Rough Trade East record shop at Old Truman Brewery, off Brick Lane, Shoreditch, London, at 19:00 on Tuesday 22nd January.
A 12” vinyl drop for lead single preceded the vinyl release ‘Drop The Gun’, which has topped the Beatport chart, and a digital release of the album late last year.
After a series of very well received singles and EPs on labels like Crosstown Rebels and All Day I Dream, the album ’Between A Smile And A Tear’ features a broad sweep of moods, instrumentation, tempi and style, with clear references that reach back to a time where experimental innocence met futuristic and forward thinking. Be Svendsen has described his output as ‘Tarantino Techno’, referencing Spaghetti western soundtracks, classic analogue synths and film ‘noir-esque’ atmospherics tastefully crafted into a new original form. Be also brings in emotional guitar melodies and dry strings, and adds it to his club universe where moods can change in an instant.
Be Svendsen shows us his diversity that spans from innovative deep new-disco cuts, galactic journey melodies, analogue ambient atmosphere to classic song writing, soundtrack ‘esque epicness, and a deep-tech organic collaboration with Henri Texier. We even get a taste of Be Svendsen’s own vocals.
Be Svendsen describes his musical universe as: ”The music should ultimately connect you to a bigger picture”. The goal is to express and convey a feeling, and to behold the moment - the essence of oscillating between a smile and a tear. “I like to bring tragedy and humour together, and invite them up for a dance.” This is in some way, a celebration of what he calls chiaroscuro - the light and dark - of existence.
Be Svendsen has already been supported by a wide array of world class DJs such as: Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, Nemone BBC 6music, Damian Lazarus, Lee Burridge, Black Coffee, Acid Pauli, Nico Stojan, Oliver Kolletski, Mira, Audio Fly, Sabo, Kenneth Bager, and many more.
After appearing at festivals such as Tomorrowland Belgium; BPM Mexico; Fusion Germany; BOOM Portugal; Get Lost Miami; DGTL Amsterdam; Secret Garden Party, UK; Oregon Eclipse; Robot Heart, Burning Man; Rainbow Serpent, Australia, Chill Out, Turkey; Afrika Burn, South Africa; Midnight Sun, Norway, Be completed a world tour including North America in support of the album release in the last quarter of 2018.
Be Svendsen’s most successful collaboration to date was when Damian Lazarus asked him to remix NU’s famous track ‘Man O To’ on Crosstown Rebels, released in February 2017. The track remained on the Beatport Charts for 8 months, as did Be’s solo track ‘Twilight In Tankwa’ on Rebellion. He also remixed Acid Pauli’s track ‘Requiem For a Loop’ which was originally out on Nicolas Jaar’s Clown and Sunset. The track was featured on a remix EP on German label 3000 Grad, with great success. ‘Requiem For a Loop’ has become Acid Pauli’s most played remix track on Spotify.
Every release from Be in the last 18 months made into to the top 15 on Beatport within its category, with one remaining at #1 for over 1.5 months and is currently number one in Beatport’s Downtempo/Electronica chart.
‘Between A Smile and a Tear’ has been compared with the likes of Nicolas Jaar, Jamie XX, Jan Schulte, and Kolsch.
On signing to Music For Dreams Be Svendsen said:
’I’ve long desired to share the more experimental material I write - tracks that can be hard to place on the club labels, but nonetheless hold a very big part of me. To team up and release my first album on Music For Dreams feels like the perfect match and the right time exactly for that. Very happy to join the dreamers!’
