Be The Bear

Be The Bear

Be The Bear live at Debaser, Sweden
Background information
Birth name Christina Julia Wehage
Origin Sweden
Genres Indie pop, electropop
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
Years active 2011–present
Website www.bethebear.se

Be The Bear is the nom de plume of Swedish artist and producer Christina Wehage. Her single Bad Things topped the iTunes electronic charts in Sweden in 2012.[1] Be The Bear's debut album is set to be released in 2016.

Previews of two songs, Mermaid and Erupt, from the forthcoming debut, have been featured in international TV commercials for Volvo. Short versions of both songs have been released on Be The Bear's YouTube channel with hundreds of thousands of listeners eagerly awaiting the album release.[2] Even though the full version hasn't been released yet, Erupt has already climbed the charts on Shazam, so far reaching #8 on Future Hits in Spain, #91 on Top 100 Songs in Greece and #16 on Top 100 Songs in Taiwan.[3]

Behind the name

In interviews Wehage has commented on her artist name and the story behind it saying she "used to be scared of bears. I used to dream about them every night, roaring 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".[4]

Critical reception

The critical reception of Be The Bear's music has been overwhelmingly positive. 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, Be The Bear is helping Scandinavian pop gain worldwide status".[1]

Indietheka of Spain named Be The Bear "one of the most exciting acts in recent years from this region of the world", defining her music as "a mixture of sticky sweet electropop and acoustic elements that make her stand next to other acts like The Knife or iamamiwhoami, only Be The Bear does so with stronger colors",[5] while Poland's Music Is wrote that Wehage's voice "seems to swim in places recalling the best achievements of Björk, or the charismatic voice of Florence Welch".[6]

According to The Sound Of Confusion, Be The Bear is "somehow hiding under the radar of much of the UK’s music press, when really she's 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 she's doing. It’s time to give yourselves a slap in the face and venture beyond the usual suspects”.[7]

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.".[8]

Musical style

When asked about musical genre, Wehage responded "Alternative pop maybe? I don't know, I 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 I feel 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".[9] 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".[10]

Airplay

Both singles Bump and Bad Things were featured on Musikguiden i P3 on Swedish national public radio station Sveriges Radio P3.[11][12] They have also received regular rotation on Polish national radio station Roxy Radio,[13] Greece's Radio 1[14] and UK's Phoenix FM.[15]

Discography

Singles

Albums

Compilation albums

Featured in films

Featured in commercials

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Merry, Elspeth (12 July 2012). "Be The Bear - Music". 1883 Magazine. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "Be The Bear YouTube channel". 4 November 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Preview: Erupt". bethebear.se. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Svedén, Camilla (28 July 2013). "Be The Bear". musicstage.se. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Escucha 'Bad Things' de Be The Bear". indietheka.com. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  6. ↑ Perlejewski, Karol (15 June 2012). "Be The Bear". musicis.pl. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  7. ↑ "Be The Bear - Coffee Kids". 28 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  8. ↑ Litherland, Sam (14 June 2012). "Be The Bear - Bad Things (5/5)". Born Music. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Be The Bear: Coffee Kids [New Single]". Acid Stag. 28 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Cummings, Bill (11 July 2012). "Track Of The Day #78: Be The Bear – Bad Things". God Is In The TV. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "Tina Mehrafzoon med ny musik och Hasans hörna". Sveriges Radio P3. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  12. ↑ "Sommarsvepet: Nytt med Alicia Keys, The Xx, Rick Ross, Rita Ora och Tnght". Sveriges Radio P3. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Roxy Radio Indie". Roxy Radio. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  14. ↑ "Track Of The Day". Radio 1. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  15. ↑ Curry, Eddie (4 July 2013). "Playlist for 4 July 2013 (AOTW: Marsheaux – Inhale)". Phoenix FM. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  16. ↑ "Det är okej att känna hopp". Ung Cancer. 1 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  17. ↑ "Det är okej att känna hopp". themusicagency.se. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  18. ↑ "Lev livet lite grönare". themusicagency.se. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  19. ↑ "Connected Touch". themusicagency.se. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  20. ↑ "Family Of 60". themusicagency.se. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "Be The Bear - Mermaid". themusicagency.se. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "Be The Bear - Erupt". themusicagency.se. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2016.

External links

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