Berndsen

“Everything is live! No playbacks, no karaoke, great musicians and me in pink outfit with a lot of energy! It can’t fail!” says Berndsen, selling his upcoming Airwaves performance to everybody out there still unfamiliar with this new kid on the block. If you’re one of the unfamiliar, don’t beat yourself up about it too badly, as the RÚV tech by day/new wave wunderkind by night has only ever performed live once so far.

“I had so much fun,” said Berndsen of his debut at the Réttir festival on September 25th. “Of course I was a little nervous performing my songs for the first time but I was so excited as well and when I heard the crowd sing along with my songs, I loved being on stage!”

The crowd at Batterí wasn’t just singing along to the bearded 24-year-old’s songs, they were chanting his name, rushing the stage, and shaking their asses with such enthusiasm one would have thought he was a beloved, seasoned performer in the Reykjavík music scene. The fact that this boy plays danceable tunes and looks adorable while doing so made for a mighty successful first shot at doing his thing for a crowd.

Despite being a fledgling live act, Berndsen is a video superstar, with his twistedly entertaining, award-nominated Supertime video amassing more than 65,000 views on YouTube in just two months. The video’s creators had a top-hat-clad Berndsen performing dramatically atop a turned over car while 20-somethings injured in a car-wreck are being tortuously danced around like puppets by their able bodied peers. The video for his newer release, Lover in the Dark, is just as creative and entertaining as it transports Berndsen into a video game with one mission: spread love.

“It’s brand new and just came on the net!” says an enthusiastic Berndsen about his video. “Two brilliant Swedish guys, Farzad Farzaneh and Viktor Gårdsäter, loved the song and contacted me about doing a video for it. It’s a stop motion video! The video is pictures! Viktor photographed around 4000 pictures so there was a lot of work at the Stockholm studio. They always thought of game boy games when they were listening to the song, so the idea came from there.”

Equipped with a futuristic heart-shooting gun, 80’s instruments, a whole lotta pink and a sequined headband, Berndsen succeeds in spreading the love and bringing people together.

Influenced by his father’s music choices when he was younger—O.M.D., A-Ha, Ultravox, The Human League, David Bowie, etc.—Berndsen began making his own music seven years ago, fooling around with synthesizers and experimenting with his sound. While his music is all synth—“it’s 80s new wave mega pop!” he says—the front man employs the aid of a backing band called The Young Boys for live gigs, with Hrafnkell Gauti Sigurðarson on guitar, Gylfi Sigurðsson playing the Roland 707 with sticks, Arnljótur Sigurðsson on bass, and Jón Elísson picking up the tab on the saxophone, vocoder and synth.

The energy and absurdity of Berndsen’s videos—which you’ll have to watch—will keep you singing, dancing and having a killer time at Airwaves, where the Reykjavík native will don his flashy pink Lover in the Dark get-up for your viewing pleasure. Of the upcoming show, Berndsen says you can expect “happy loving 80s synth pop and good times!”

And who wouldn’t mind some of that?

Words by Catharine Fulton - The Reykjavik Grapevine

“Everything is live! No playbacks, no karaoke, great musicians and me in pink outfit with a lot of energy! It can’t fail!” says Berndsen, selling his upcoming Airwaves performance to everybody out there still unfamiliar with this new kid on the block. If you’re one of the unfamiliar, don’t beat yourself up about it too badly, as the RÚV tech by day/new wave wunderkind by night has only ever performed live once so far.

“I had so much fun,” said Berndsen of his debut at the Réttir festival on September 25th. “Of course I was a little nervous performing my songs for the first time but I was so excited as well and when I heard the crowd sing along with my songs, I loved being on stage!”

The crowd at Batterí wasn’t just singing along to the bearded 24-year-old’s songs, they were chanting his name, rushing the stage, and shaking their asses with such enthusiasm one would have thought he was a beloved, seasoned performer in the Reykjavík music scene. The fact that this boy plays danceable tunes and looks adorable while doing so made for a mighty successful first shot at doing his thing for a crowd.

Despite being a fledgling live act, Berndsen is a video superstar, with his twistedly entertaining, award-nominated Supertime video amassing more than 65,000 views on YouTube in just two months. The video’s creators had a top-hat-clad Berndsen performing dramatically atop a turned over car while 20-somethings injured in a car-wreck are being tortuously danced around like puppets by their able bodied peers. The video for his newer release, Lover in the Dark, is just as creative and entertaining as it transports Berndsen into a video game with one mission: spread love.

“It’s brand new and just came on the net!” says an enthusiastic Berndsen about his video. “Two brilliant Swedish guys, Farzad Farzaneh and Viktor Gårdsäter, loved the song and contacted me about doing a video for it. It’s a stop motion video! The video is pictures! Viktor photographed around 4000 pictures so there was a lot of work at the Stockholm studio. They always thought of game boy games when they were listening to the song, so the idea came from there.”

Equipped with a futuristic heart-shooting gun, 80’s instruments, a whole lotta pink and a sequined headband, Berndsen succeeds in spreading the love and bringing people together.

Influenced by his father’s music choices when he was younger—O.M.D., A-Ha, Ultravox, The Human League, David Bowie, etc.—Berndsen began making his own music seven years ago, fooling around with synthesizers and experimenting with his sound. While his music is all synth—“it’s 80s new wave mega pop!” he says—the front man employs the aid of a backing band called The Young Boys for live gigs, with Hrafnkell Gauti Sigurðarson on guitar, Gylfi Sigurðsson playing the Roland 707 with sticks, Arnljótur Sigurðsson on bass, and Jón Elísson picking up the tab on the saxophone, vocoder and synth.

The energy and absurdity of Berndsen’s videos—which you’ll have to watch—will keep you singing, dancing and having a killer time at Airwaves, where the Reykjavík native will don his flashy pink Lover in the Dark get-up for your viewing pleasure. Of the upcoming show, Berndsen says you can expect “happy loving 80s synth pop and good times!”

And who wouldn’t mind some of that?

Words by Catharine Fulton - The Reykjavik Grapevine

Iceland. A place with just over 320 000 inhabitants, with very rigorous winters, a producer

of traditional dishes such as liver sausage and rotten shark meat. And to finish, home to

Björk and the rock band Sigur Rós. It really is a place variously strange. Mainly speaking

of music, where we Björk (and his former band, the Sugarcubes) as the leading exponent. Who

watches the videos of "Pagan Poetry"and"Cocoon, "for example, should imagine that an

Icelander has an alien from six tentacles instead of a dog in the yard ...

But we're not here to talk about a relatively obscure country or from Björk. The business is

a new band out of this place. The call Berndsen (not sure which Berndsen is the name of a

band, a project or simply the artist's name even, David Berndsen) has been trying to get

your space in the music sounds really interesting. And if the songs sound different and

attractive, without mentioning anything about the video clips - fleeing much of that

business of "dancing on a white background, preferring something creative even though no

sense.


The Berndsen tries to be a revival of the 80s, with clear emphasis on synthesizers. Despite

being somewhat Dance, Dance is not the one you want to go dancing - but watch what that

guy's doing. Incidentally, the guy (David) really looks like a Viking, one of those straight

out of Reykjavik from the fourteenth century. Just missing your recording studio be on a

ship and use that "hat" with the horns!

'Lover In The Dark'has a climate through video game (not only by the sound, but even the

video clip that shows David as a hero fight evil forces and spread love for Iceland).

David's voice sounds sad and refers to the music. We also have all the synthetic structure

that is involved in the music - but no synthetic in a negative way, is a synthetic legal,

standard, without filling the bag as fake or artificial. About the reference to the '80s, we

felt a strong "smell" Pet Shop Boys - that had the melody in the middle of the synthesizer

music is very much like part of the song "You Can not Stop the Music"group Village People.

Iceland may bring strange things, but what is strange is different, and what is different is

beyond the doldrums of equality in which we find ourselves. Today, here in Brazil for

example, we only hear that stuff about "you did not want me, I now go to a rave" and other

"ramblings Cornista" with the same fund, called Sertanejo Universitário.

But forget. (It) will not be that going to change anything in music. Meanwhile, can you run

to a cave in Iceland and hear something more creative ... - Crackolândia

Iceland. A place with just over 320 000 inhabitants, with very rigorous winters, a producer

of traditional dishes such as liver sausage and rotten shark meat. And to finish, home to

Björk and the rock band Sigur Rós. It really is a place variously strange. Mainly speaking

of music, where we Björk (and his former band, the Sugarcubes) as the leading exponent. Who

watches the videos of "Pagan Poetry"and"Cocoon, "for example, should imagine that an

Icelander has an alien from six tentacles instead of a dog in the yard ...

But we're not here to talk about a relatively obscure country or from Björk. The business is

a new band out of this place. The call Berndsen (not sure which Berndsen is the name of a

band, a project or simply the artist's name even, David Berndsen) has been trying to get

your space in the music sounds really interesting. And if the songs sound different and

attractive, without mentioning anything about the video clips - fleeing much of that

business of "dancing on a white background, preferring something creative even though no

sense.


The Berndsen tries to be a revival of the 80s, with clear emphasis on synthesizers. Despite

being somewhat Dance, Dance is not the one you want to go dancing - but watch what that

guy's doing. Incidentally, the guy (David) really looks like a Viking, one of those straight

out of Reykjavik from the fourteenth century. Just missing your recording studio be on a

ship and use that "hat" with the horns!

'Lover In The Dark'has a climate through video game (not only by the sound, but even the

video clip that shows David as a hero fight evil forces and spread love for Iceland).

David's voice sounds sad and refers to the music. We also have all the synthetic structure

that is involved in the music - but no synthetic in a negative way, is a synthetic legal,

standard, without filling the bag as fake or artificial. About the reference to the '80s, we

felt a strong "smell" Pet Shop Boys - that had the melody in the middle of the synthesizer

music is very much like part of the song "You Can not Stop the Music"group Village People.

Iceland may bring strange things, but what is strange is different, and what is different is

beyond the doldrums of equality in which we find ourselves. Today, here in Brazil for

example, we only hear that stuff about "you did not want me, I now go to a rave" and other

"ramblings Cornista" with the same fund, called Sertanejo Universitário.

But forget. (It) will not be that going to change anything in music. Meanwhile, can you run

to a cave in Iceland and hear something more creative ... - Crackolândia

Berndsen - "Lover In The Dark"


I've never really strayed from the "punk" genres when it comes to interviews and certainly not reviews. But I'm going to make an exception here and it's all because of my best friend showing me a "fucked up music video." The song is called "Supertime" and the artist - David Berndsen from Iceland.
The video was this dude with a red beard and a suit dancing on an upside-down car with his friends pulling the injured and dying passengers out and dancing with them. It was very funny in a real dark way. The combination of the awesome video I had just witnessed and that catchy song I just heard made me want more instantly. About a week later, I found a video for the title track of his debut album, "Lover In The Dark." I was amazed. Sold. Fast forward to about New Years Eve and I get the album.
"Lover In The Dark," made up of 11 tracks and totaling 36:23, starts off with an instrumental electronic intro building up to the title track from the video, "Lover In The Dark."
It feels like you're inside of a game of Tetris backed with dance-y electro-pop. Which rules. In the video, Berndsen's mission is to spread love with a ray gun of sorts. He sees people punching each other, zaps them, and voila! They hug and his heart meter goes up. The message: You're just a lover hiding in the dark.
After that is "Supertime," from his other music video with the bloody car wreck passengers and the dancing. It's definitely the catchiest tune of the album. It's a love song. And there's an amazing breakdown in the song with a bitchin' guitar solo. I love that solo.
The rest of the nine tracks unfortunately are not renditioned with YouTube videos, but in my opinion, they are better than the first two. "Young Boy" is a song about, well, a young boy with too much love to give.
"Radio Frequencies" slows it down a little but has a real strong beat keeping the flow of the album going. I think if it was played in a club, it would be a fist-pumping dance song. For almost five minutes, this track keeps the beat going. Then "Coma." A 0:54-long ambient, sort of slow, spacey instrumental intermission to the album. It picks up real fast with "In Sight." It's a real '80s-feeling tune. Very synth-y. Very poppy.
Then an interesting kind of space-age song called "The Perfect Human" starts up. It's almost reminiscent of "2001: A Space Odyssey," if its soundtrack had turned DANCE! Then it gets danc-y AND robotic. Sure to please your motherboard and your processor.
Then my favorite track is up; "400 Trips." It's another '80s-dance-pop-sounding" tune. But the electronic instrumentals in this song are incredibly catchy and good. It doesn't come in until about 1:15 into the song. But once it does...HOT DAMN! The album then gets a little darker (go figure) with "Dark Times." The sound effects sound like they're straight out of a horror movie. Perhaps one involving a house that is built on a haunted hill. It actually sounds like the level in Mario where you have to evade the ghosts.
The final track on the album is called "On My Mind." It is a great closer. The tune's about Berndsen being alone, still thinking about a certain someone. Kind of sad. Kind of lonely. But it follows the pattern of love, only adding a little loss to the mix. The album then fades to silence.
I recommended "Lover In The Dark" to anyone who is open to something new. Or if you like bands like The Postal Service and The Faint. But beyond all that genre-specific crap are 9 great pop songs that have earned a spot in my heart. It's as if I've been zapped by Berndsen's ray gun...

Rating: 5/5 stars

Squid Pro Quo

- Squid Pro Quo

Berndsen - "Lover In The Dark"


I've never really strayed from the "punk" genres when it comes to interviews and certainly not reviews. But I'm going to make an exception here and it's all because of my best friend showing me a "fucked up music video." The song is called "Supertime" and the artist - David Berndsen from Iceland.
The video was this dude with a red beard and a suit dancing on an upside-down car with his friends pulling the injured and dying passengers out and dancing with them. It was very funny in a real dark way. The combination of the awesome video I had just witnessed and that catchy song I just heard made me want more instantly. About a week later, I found a video for the title track of his debut album, "Lover In The Dark." I was amazed. Sold. Fast forward to about New Years Eve and I get the album.
"Lover In The Dark," made up of 11 tracks and totaling 36:23, starts off with an instrumental electronic intro building up to the title track from the video, "Lover In The Dark."
It feels like you're inside of a game of Tetris backed with dance-y electro-pop. Which rules. In the video, Berndsen's mission is to spread love with a ray gun of sorts. He sees people punching each other, zaps them, and voila! They hug and his heart meter goes up. The message: You're just a lover hiding in the dark.
After that is "Supertime," from his other music video with the bloody car wreck passengers and the dancing. It's definitely the catchiest tune of the album. It's a love song. And there's an amazing breakdown in the song with a bitchin' guitar solo. I love that solo.
The rest of the nine tracks unfortunately are not renditioned with YouTube videos, but in my opinion, they are better than the first two. "Young Boy" is a song about, well, a young boy with too much love to give.
"Radio Frequencies" slows it down a little but has a real strong beat keeping the flow of the album going. I think if it was played in a club, it would be a fist-pumping dance song. For almost five minutes, this track keeps the beat going. Then "Coma." A 0:54-long ambient, sort of slow, spacey instrumental intermission to the album. It picks up real fast with "In Sight." It's a real '80s-feeling tune. Very synth-y. Very poppy.
Then an interesting kind of space-age song called "The Perfect Human" starts up. It's almost reminiscent of "2001: A Space Odyssey," if its soundtrack had turned DANCE! Then it gets danc-y AND robotic. Sure to please your motherboard and your processor.
Then my favorite track is up; "400 Trips." It's another '80s-dance-pop-sounding" tune. But the electronic instrumentals in this song are incredibly catchy and good. It doesn't come in until about 1:15 into the song. But once it does...HOT DAMN! The album then gets a little darker (go figure) with "Dark Times." The sound effects sound like they're straight out of a horror movie. Perhaps one involving a house that is built on a haunted hill. It actually sounds like the level in Mario where you have to evade the ghosts.
The final track on the album is called "On My Mind." It is a great closer. The tune's about Berndsen being alone, still thinking about a certain someone. Kind of sad. Kind of lonely. But it follows the pattern of love, only adding a little loss to the mix. The album then fades to silence.
I recommended "Lover In The Dark" to anyone who is open to something new. Or if you like bands like The Postal Service and The Faint. But beyond all that genre-specific crap are 9 great pop songs that have earned a spot in my heart. It's as if I've been zapped by Berndsen's ray gun...

Rating: 5/5 stars

Squid Pro Quo

- Squid Pro Quo