(By our Norwegian correspondent Jan Ronald Stange. Photos: Tarjei Krogh / Jan Ronald Stange) A few weeks ago, the Norwegian electro-pop duo Bérèche You took to the stage as a warm-up for Henric de la Cour in Oslo, marking the first time the singer Cassiel Agrippa sang in front of a live audience.

After months of rehearsing, the nerves loosened up in the final week, and even a couple of power outages during the first songs didn’t affect the band’s performance.

Side-Line: You were invited as the opening act and support for Henric de la Cour at Goldie in Oslo. This was the debut gig for Bérèche You; could you tell us about the experience?

Cassiel Agrippa: We were thankful to be invited to this event by renowned DJ Alex Tjore, who did a DJ session before our gig and also at the after-party later. Goldie is such a nice venue—quite cozy with a great ambience. I believe the turnout was around two fifty plus, and they really added to the overall mood. We had some initial technical sound issues but soon got the show going. In summary, people seemed to appreciate the show.

S-L: Cassiel Agrippa, your first time on a stage in this capacity – did it whet your appetite for more?

CA: I am always happy to experience something for the first time. You get to a point where first-time experiences are rare. Being the support gig for Henric de la Cour was truly one big such first time. I did not know I wanted this, but I am so glad I did, and how well it all went. Working up towards the stage debut took a great deal of rehearsing, so when the actual performance took place, it was not much different in a sense. Still, the adrenaline level was through the roof. Not anxiety and not dread, just … anticipation. At a certain stress level, you just end up being calm, because you can’t flop around like a maniac anyway. And that apparent calmness actually helps to calm you down. Obviously, the venue and live audience were different from rehearsing, but on stage, I was more at one with the music and part of the band. Seeing the audience react was such nice feedback to our performance.

Hearing the initial crowd cheering as we entered the stage was a confidence boost. At the same time, I realized there was no way back, and all I could think was ‘oh shit, oh shit.’ No pressure, you know? Then, after the first song, people were warming up to us, which was a great motivation. They cheered even more as we kept playing, dancing in front of the stage.

It all seemed to be over so quickly. Most of the concertgoers were there for the main gig, but judging from their enthusiasm, we must have been an all-right opening act. Who can tell if there will be more shows going forward? Not impossible, I guess, but nothing is planned yet.

This was definitely a fun experience. We got so many wonderful comments, not only from friends but also from other synth fans. We really appreciate all the support from our fans and hope to have gained a few more after this.

S-L: What’s next?

CA: Now that the concert gig is done and over with, the next thing will be making more music—getting back to the creative stuff. A new single is already in the making, and I guess even more will come after that. We haven’t really planned anything major, but stay tuned for upcoming releases and announcements.

You can check the Bérèche You complete Spotify playlist right below.

jrstange

Sometimes – when I’m not cooking, biking, listening to music or attending concerts, I write stuff for Side-Line.com. Mostly about Norwegian bands, but it’s been some Swedish, English, American, Danish, German and others too… 😉

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