RAINDEAR

Here's the playful and featherlight video for "Grown Ups" by Sweden's newest pop gal Raindear. It's the first song from her debut EP The Game, which is out now. Raindear has previously said something about "Grown Ups" being about a Neverland state of mind in London. However, this video is a way more pleasant experience than 3 minutes and 40 seconds of London.

Music by: Rebecca Bergcrantz AKA Raindear
Video by: Jakob Skote - NOISEY by Vice

BARE Magazine was recently met with an amazing opportunity to interview Rebecca Bergcrantz, an up and coming musician from Sweden who goes by the alias of Raindear. Her music can be best described as a funky blend of electronica, indie, and pop as her songs exhibit self-composed, trance-inducing instrumentals and evocative vocals. Throughout our interview, Rebecca not only reveals her sources of inspiration and take on music but also discloses plans of her future releases and appearances. Read on to find out more:

Why “Raindear”?
Coming up with an alias to go by is a lengthy process. Raindear came about when I was playing around with the words “rain” and “dear” and really, it just stuck immediately as I took a liking to it. I like how it sounds nice and is also a play on words given that it’s not exactly the first word/phrase that first comes to mind when it’s said aloud (“reindeer”).

How has your musical career changed after debuting under Raindear?
Although I’ve been producing and playing in shows prior to Raindear’s debut, I wasn’t consistently working with music. Raindear started around last October and since then, my involvement with producing and singing became more flow-like as it gave me more of a sense of direction. I released an EP and now, I’m just doing whatever I can to spread my music. It’s been going well so far. I’ve been able to perform at a few concerts in New York, Sweden, and London. Malmoe especially held a large concert for an equality conference/festival that I helped closed. Around 5,000 to 8,000 people gathered for the event, which led me to be slightly more nervous than usual that day, but I was glad to be able to perform alongside the other artists and play 2 of my songs. I remember after the first song, I was excited to perform the second.

What’s your reason for coming down to California and more specifically, to San Francisco?
I’ll be performing two shows at Burning Man that’ll held in the Nevada Desert area. I decided to land in San Francisco however since it’s somewhat close and because I wanted to see the city. I really love it here in SF, and the United States in general. I think coming here to travel around the country is just an overall, great opportunity to see what everything’s like, really.

Where do you draw inspiration from? Are there any factors that influence your sound?
I definitely draw a lot of inspiration from jazz music because that’s where I started out. My entire family is composed of musicians so I pretty much grew up being surrounded by jazz. A few artists that I look up to or am inspired by include Billie Holiday, Kate Bush, Björk, and Radiohead. I’d like to think that I picked up a lot from the rock world (more of progressive rock actually) as well. For riffs and beats, I love the Beatles for their sense of style and sound. They play a lot with variety and were a huge inspiration for me. In terms of the electronic music, I came to like the genre as I grew older. Overall, I have a pretty broad taste in music but I still am a bit picky with the songs I like. Regardless of whatever genre there is, there will always be at least one song I’m bound to find a liking to.

Have you ever considered entering shows such as The Voice, or X-Factor to launch your music career?
I’ve thought about it actually. As a 16 year old, it used to be my goal, but I’m glad I gave up on that idea. I feel as though after a contestant is through with the show, it’ll be hard to change or throw away the image of being “that American Idol person” people associate you with. When I was 16, I was still looking for my singing style. Back then, what I mostly did was just imitate other artists I listened to. I think now, I’ve found my style although it’s still not completely done developing just yet. I’ve definitely come to understand what I like and dislike about my voice and what type of music I want to go after so overall, I’m pretty confident of what I can make of what I have so far.

How do you come up with your lyrics? Do you have a personal favorite?
My lyrics aren’t really about uncomplicated things. “Veins” is based on a kind of destructive love, where the present is filled with spontaneity but the future is filled with doubt and uncertainty. For instance, some people can come to love the wrong person and only decide to stay for the kick they get out of the relationship. A lot of the lyrics came from these kinds of destructive relationships. One of my latest songs, “Human Kind,” which will soon have its own music video is about the idea of modest living. It questions how society thinks an individual is best when he or she is not taking up too much space or being too out there. It’s a Swedish thing really, where the idea of simple living and leading a modest life is idealized and positively looked upon by society.

As for a personal favorite, it’s hard to choose since I wrote all of them. It really depends on the day since all of them are my favorite. If I had to choose however, “Nightwish” would be one of my favorite since it’s really euphoric for me in a way. “Running out of Youth,” which is a newer song that’ll be coming out later would be another favorite of mine since I consider it to be musically complex and has a lot going on in it.

How did you come to compose your own songs?
I began composing electronically when I got my first MacBook and started playing with the app Garage Band. After coming to like it, I moved onto Ableton Live that’s basically a more advanced program differing from the Garage Band app. I never really took lessons from an establishment or instructor on how to compose music but instead, learned from trial and error and went along with what I thought sounded good. As I became more invested and interested in composing, I started to watch tutorials online, try out new techniques and styles, and just kept going from there.

What was the process of making your music video like?
I really know what I like and dislike so I kind of just went from there. I never really envisioned what the end results of my video would be like, but I did have a few places in mind of where I’d want to be filmed at. For “Grown Ups,” it was really just me and the video maker, who also happens to be a good friend of mine, who worked on discussing the vibe and feel the video was going to have. He has really great taste, and the planning of the video went by extremely smoothly since the two of us just exchanged ideas and images we had in mind. Off these ideas, we picked out the things we liked and found artistic value in and just filmed from there.

Do you have any deadlines? How are they?
It’s different day to night. I think deadlines are actually good to have at times since there are always so many ideas that can’t be taken down during the times there isn’t a deadline. Deadlines can definitely make sure you get them down. Work’s really time consuming and requires a lot of effort but I find it fun. Music’s something I’m really passionate about, so I don’t mind working hard on what I love and what needs to be done.

Have you ever thought of mixing different genres or taking on different styles of music?
After I become more experienced in the future, I want to go back to my roots in jazz. I kind of want to try blending electronica and the sound of symphony orchestra together as well and see how it goes. But above all, I want to make my music have its own personal sound that I can control and know how to play with. It’s definitely going to be something I want to be considered special.

Is there anyone in particular that you would want to work with in the future? What are you currently listening to these days?
I think it’ll be cool to collaborate with producers like M83 or Darkside so I can sing the top line by myself. I would also love to sing with Thom Yorke, the lead singer of Radiohead. It’s been a dream of mine to sing with him! As for what music I’m currently into, I’ve been listening to Oh Land pretty recently as well as soundtrack music. Disney soundtracks are pretty inspirational – especially Pocahontas’. I love how tribal and nature-like its instrumental sounds. I also like listening to world music as well, such as folk music! It’s so true and honest sounding in additional to being really melodic as well.

What are you currently working on now?
I actually just finished recording the last of the vocals for my second EP. It’s going to be pretty long, although I wouldn’t consider it as an album; some of the extra tracks are just remixes of “Veins” and other already released songs of mine. In September, I’ll be playing in London, where I’ll also be recording and collaborating new stuff with producers around the same time. Expect to see me appear in a few shows in Sweden as well, and asides from these activities, we’ll see what comes up in the future.

To check out more of Rebecca’s music and what she’s been up to, you can find her at:
Official Website: http://www.raindearofficial.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raindearmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaindearMusic
Instagram: http://instagram.com/raindearmusic - BARE Magazine

This talented young lady is a singer, songwriter and producer. Her music has a melodic vocal and electro feel to it, with strong influences from jazz and folk music. Growing up with a family of musicians has rubbed off rather well on her and she’s been singing for most of her life, she now uses the jazz music she grew up on as energy in the electronic music she creates.

A music video is also in the pipeline for her solo work, and she’s currently writing with several different producers & DJ’s. She traveled to the USA this spring to work on different musical projects and she is currently working on her album. As you can tell, she is very dedicated to her music. Her dream.

We recently caught up with her.


What should I call you?
Rebecca, Becca or whatever you like

2.How do you fill your days?
I fill my days very differently depending on how inspired I am and what different “musts” I
have in my life. At the moment I’m filling out most of my days studying, practicing
and finishing recording my EP that’s coming out soon.

3.Star sign?
Leo, obviously

4. What are you listening to?
I’m listening to anything that I consider as “good” music, it can be anything from techno to
modern jazz. But I believe that it is the jazz and the classical music that have inspired
me most as I grew up around it and to me it feels very real and honest. And
obviously Beatles and other British heroes that have changed our history are not to be
forgotten mentioning. I do love simple pop and disney sound-tracks too.

5.Item of clothing that you can’t stop wearing?
At the moment it’s so cold where I live so long cardigans and beanie hats are things I
wear all the time. On stage you gotta have a cropped top right now though, we
haven’t had enough of them yet.

6.Do you have any style icons? If so, do tell
I don’t really take after anyone specific and I change style all the time but if I have to
pick one person to be my style icon it will probably have be Yoko Ono. She’s the
coolest! And she used to have the same kind of long hippie-hair as I do which can
also be used as a curtain for covering your face if needed

7.Any current obsessions?
Porn-star nails and 90′s tattoo choker necklaces.


8.If you were to make one fashion rule, what would it be?
Right now I say; CLASH it!

9.Does your style influence your work or Does your work influence your style? Or is it a
mixture of the two?
I suppose the way people dress will always reflect their mood and my mood is in a constant
roller coaster and so is my style, sometimes I look like a tramp and sometimes I look
awesome. I’m not the kind of girl who wakes up with my shit sorted out, I take
everything as it comes, day by day.

10. Emporium piece of choice?
Jet Charm Cuff - Emporium England

As Raindear in the fall 2013 first appeared she immediately caught attention from “pop-knowers” worldwide. Her highly anticipated and self-produced debut EP, The Game is a testimony of a young girl’s head puzzles and sleepless nights.

The music is best described as melodic and cinematic indie-electro with influences from jazz and world music, and her haunting vocals have something characteristic to them that you don’t hear too often.

The newest Single “Veins” is out now and you should hear it. - BeatsandBeyond.com

Lyssna på en ny låt av RAINDEAR.
Bakom namnet RAINDEAR är musikern och sångerskan Rebecca Bergcrantz, hennes låt Nightwish har på senaste tiden klättrat högt upp på P3s Osignat Top 10-lista. Med hennes klockrena EP The Game som gavs ut för drygt två månader sedan fortsätter sångerskan leverera fantastisk indie-electro, lyssna på hennes nya låt Veins nedan. - Festivalrykten

Trots att favoritbandet är The Beatles låter det nystartade electroprojektet Raindear långt ifrån 60-talets pojkband. Vi tog ett snack med ledaren Rebecca Bergcrantz.

Hej Rebecca! Hur är läget?
Läget är coolt!

Hur ser din musikaliska bakgrund ut?
Jag är från en musikerfamilj och har sysslat med musik i hela livet. Började som jazzsångerska men flyttade efter gymnasiet till London och sedan New York där jag började syssla med den här typen av musik.

Berätta om låten ”GrownUps”!
”GrownUps” är en låt som handlar om en av mitt hjärtas städer: London. En stad jag ofta liknar vid Neverland från Peter Pan, man åker dit för att inte behöva växa upp. ”We wanna be grown ups but we still sleep on floors”.

Vad har du för influenser?
Jag influeras hela tiden av enormt mycket olika saker som sound och klanger jag hör inom alla möjliga genrer. Men mitt ”alla tiders favoritband” måste få vara Beatles.

Vad väntar härnäst för Raindear?
Raindear kommer inom en ungefärlig månad att släppa en ny EP på eget bolag, och med största sannolikhet en animerad video. Det finns även ett par spännande samarbeten på gång inför nästa år. - PSL

Med elektroniska synth-symfonier skapar Raindear ett eget landskap i cyberspace. Hennes musik har imponerat på mig sedan första lyssningen; så jag ställde några frågor om till henne om inspiration, skapande och vad som komma skall.


Man kan med säkerhet säga att Raindear, eller Rebecca Bergcrantz som hon egentligen heter, tillhör den indie-elektro man kommer vilja ha koll på i framtiden. Som både sin egen producent och låtskrivare är hon helt klart ett lysande exempel på den DIY-rörelse som idag är en självklarhet för de flesta unga artister. För några månader sedan släppte hon EPn The Game, men redan i slutet av sommaren väntas det nya släpp.

Hej Rebecca, berätta om din EP the game!

Hej! The Game är ett resultat av en period i mitt liv. En period då jag befann mig mitt i stora förändringar. Jag brukar skriva ett sjok låtar i nästan dagboksform som speglar en tid. Och sen känns ämnet avklarat, det blir som terapi.

Var hittar du inspiration till att skriva och producera musik?

Inspirationen hittar jag överallt och hela tiden, det kan vara genom att upptäcka låtar eller till exempel att man hör någon prata lite extra melodiskt, eller så kan det vara ”noise” från en stad. Dock är jag inte alltid mottaglig för inspiration utan det kan gå lite upp och ner under ett år. Just nu har jag super-flow och blir inspirerad till låt-idéer dagligen.

”Om du är tjej kommer du garanterat stöta på killar som ”vet bättre” , låt de inte trycka ner dig, du vet bäst hur din egen musik ska låta”

Om du måste välja tre låtar att lyssna på för resten av livet, vilka skulle det vara?

Oj så svår fråga, men just idag känner jag att jag att det får bli;
My Favorite Things med John Coletrane, A day in the Life av Beatles och Renaissance girls med Oh Land.

(+en miljon till)

Vad är ditt bäst tips till hen som vill börja producera elektronisk musik?

Det är bara att köra och inte vara för pretentiös – det hämmar dig bara. Du kommer göra fetare och fetare grejer och du kommer bli överraskad över hur snabbt du utvecklas om du bara vågar. (Om du är tjej kommer du garanterat stöta på killar som ”vet bättre” , låt de inte trycka ner dig, du vet bäst hur din egen musik ska låta)

Du spelade nyligen på Skurupfestivalen; vad väntar härnäst?

Näst på tur står Nordiskt Forum i Malmö Arena, där jag kommer medverka på avslutningsceremonin. I sommar släpper jag även en singel och sedan en lång EP mot slutet av sommaren/hösten. Jag kommer också eventuellt åka och spela på Burning Man i Nevada-öknen i Augusti, det vore drömmen! - EQUALIZER

Playful Swedish electro. Check out here.

https://soundcloud.com/raindearmusic/grown-ups - ALFITUDE

Hon sökte sig till London och brittpopen men hittade hem i elektron. Sen dess har Rebecca Bergcrantz hunnit flytta både till New York och Piteå och imorgon spelar hon, under sitt alias Raindear, i hemmastaden Malmö.

Rebecca Bergcrantz har just kommit hem till föräldrarna i Malmö, efter ett USA-äventyr med spelningar på festivalen Burning Man, mitt ute i Nevadas öken.

– Det är det bästa jag gjort. Jag kommer leva på energin därifrån hela hösten. Så inspirerande med en fristad mitt ute i ingenstans. Där finns inga pengar utan man byteshandlar med sin konst, kläder, drinkar, skivor och konserter.

Rebecca Bergcrantz växte upp i Gamla Rosengård med syskon, mamma Anna-Lena Laurin som är kompositör och pappa Anders Bergcrantz som är jazztrumpetare. Under uppväxten spelade hon olika instrument men kom tidigt på att det var sången som var hennes främsta styrka.

Efter studenten packade hon väskan och drog till London.

– Jag var fascinerad av den engelska rockhistorien, modet, klubblivet. Jag ville leva i den kulturen. Det är lustigt för jag var helt inställd på Blur och annan brittpop men så hittade jag via musikervänner elektron – som ju låter mer skandinaviskt.

– Jag började producera. Att jag kunde göra allting själv var lockande. Jag vill gärna ha kontroll över allt.
Hon blev kvar i England i 4,5 år. Efter en mellanlandning i Malmö för att jobba ihop pengar så bar det av till New York där hon träffade ännu fler musiker och började producera under sitt nya alias Raindear.

Debut-ep:n ”The Game” kom i våras. Hon beskriver sin stil som kreativ indie-elektro med fokus på starka melodier. På Facebook kallar hon skämtsamt genren för ”Disney-dance”.

– Pentatoniska skalor är min fetisch. Det är skalor med fem toner och det låter japanskt, sagoaktigt – lite Pocahontas.

Mycket har hänt under det senaste året. Hon har börjat plugga jazz på Musikhögskolan i Piteå, och skaffat en manager i New York. På samma managementbolag finns Nina Persson, och senare i höst släpps en ep där olika kvinnliga producenter tolkar några av Nina Perssons låtar. Raindear är en av dem, och hon gör en remix på ”Food For The Beast”. Om ett par veckor åker hon tillbaka till London och spelar in nya låtar med producentduon WTNSS och en ny ep – eller möjligen fullängdare – har planerat släpp i januari.

Men först väntar morgondagens konsert på hemmaplan. Rebecca Bergcrantz är peppad och ser fram emot att även hinna se några av de andra akterna.

– Särskilt Stella Lugosi. Valentina från det bandet och jag hade en popgrupp när vi var små. Jag var nog nio år. Vi ville vara som Spice Girls och kallade oss Nice Girls. Vi ville ta över världen. Jag har alltid velat bli popartist.

Raindear om:

Att flytta från New York till Piteå:
– Det är många kalla månader och jag får väldigt mycket gjort! Det var såklart en stor kontrast, men samtidigt så umgås jag mest med musiker där uppe. Det är bra att vara där, man blir inte distraherad.

Sitt artistnamn:
– Jag tyckte inte att Rebecca Bergcrantz lät fett nog för den här musiken. Jag lekte runt med ordet ”reindeer” – tyckte kombinationen regn, käraste och att det låter som ett fint djur blev bra. Det tog fyra år att komma på rätta namnet.

Hemma Hos Festival:
– Det är fantastiskt att det finns såna festivaler. Att inte bara de allra största får ta plats. Kristofer (Nilsson, som är arrangör, Red. anm) gör ett bra jobb på det sättet. - City

Att Piteå kryllar av känd och okänd talang råder ingen tvekan om. En som kanske tillhör kategorien okänd talang är musikern Rebecca Bergcrantz som går andra året på jazzmusikerprogrammet.

Rebecca är mer känd under artistnamnet Raindear. För en vecka sedan kom Rebecca hem efter ett par framträdanden på en av jordens coolaste festivaler – Burning Man i Nevada, USA.

Vi ville såklart veta allt om Rebecca och Burning Man och lät därför göra den här videointervjun. Mycket nöje! - P-town.se

Hey guys!

I was able to meet with an upcoming music artist from Sweden! She has played all around Europe and her music has been featured throughout college campuses. Her name is Rebecca Bergcrantz, but known as her musician name, Raindear. She was able to stop by San Francisco State for a quick interview before traveling to shoot her upcoming music video at the annual Burning Man event. I was able to sit down and interview her about her background and upcoming music. Check it out!

Thank you so much for stopping at Her Campus San Francisco State to do an interview with me. So how did your music career start?

“I've been doing music all my life and I actually wrote my first song when I was six. And it was actually released on a children's record. So basically that's how my career started, but then it didn't really happen, anything until now. So that was like the top, but then I was like having a bit of a break until when I was maybe 20 [years old] or something.”

Are there any artists that have inspired you?

“Yes, a lot of them. I'm inspired by lots of jazz because I am from a jazz background. So that's like the few idols that always stick with me like Billie Holiday...”

I was going to say that! That was the first thing person that comes to mind, Billie Holiday. I remember doing a bio on her. She was really amazing. That's really cool.

“Yeah, its just that there is something that's really honest with her and then obviously I'm really into new electronic music where I get that bit of my inspiration from.”

And that's your style and genre of music?

“Yeah, and then like more temporary, but from the newer ones I really love Kate Boy, Niki and The Dove, and also like Bjork is always going to be a massive hero. Kate Bush, Radiohead, well and yeah, all that jazz. And um classical music as well, so it's really broad. I'm really picky, but broad. But I like the best from every genre, kind of thing.”

Tell us about your new single “Grown Ups.”

“It's kind of about when you're like in the adolescents between being old and a kid when you're just want to try to survive. And like I wrote it about my years that I spent in London, which is such a harsh city because it's so hard to, you know, survive that, [and] it's so expensive, but you have dreams and you keep sticking that, like even though it's so hard. That's how it came about because it's yeah, we want to be grown ups, but we sleep on floors...”

Exactly!..

“That's what I'm singing, so it's about that.”

What projects do you have that's coming up next?

“I'm going to Burning Man on Sunday and I'm going to be an artist and resident for the living theater that is building a stage that, our contacts are made in New York. And I'm going to perform both newer songs from my upcoming EP because I have a new EP in the works that will be out in September.”

What's the name?

“Mirrorland.”

Okay!

Yeah, so it's actually going to be a long EP, it's like seven tracks or six, [but] I haven't decided..

Nice...

“But yeah, but it's something in between of being an album because some of them, of the songs, are remixes so it still would be counted as a EP. [So] yeah, I'm really excited about. So that's like the next thing that I'm releasing.”

Where can we find your music?

If you just do spelling right, you can Google around it and I'll be all over the internet, but like Soundcloud, Spotify, iTunes.

Okay, cool. Awesome.

“[Spelling of name] R-A-I-N-D-E-A-R”

Got it! Well thank you for stopping by...

“Thank you for having me.”



At the end of the interview, she sung a quick verse from one of her singles “Old Church."

Here is a the video coverage of the whole interview! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-s68CI2teU - HerCampus San Francisco State