This past year has certainly given us plenty of opportunities to take a moment, pause and reflect. Hopefully, it’s only a matter of time until we can get back on an aircraft and see the world, to stand (or sit) in a concert hall and listen to some live music.

Until then, take another pause now, relax, and listen to Norwegian classical artist Vetle Nærø and his new single Hypnagogia (which means the experience of the transitional state from wakefulness to sleep). This is the second track off his upcoming album release in April.

Vetle makes piano, ambient music which he describes as “at times happy, meditative and contemplative. Other times it can be sentimental and melancholic.”

Where are you from and what are your favourite places to experience there?

I am from Norway and currently living in a small town called Ålesund. It is such a beautiful town with lots of places to visit. Ålesund is surrounded by big mountains, ocean and deep woods. This beautiful nature here really inspires my music.

One of my favourite places in the world is a place called Alnes. It is a little ride outside of town, on the coast. There we have a little small-town, a beach, a beautiful lighthouse, as well as an art gallery: All wrapped in beautiful nature and ocean. It is always an otherworldly and beautiful experience visiting there. My single Waves was inspired by this landscape.

How would you best describe your sound?

My sound is mainly based around the piano, including other elements such as ambient sounds, synthesizers and strings. I am always evolving and exploring, but I think the piano will always be my main focus. It is such a deep instrument with so many possibilities I don’t even know about yet.

I write music about my feelings and experiences/moments from life. With this not only comes feelings like happiness and joy, but also melancholy. At times my music can be happy, meditative and contemplative. Other times it can be sentimental and melancholic, which I also think is important to incorporate in my music. I try to showcase all aspects of life, which I think really affects my sound.

What have you got planned for the year?

My second album «Introspection» will be out on 16th April 2021, on all digital platforms as well as CD´s and Vinyl. It will be releasing under 7k!, where I newly got signed. Releasing under this label is a real honour to me, so with this also comes a lot of work and responsibility that occupies my mind.

My main plans right now is getting through the pandemic, and helping my family and friends. The whole situation is really affecting my mental health and my creativity, so I am doing the best I can to adapt to the situation and becoming friends with it. It is not easy, so I really understand everyone who is struggling right now.

Other than that, I plan to take a bachelor in music composition in Oslo. This is something that I am really motivated to do, so I hope everything will go as planned. Meanwhile I will of course work on more music!

When can we expect to see you start to play some online or live music?

 I will be having a release-concert in my hometown around the album-release. Because of the pandemic it will also be live-streamed for everyone that would like to watch! More info will most likely be posted on my medias.

What can we do to help support your music and where do we need to go to do that?

The way to support me is to buy and listen to my music! It is always deeply appreciated. You can do that here! My medias are in that link as well: https://linktr.ee/vetleneaero

Finally, what was the last thing you read, watched, and listened to?

In the last year I have been completely absorbed by the writer Haruki Murakami. His way of writing and his dreamy books has really inspired me. I currently finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It is so awesome! I also recently discovered Beach House, and completely fell in love with that band. They got so many good albums out, and their psychedelic, dreamy popvibe is so cool!

The latest movie I saw was Sound of Metal. It was a really deep, good and thought-provoking movie. It’s about a metal-drummer that suddenly gets deaf on a gig, and how he deals with it. The movie took some really interesting turns, and ended completely different than how it started. It really makes you think, and appreciate life!

Interview by Alex Minnis

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