In our last Nordic New Music segment of the month we get to know Ida and Asta from Copenhagen’s glam rocking soulful outfit Raspy Berries.
Yesterday saw the release of their new single ‘No Panties’ and along with the single is a fabulous video to go with it featuring drag queen Donatella Discount! Find out more below and don’t forget to check out their video at the end!
Where are you from and what are your favourite places to experience there?
We are both from Copenhagen in Denmark.
We played our first gig at Café Tjili Pop at Nørrebro, Copenhagen. It is this kitschy underground bar filled with local hipsters, young punks, old jazz-guys and all in between. There is an open stage night every week. A lot of bands and singer-songwriters in Copenhagen have their humble beginnings at smaller hidden places, so go have a beer and experience the local artists.
Pro-tip: Look for poems written in between all the wall-graffiti at Tjili Pop.
When visiting Copenhagen, you might find yourself eating gourmet ice waffles at Nyhavn with the other tourists. Take your time to enjoy beautiful Nyhavn from a distance, while walking across Inderhavnsbroen (a bridge) towards Christiania by the canals. Christiania has been a historical place for artists and musicians since 1971. The feel free and loving atmosphere still attracts musicians and artists from all over the world. With a lot of places worth mentioning, here are some of our favourite at Christiania: Operaen, Jazz Club, Den Grå Hal and Cafe Månefiskeren.
A little tip for our glitter freaks: You can buy a 500g jar of glitter at costume-shop Fest og farver at Nørrebrogade, which came in handy when we made SFX glitter-cum to our music video.
How would you best describe your sound?
Our band name describes our sound – it’s juicy and delicious as a berry, but raw and intimate as the raspy voice of a young woman who is still awake, reflecting upon all the spectrums of identity and questions about social inequalities at four o’clock in the morning. Vocalist Ida delivers tasty attitude and soulful sound while Asta works as a multi-instrumental powerhouse playing drums, keyboard, and percussions at the same time. Our sound is minimalistic and alternative soul with a solid groove. Keys inspired by soul a Glamrock and rhythms recognized somewhere between Rock and R’n’B.
What have you got planned for the year?
We have some upcoming collaborations with different artists to be released this year. B’vek Pakuwal (Shoonyabivek) is playing bass on our upcoming debut-single “No panties”, and the music video is a collaboration with the drag queen Donatella Discount. Collaborating with other creative artists is something that we love to do as a band. Not only with other musicians, but also crossovers in terms of various artforms.
Our music video is going to be a crazy fairytale, so stay tuned! Other singles are planned for this year as well. We have a lot of material that we usually play live, but the pandemic has really taken us from stage to studio.
When can we expect to see you start to play some live music?
The core of Raspy Berries is being a live band – the reason we both dreamed of forming this band when we were younger, was the magic, togetherness, and pure euphoria of live music. That is why we from the start focused on getting gigs before anything else. So, we are looking very much forward to hitting the stage again as soon as quarantine-restrictions allow it. In the meantime, we are scratching the itch by making live sessions on our social media and jamming out at our rehearsal bunker.
What can we do to help support your music and where do we need to go to do that?
You can support us by following us on these social media for news and updates:
Instagram: @raspyberriesband
Facebook: Raspyberries
Follow us here to listen to our music and stream “No panties” (Out today!):
Support us by giving a tip, so we can record as much music as possible:
Finally, what was the last thing you read, watched, and listened to?
In the past months have we spent a lot of time watching shots from our music video in the postproduction, so our eyes dwell on lots of red velour, glitter and the gorgeous Drag Queen Donatella Discount.
We both listen to a big range of music artists from many different genres and backgrounds. But at the moment Ida has a pulsating love for the Reggae R’n’b single “Slow Down” by Skip Marley and H.E.R. and Asta vibes to the sound of the rocking “Ohio” by King Princess. And then we both listen to our mutual British Soul-jazz idol Amy Winehouse – every day and forever.
The last thing we read was our future. And it is juicy! Filled with soulful art, good grooves, and love enough for everyone!
Interview by Alex Minnis