NEW EP, IF I WAS, I AM, OUT JULY 28 VIA NEXT DOOR RECORDS
WATCH / SHARE “PLACE TO BE” (NICK DRAKE COVER) HERE
BUY / STREAM “PLACE TO BE” (NICK DRAKE COVER) HERE
PRE-SAVE IF I WAS, I AM HERE
Photo Credit : Monse Muro // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Last month, Montreal songwriter Bells Larsen announced a new EP If I Was, I Am to be released July 28 on Next Door Records, and shared the first single, “Ten Hands”. Today he returns with another track from the collection, a cover of Nick Drake’s “Place To Be”. “Nick Drake is one of my favourite songwriters and the magic of his tunings never ceases to make me feel at peace,” says Larsen. “I love this song in particular because its lyrics echo a lot of the themes in my own music about change, growing older, and the then vs. the now. My interpretation of the line ‘just hand me down, give me a place to be’ is that Nick Drake is aching for both stasis and belonging in a moment of change. My transition has required so much movement; I too often longfor stillness amidst all the changes I’m going through. Considering both the relevance of the lyrics for me and the cozy-cabin feel of the song (and the fact that the EP wasrecorded in a cabin), covering ‘Place To Be’ for this project felt right.
WATCH / SHARE “PLACE TO BE” (NICK DRAKE COVER) HERE
BUY / STREAM “PLACE TO BE” (NICK DRAKE COVER) HERE
“Place To Be” Single Art // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
MORE ABOUT IF I WAS, I AM
The EP embraces stillness. For Larsen, the last few years have involved a lot of movement — this new collection of songs is an attentive, inquisitive recuperation. He returns sonically to a place of familiarity, reminiscent of early bedroom demos, yet the frequency has shifted. With his newly-baritone voice front and centre, accompanied often only by a guitar, Larsen says, "Contrary to what some might think, the point of my transition isn’t about an arrival at a final destination; I don’t know that such a place exists. The only arrival that makes sense to me is the one where I come home to myself.” Grappling with stories of selfhood, change, and homecoming, If I Was, I Am considers the act of finding oneself as a constant state of becoming.
The first offering from the EP, “Ten Hands”, a song “about being seen,” shares Bells. “For a long time, I figured that I had to choose between being myself and being loved. This song is a testament to the fact that I can choose both.” The music video, co-directed by Bells and Em Grisdale, is a compilation of home video footage following Bells’ transition, a moving portrayal of his relationship's evolution over the course of personal transformation.
Larsen's artfully sparse instrumentation, often driven by acoustic guitar, offers an evocative base over which to explore his identity—a trans, queer person navigating the qualms of young adulthood, and of course, love.
WATCH / SHARE “TEN HANDS” HERE
BUY / STREAM “TEN HANDS” HERE
If I Was, I Am is the highly anticipated follow-up to Bells Larsen's 2022 debut Good Grief, which drew acclaim from CBC Music, Exclaim! and The Revue who proclaimed him “undeniably one of the most exciting young artists to arrive on the scene,” as well as showcase opportunities at School Night, POP Montreal, and SXSW.
MORE ABOUT BELLS LARSEN
Bells Larsen is a Montreal-based songwriter who weaves together cathartic lyrics and memorable melodies in his music. Drawing from experiences of loss, love, and identity, Larsen's songs speak to his life as a trans, queer person. His folk-inspired sound and ardent lyricism slows down the pace of the world around him to create space for contemplation and expression. Traversing between emblematic and actualized narratives, he sees storytelling as a way to make sense of and connect with both the ordinary and unpredictable moments in life.
Good Grief, the 2022 debut from Larsen, was conceptualised during a time of restoration. Healing from the death of his first love, the album bridges the gaps between I, you, and we to narrate an intentional meditation on how we try to grapple with the meaning of loss.
PRE-SAVE IF I WAS, I AM HERE
IF I WAS, I AM TRACKLIST
01 Ten Hands
02 Suitcases By The Door
03 When I Was Your Favourite Person
04 Just Knowing You
05 Place To Be