Get to Know: Off Bloom
We recently chatted with Mette Mortensen, Alex Flockhart, and Mads Christensen of the Anglo-Danish trio Off Bloom. The three have recently released their new single "Falcon Eye," which seamlessly blends their love of electronic and pop music. The group just wrapped up some tour dates supporting indie-pop group LANY in the UK, and they'll be touring Europe next month with Dua Lipa. During our interview, we chatted about their live show, what's next in terms of their music, their start as a band, and more. Get to know Off Bloom now...
Off Bloom is Mette Mortensen, Alex Flockhart, and Mads Christensen
They met in acting school
Well, Mads and Mette did. As for Alex and Mette, Alex talks about their start in music, saying, "Mette and I actually met quite a few years ago, we were making music together. We were in a band together, and we quickly found out that we maybe got along better just the two of us, more so than everyone else in the band. So that band kind of broke up and we just kept going. Then Mette and Mads met at an acting school."
Mette picks up the story at that point, adding, "I used to be all about doing acting. We did some different voice and singing stuff. After we finished the course, we went back to making music again." Alex adds, "We had finished up with all the other things we were doing and we had kind of decided that now is actually the time that we’re gonna go for music for real," before saying that their new project was inspired by a mix of influences, including the Glasgow-based LuckyMe crew, 1970s rock from Berlin, and pop music. "We just sort of started writing together and it just fit together, it was so natural. We just started writing loads and loads of songs and then it dawned on us that we were actually a band, so we might as well pursue that," he continued.
They won't release an album until they're ready
Off Bloom released their debut EP Love To Hate It last year, which has been getting lots of great reception and responses from listeners. The band also say their first release has given them incredible opportunities. "We started off playing our first show at the biggest TV show on Danish television, for music at least. Our guy that we worked with at our label had been to the radio and played the song, and showed the video that was about to come out. And they just fell completely in love with it and wanted us to perform at the show," Mette says. Although they say they were nervous for that performance, Mads says, "It was fucking awesome. It was a really nice step of the way. We’d been preparing all this for such a long time and we knew exactly what we wanted to do, and we have a clear vision of what we want to achieve. So in that sense it was pretty much straight forward."
Although the first EP went well, the band say they don't want to release an album until the time is right. "There will be a lot of songs coming out at one point. There’s a lot of music and we’re excited to release it all. Whether it’s gonna be an album form, we don’t really know. It doesn’t make sense to release an album until it feels right and like people are actually gonna listen to it. You can say a lot of good things about streaming, but people rarely listen to albums unless you’re really a fully established artist, like Beyonce or something. It needs to be the right time. If we put an album together we want to tell a story. We want people to listen to the full story and not just the first three songs," Alex elaborates. Mette adds, "We have so much new material and probably for like the next few months, it’s gonna come out boom, boom, boom! We want to really get a lot of music out there because we have so much great stuff that we really can’t wait to show people."
So although we don't have any promises for an album this year, the material is definitely there...make sure you keep your eyes and ears out for new music from Off Bloom soon.
They have no rules when it comes to writing songs
On the same subject of new music, Off Bloom say they don't like to stick to structure when it comes to creating it. Mads talks about their process saying, "The only rule that we really have is that we always do everything together. Sometimes Alex starts out with something, or sometimes I do and we kind of mix it up. If I’ve made a beat then I will send it to Alex, and then Alex will send it back and forth. Mette will listen. Sometimes we make it on the piano. It depends on the mood, but the only real constant thing in our process is that we go into the room being honest with the energy that’s in the room. Then we try and do whatever feels right and feels good, what feels exciting or interesting. Whether that feeling or that energy might come from a really bad place, that doesn’t matter as long as it’s honest and straightforward. It can be brutally sad." He continues on to add, "We’re here to learn together. I think that is the thing, being together and being honest towards what and how we feel and what’s going down. Cause it’s so much stronger than trying to make a formula for it. But then at the same time it’s also just because we don’t know what the fuck we’re doing. So the only thing we really can do is just be honest about what is going down in that specific moment."
“It depends on the mood, but the only real constant thing in our process is that we go into the room being honest with the energy that’s in the room. ”
They used to send out thousands of emails a day with their music
Off Bloom have already worked with some notable names in music, including Two Inch Punch and AlunaGeorge. It turns out these opportunities first came around by just sending emails...thousands of emails. Mette describes their first encounter with Two Inch Punch, saying, "In the beginning when we didn’t have management, we didn’t have a label...we didn't have anything. We just had a lot of songs. And a lot of friends. The guys had been sending maybe 4,000 emails a day with the music. Just sending it to everybody, like idols and people in the industry and whatever. One night I had kind of the email “shift." It was my turn to write, kind of systematically. We went by Luke at the time and we just wrote ‘Hey, I am Luke, here is my music’ One of the people we sent it to was Two Inch Punch, and then the next morning, we got one response from all the hundreds of emails. It was from him. He was like, 'Fuck, this is fucking insanely good, who the fuck are you?' I didn’t really know who he was at that point, but I had heard the guys talk about him. I called Mads and said this guy Two Inch Punch answered, is he really cool or something?" Alex and Mads chime in that they both consider Two Inch Punch to be an idol and an inspiration on their music.
Alex continues on the subject, saying,"The week after, we were in the studio working together [with Two Inch Punch]. Which was amazing and now we’ve become close friends, which is an even more sort of precious thing to get out of it, through contacting people through music. And working with him has also been great." Mads weighs in on working with Two Inch Punch, saying, "It’s also funny. I think a lot of people do that. Like 'ok, so if we get this really big guy who’s made a lot of records and sounds really professional to help us out with production, then it’s gonna sound perfect'. And then you go in there and it’s like oh, you can’t help us that much. It’s our mission....he can only point us in the right direction. For me, the main thing was having him believing in us because I believe so much in him." They add that he's also been a great mentor on the business side of things.
They're very involved with their music videos
As the band mentioned, they were very involved with promoting their music and getting it out to listeners in the early days. The trio released the video for "Falcon Eye" on February 28th, which they say they worked hard on, being heavily involved in the concept. "We’re very, very highly involved in everything that we do," Mette says.
Mads adds, "I guess it’s good, but it’s also a control issue kind of thing. We just get frustrated cause there’s so much to do. But that’s why we pick really passionate and extremely talented people like Nadia who’s the director [for "Falcon Eye"]. Who almost becomes a part of our team. That’s what we want all the time, people who can inspire us to think even more creatively than we already do. And vice versa. Basically we can learn from each other. That’s basically the end goal with everything."
They give their all in their live shows
While the three were discussing their plans for new music, Mette adds, "We’re gonna really start playing concerts. We’re doing a small European tour where we’re supporting Dua Lip and LANY. Then we’re going to the US hopefully soon, to start to play concerts over there as well. I think putting out a lot new music and playing a lot of concerts, that’s our goal for the next couple of months."
As for what the live shows will be like, Alex describes it as "raw energy." Elaborating on performing live, Mads says, "We feel so good, so alive. We want to create an experience with the audience. It’s not only for us, it’s not only for them, we do it together with them. It’s gonna be so much fun. We’ve been preparing for it already."
Based on some Twitter responses, it seems like the LANY crowds were absolutely loving the raw energy provided by Off Bloom. If you get the chance to catch Off Bloom with Dua Lipa next month, it sounds like you're in for a treat. Londoners, you can also catch this energetic trio at The Pickle Factory in May. Check out all of Off Bloom's announced dates below:
Stay up to date with any new tour dates and music by checking Off Bloom's Facebook page, and get ready for their new material by getting familiar with their debut EP now: