Beharie Releases “We Never Knew”
Today, Norwegian alternative R&B-soul singer-songwriter Beharie shares the smooth, dreamy track and lyric video “We Never Knew” out everywhere now. The track’s ethereal production captures the mixed emotions that come with a relationship ending quicker than it was supposed to. Atwood Magazine exclusively premiered the track and calling it, “passionate and smoldering,” adding, “Beharie’s soul-stirring song ‘We Never Knew’ delivers an achingly intimate and emotionally charged postmortem on a love he thought might last a lifetime.”
Beharie’s rich, layered debut album Are You There, Boy? is due out October 20 and is available for pre-order now. Alongside the new release, Beharie announces a lengthy tour across Northern and Western Europe as well as a stop in London, UK. Tickets are on sale now via beharieofficial.com/tour-dates and a full list of dates can be found below.
Out today, the soulful “We Never Knew” looks back at a relationship that was thought to last forever. Painting the picture for its overall theme, Beharie says, “In the heat of it all. When you lose yourself in it. How things made sense, and how the bad things were ignored. But little did we know that we would end up being strangers.”
The forthcoming bright, wistful album Are You There, Boy? meets Beharie where he is today and invites listeners into a brand new, carefully curated sonic world. Through vibrant melodies and delicate, smooth vocals, the artist explores nuanced themes of love, self-doubt, desire, longing and pain with his heart on his sleeve. Over 12 soulful, heartfelt tracks, the project follows a multi-faceted character who seeks meaningful connections, follows his curiosity where it takes him, and ultimately discovers more of himself. Exploring the ever-changing, versatile aspects of his own humanity and identity, the album showcases his growth, insecurities, passions and complexities.
Beharie explains, “This album has given me the opportunity to delve into various aspects of my own identity, and in the process, I have explored the complexity inherent in my personality and expression.” On the aforementioned characters presented throughout, Beharie continues, “We have nurtured different characters and played with their distinct expressions. These characters have been assigned unique names: Washed-out jeans boy, float in space boy, constant fear boy, make believe boy, and lost in thought boy.” Each of these characters represents fragments of Beharie’s soul and essence – all in search of a sense of belonging.
The album features collaborations by two rising singer-songwriters — Uly based in Dublin and Judy Blank based in The Netherlands. It was mastered by Guy Davie (Michael Kiwanuka) at Electric Mastering in London, UK.
The previously shared “Heaven,” is a swirling, cinematic track that explores faith and pain. Beharie explains the song, “tells a story about transitioning from being religious, to not believing anymore.” It finds the musician beginning to lose hope on love, but only here, he discovers his autonomy, unbound to any person or thing. He calls it, “A sad but also liberating tune.” Earlier this month, Beharie performed the track live alongside the Norwegian Radio Orchestra–watch here.
Earlier tastes of the project include the warm, romantic, “Deadly,” and “Oh My God,” the hooky, spirited track that blooms as it unfolds through Beharie’s signature heartfelt vocals. “Deadly” captures the early stages of a new love, from the fear, to the curiosity, to the sweeping excitement. Gearing up to take a leap into love, Beharie says the tender tune is, “about falling in love and feeling obsessed with a person. It’s kind of scary, but also really intriguing. It came out of nowhere, and now you are ready and willing to really jump into it.” “Deadly” has also been added to Spotify’s coveted Fresh Finds R&B playlist.
Sonically, “Oh My God” illustrates a fiery love that is unstable, energetic and worth chasing. Beharie explains, “It conveys the chaos love brings, when it’s unsettled, shaky and intense. The track has sort of a feel-good ‘awakening’ tone to it. It captures the energy of this movement, but it has undertones of frustration and desperation, and longing.”
In February, Beharie shared the forthcoming collection’s first offering, with the soulful, old-school, “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?“ The warm, wistful track picks up in the early stages of falling in love and explores the uncertainties that come with meeting someone new. Beharie says, “It’s in the starting phase of falling in love with someone, without knowing if the other person likes you back. It conveys the insecurities that expose themselves at the beginning of meeting someone.”
With three EPs shared since 2019, Beharie has consistently expanded his sound, artistry and message and refined his focus toward what’s to come. In 2019, Beharie shared his self-titled first EP, and in 2021, his second EP, Beharie // Beharie, earned the singer-songwriter a Norwegian Grammy Award or Spellemann Award. It also earned the attention of the Swedish Gaffa Awards who named him the “International Newcomer of The Year”. The EP also won him Wonderland praised the EP, writing, “It might be too early to crown the EP of the year just yet, but this is certainly one of our best contenders.”
Despite being based in Europe, American tastemakers have been captivated by his compelling vocals and touching lyricism. PopMatters said about “Don’t Wanna Know,” which appeared on the aforementioned EP, “This is sophisticated, jazz-inflected alternative soul in the realm of Jordan Rakei, Tom Misch, and Michael Kiwanuka. The music is warm and inviting, carefully layered and constructed, and oozing a soulful dreaminess.” EUPHORIA. wrote “Worry,” also on the project, is “special” and continued, “in true Beharie fashion, it doesn’t fit into one box. It’s a bit soul, a bit folk, a bit R&B, and simply Beharie, which is what makes it a song you keep coming back to. It’s also what makes us ever-so-curious to hear what he does next.” Check out our previous coverage oh Beharie here.
Photo credit: Shawn Arvind