Handsome Guy, Håkon Stubberud, is out with his new single "Bare Dans". A cure for heavy thoughts. - Just dance, don't think about what has ended, whether it's a relationship or a feeling or a period in life. Dance your way through it <3
/ 28/06/2019 / Kristian DugstadName: Handsome Boy
Age: 24
Current with: New doomsday song
TONO member since: 2018
Who is Pen Gutt? Who is Håkon Stubberud? Is there a difference between the two?
It's secret.
What is your musical background?
I haven't played any instruments or anything before. I got a lot of my taste in music from what my siblings played in the car when we were on family vacations. I remember being completely mindblown the first time I heard Justice's "Justice" album, it was huge for me. I also looked up the lyrics to songs my brother played from his room.
There have been many Sundays in church with the family, and singing along to carols and such, so it's something I've gone back to recently, and found a new joy in. I actually hated singing along to it when I was younger.
What inspires your lyrics?
I draw a lot of inspiration from movies and other fictional works. I like to enter a universe where there are its own rules and frameworks for what is allowed and what is not.
Kanye and Gambino also inspire me endlessly. Geniuses.
Where and how do you write?
I usually write at home in my apartment. I light some candles and create a mood so that I can feel like I'm living in the Renaissance, or in another universe, hehe.
How do you approach melody? Do you produce anything yourself?
I don't produce anything myself, I just say what I want and try to convey in images and humming how I want songs to be built up, for example. I usually like to find melodies with the producer, and rather work together than be two different parties who contribute their own.
How involved are you?
The whole process, from idea to final product. It's not all of the mixing that I've been involved in, as I've trusted both Samkopf and Baya to do their part there. It's important to give people the space to do what they can behind closed doors. It's the same when I edited a lot of videos before. I had to learn to have someone above me to follow along, but I usually worked best alone.
What was the very first song you ever wrote?
Haha hmmm. I've written a lot of stories in my head while walking to a friend's house. I remember writing one about a girl I was obsessed with, but she turned out not to be keen on me at all.
But the first song I recorded was probably a song for our underground football team that we called "brunrykkinn". We had an unofficial Underground football league in Bærum for a while, where a lot of people around put together a team made up of the people they hung out with. So I made a song for our team, I have no idea how it went.
Tell us about your brand new single "Just Dance"?
I checked Dropbox yesterday, and it's been almost 2 years since we started it. It's a lot of the foundation for the upcoming album. That's when Samkopf and I started creating the foundations for our doomsday project.
I think the prechorus sums up the song well: "don't think it's over, just dance, until we melt into the furnace, and everything turns black"
Just dance, don't think about what has ended, whether it's a relationship or a feeling or a period in life. Dance your way through it <3
I wanted to get as many people involved in this project as possible and, so there's a bunch of people singing the chorus, and then there's an upcoming video for it where anyone who wanted to could be in. I just wanted to involve people in this, in a song that's about enjoying life.
Do you like to dance yourself? When should you just dance?
I love to dance! Dance every day, all the time :)))
Indianna, who features in the upcoming video, wrote it so beautifully: "dance even if you think you can't"
What are you working on now? What will Pen Gutt have in store for the rest of 2019?
I'm working on my upcoming album, with the visuals around all the songs and especially what my concerts will look like going forward. I've also started making the music that comes after my album, just keeping the pace up.
What is your career highlight so far?
The By:larm concerts, for sure. It was out of this world. An out-of-body feeling, sort of. It was the first time I got to do exactly what I wanted, and immerse myself deeply in the universe I had created.
Can you share your greatest music experience – as a listener?
"Born To Die" by Lana Del Rey is probably the album I've cried the most to. The strings mixed with her vulnerable love lyrics, and her divine voice is one of the most beautiful things I know. It hits me so deep every time I put it on. I'll probably sing those songs to my kids when I put them to bed.
I was driving home one fall day with my sister and brother after we had seen our father in the open casket, and then one of them put on “See Her Out (That’s Just Life)” by Francis and the Lights, and wow, it was absolutely insane. It just poured out of my eyes, it was so heartbreaking and beautiful and sad all at once. It was life itself, and that’s what life is.
Is there anything we should have asked you about?
You should have asked me if I got a call from TONO.
And what is the answer to that question?
Yes, and they had money in my account!!