Rising artist Ber has debuted her sophomore EP Halfway, which features the critically praised “Your Internet Sucks” and “Superspreader.”
The six track project follows the Minnesota native through the beginning stages of a breakup and “halfway” through recovery. She sings “is this a slutphase or is this a bandaid,” in the video for” the aptly titled track that”Slutphase,” which accompanied the EP’s release.
We sat down with Ber to chat about the EP, her Halfway Across America Tour this spring, and more!
Congrats on the release of your new EP, Halfway. What was the production process like for this project?
Thank you so much! I’m so excited it’s out. It was fun to write, every songwriting session felt like therapy. There was always sort of a visceral reaction towards each song, I cried for hours the day I wrote superspreader, I laughed so hard I got stomach cramps when writing Your Internet Sucks. Halfway felt like an epiphany!
Four of these songs were written and recorded in my friend Brad’s basement in MN, which to be completely honest is my happy space. I much prefer writing in my bedroom or a basement than a big fancy studio, so that was a pleasure. Over You and Slutphase were written in the UK on a trip last summer, and they sort of just finished off the story I was telling. This whole project feels like a little time capsule for what was in front of me when we wrote them and I really cherish how seen they’ve made me feel.
Do you have any favorite memories from the making of this EP?
I LOVED writing “Boys Who Kiss You In Their Car.” It was the second song I’d ever written with Brad and Cacie, and this day we spent together was such a monumental day, and greatly impacted the sonic direction of the whole EP. It instilled so much confidence in me and confirmed that this loud, indie sound would not only work for me, but it was effortless. We wrote this song off the back of me reading several titles off a note in my phone, and when I read that one, we all just died from laughter and threw ourselves into it and it will always be one of my favorite sessions ever.
How has your music evolved since your debut EP And I’m Still Thinking About That?
Things feel a little more intentional now, I think during that first EP I was writing to my walls, really desperate just to say something, but this EP feels fun, self-aware, louder and on purpose. It feels like I’ve turned over a new leaf.
What was the inspiration behind the single “Your Internet Sucks”?
Haha, when we wrote that, I had been avoiding all sorts of petty and angry emotions for almost 2 years, and I really felt like I needed to just write them all down so I could get it out and burn them essentially, like writing a journal entry and throwing the journal into a bonfire. Those feelings were just a weight on my chest. I wrote it with two of my best friends, after telling them this story (really nonchalantly I might add) about the time my now ex came to visit me in Leeds, and meet my housemates/get to know them. It had been over a month since i’d seen him (lockdown!), and he drove up for the night, but when he arrived he told me he was really tired and went to go lay down in my room for a quick nap, and I thought “okay, of course! I’ll start dinner!”. 3 hours flew by as I made dinner and hung out with my housemates, and he still hadn’t come down to say hi, so when dinner was ready I brought him a portion thinking I’d find him asleep, but when I opened the door he was laying on my bed playing Fortnite on his iPad with a PS4 controller that he had brought from home.
My friends FREAKED out when I told them this, and while I laughed it off at the time, telling them this brought back so many memories of things I’d been holding onto and my friend Landon looked me in the face and said, “Ber, we’re writing this. I don’t care what happens with it. You have to get this off your chest” and he was SO right. He also insisted there was a lyric about Fortnite. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. Hearing that people relate to this song…. Baffles me. But it also doesn’t, I think we all know that guy, and so it’s fun that this song exists.
The music video looked like a lot of fun. What was it like to film?
SO fun. The most fun I’ve had in a long time. Have you ever been to a rage room? Do you know how cathartic that is?
If you could set fans up in the perfect environment to listen to the EP, what do you imagine it looking like?
I would tell fans to listen to the EP by themselves in their kitchen with a full glass of cheap white wine. Make sure theres room to dance, but also a comfy counter seat, you’ll need that for “Superspreader” and “Over You.”
That’s the kind of the version of me that wrote it.
You’ve noted that in writing this EP that you wanted to try to “paint a picture of how I felt when I finally felt like I was Halfway through my breakup.” Did you find that writing this EP has helped you process it fully?
It definitely helped me take the next step, which I am grateful for. I will say, finishing it didn’t bring me the closure I was looking for for so long, but it did help me accept that I wouldn’t find it any time soon, and there was a certain peace in that. Things take time! But these songs really helped me realise that Ive grown quite a bit, I’m now able to see things for what they are and truly laugh at them, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
You recently posted some throwback photos of you performing at 14 years old. What would you want to tell little Ber?
I would tell her that she should buckle up, and throw all of her expectations out of the window. She’s in for a ride!
What can fans look forward to next?
I am about to start working on my next project, and I’m so excited to start exploring different and new emotions. I also just can’t wait to be travelling with these songs as much as I get to this year, it’s going to be so fun meeting the people that connect with these songs and sharing them with everyone.
What can fans expect from your first headlining tour this spring?
A bigger band, a fun cover, and lots of oversharing!!!! Classic.
What is one quote that you have heard or that you go by that you want to ECHO out to the world?
“’Right’ is a small box invented by people who are afraid.” — Jobu Tupaki, Everything Everywhere All At Once.