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If I Was, I Am

by Bells Larsen

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1.
Ten Hands 02:27
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2.
Suitcases By The Door 03:09
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3.
When I Was Your Favourite Person 00:57
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4.
Just Knowing You 02:34
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5.
Place To Be 02:43
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about

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. The album was soon met with acclaim; The Revue called Larsen "undeniably one of the most exciting young artists to arrive on the scene." Larsen has been featured on the CBC, Exclaim!, and has showcased his music at School Night, POP Montreal, and SXSW.

"If I Was, I Am", his new EP out on Next Door Records, 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.

credits

released July 28, 2023

All songs except track 5 written by Bells Larsen
Arranged by Matteo Gueli and Bells Larsen

Produced by Matteo Gueli and Bells Larsen
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Matteo Gueli

Daniel Crowther: pedal steel
Matteo Gueli: synths
Bells Larsen: guitar, vocals, banjo, percussion

“Place To Be”
Words and music by Nick Drake
© 1972 Nick Drake Music

Photo by Matteo Gueli

Merci, mon coeur, de nous avoir prêté le chalet. J'espère que l'esprit de Cadotte continuera à vivre à travers cette musique. 143.

-BL

We acknowledge that this album was written and recorded on ancestral and unseated territory of the Anishinabewaki, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Kanien’kehà:ka, Mi’kmaq, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.

This project was funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. Ce projet est financé en partie par FACTOR, le gouvernement du Canada et les radiodiffuseurs privés du Canada.

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Bells Larsen Montreal, Québec

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