ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Haich Ber Na
Everybody today wants to be different in the music scene. Whether it’s through their look, their sound, or their musics aesthetic (cover art and videos), we constantly see rising stars attempt to break the mold, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Luckily for Haich Ber Na, throughout his most recent set of singles, he has established himself and his sound as truly unique and different, while still making music that can appeal to a wide audience.
We first came across Haich Ber Na’s music through this most recent weeks New Music Friday, when Spotify added “St. Leville” to the playlist, amongst one of the most competitive crowds that the editorial playlist has seen all year. In a week dominated by releases by Drake, Steve Lacy, FKA Twigs, Cautious Clay, Bryce Vine, Santigold, and many other big names, Spotify was confident in their decision that Haich would spar in this list of front runners, and spar he did. In just a few days, the song has already been streamed 38,000 times, making it his fastest growing track to date. This traffic caught Spotify’s attention once more, leading the track to be added to All New Indie, another of Spotify’s large indie editorial playlists that help acts like Haich get discovered. If this song, or any of Haich’s future releases continue to receive this same level of energy and support, the sky is the limit.
So, lets talk about the music. What is it? Well, I’m not exactly sure. I’ve never heard anything like it before. Its experimental for sure, but don’t let that word confuse you: its still really, REALLY, good, in fact, it’s great. Thick bass lines, sometimes synthetic, sometimes live, mixed with bells and vocaloids, make for this sound that reminds me of Thundercat, Childish Gambino, and Tame Impala. Its funky, its indie, but above all else, its fresh and new. “St. Leville” actually gives me flashbacks to that part of “Me and Your Mama”, off the “Awaken, My Love!” album, when all the background voices are singing “I'm in love when we are smoking that la-la-la-la-la!” I think this is very funny because that was the first song on a Gambino album that was immediately debated on, from the moment of its release and mainstream inception, of having been too experimental. Maybe! But it’s wonderful to see, in moments like these, how some musicians crawl so others can walk. His other tracks, specifically, his most popular tracks, like “The Last Time I Saw You” (336k streams) and “87 Days” (249k streams) invoke the same energy, sound, and thought process, so if what I have said so far has interested you, you should definitely check him out.
However, his most streamed track to date, “0594 Help”, takes the experimental throttle and puts it to “full”. Organ synths, low-fi drums + snaps, and a crazy, acidic baseline make for yet another heater, of a different beast and yet still of the same sound and variety. His falsetto vocals and harmonies juxtapose with his production in such a perfect way, it makes you question whether this may be the music of the future! Like, 2043 kind of music. He’s not just opening doors for new acts, he’s opening windows, too.
A lot of what I want to say, I can’t really sum into words, so you’re just going to have to go to his Spotify profile, “Haich Ber Na”, hit the big green triangle, and sit back for the ride. I hope you see for yourself, and soon! Otherwise, just like Flying Lotus or “Kevin Parker”, he’s just going to be yet another one of those artists that Day 1 fans gatekeep from you, and ostracize you for not being there since the jump, later on.
