Matias Tellez
Young Norwegian pop comet Matias Tellez has signed with Sony BMG
Still only eighteen years old, Matias Tellez has been known as the new dashing talent of the Norwegian pop milieu for a good while already. A native of that ever-overflowing cauldron of fresh new music Bergen, he has come to represent the newest generation to emerge from the creative hotspot on the Norwegian west coast.
His name first popped up about four years ago when he was presented as the latest discovery of legendary Bergen producer HP Gundersen of Gjøa Studios. The following year Tellez played the Øya and by:Larm festivals, and ever since he has been a kind of steady presence that everyone has kept a keen eye on while waiting for the youngster to put on some years.
Matias, who grew up in Bergen with South American parents, started playing the violin at the age of five. He has since departed form classical music, but has brought with him into his pop sphere a rare mastery of almost every instrument. His influences range from the South American sixties- and seventies vibes that are the legacy of his parents, to Mozart and the classical music his early training entailed. -And further, to all kinds of pop music, preferably the crafted high-quality kind like Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bee Gees, and Michael Jackson etc. He also has a special love for the more eccentric parts of the sixties pop music, represented e.g. by Syd Barret. And of course, being a youngster he is not a stranger to punk, rock and contemporary rhythmical expressions either.
All these influences, and all his talent he brought with him and developed during his four-year playful frequentation of Gjøa Studios, where he has had almost unlimited access. And then, in 2007, he started sharing with us the fruits of his explorations. First came an EP, and then in October his long play debut “Tamias Mellez.”
The record, which was released amidst big expectations, lived up to the hype in pretty much the way one had hoped. Here was abundance of talent, whimsical and diverse creativity and a clear sense of how to build both a pop song and a pop album.
It is a splendid mixture of pop, tropicalia, psychedelia, punk and rock. And, remarkably, one really gets hold of the person Matias Tellez in the melange.
Despite all this, most agreed that still a few years were needed for Matias’ music to reach its true fruition. One critic boldly claimed, that there was no question that Tellez would one day, in the not too distant future, make the Norwegian pop album of the decade.
This conviction must definitely be shared by the people at Sony BMG who just signed Matias Tellez. As for the youngster himself he is naturally excited about working with “such a great team of professionals” and acknowledges that now he must really make up his mind about what he wants with his music. Sony reveals that a new album is planned for release this year, and work is underway.
Tonight Matias Tellez plays by:Larm in Oslo. And then, in early March, he embarks on a ten-date tour of Japan.
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