The Entrepreneurs: “We thought we had made some really fucked up and unrelatable music. We turned out to be wrong.”

Artist Talk: Mathias Bertelsen, The Entrepreneurs

Who are you? (When did you start, what is your musical background?)

My name is Mathias Bertelsen and I am the lead singer and guitarist in The Entrepreneurs. The band started in 2014. The bass player, Anders, and I was fooling around in our rehearsal space creating some sounds with no real purpose but just for the fun of it. We thought we had made some really fucked up and unrelatable music. We turned out to be wrong. Partly disappointed but also extremely happy, the search for a drummer began. We found Jonas and it was love at first sight. The band was a reality.

What type of music do you play – genre, expression, mood?

We were kind of getting tired of all subgenre names. At the end of the day it is just music. So, we made our own. We call it “Noise & Romance” which also became the title of our album that was released in February this year.

But I also like to say we play rock music. And rock only. I hate that people are saying that rock music is dead. It couldn’t be further away from the truth. You just have to open your eyes and ears. Shitloads of incredible and ambitious things are out there!

What was your first musical experience?

One of them must be playing FIFA and listening to the soundtrack. There was a lot of great stuff. Now my biggest dream is to have one of our songs in the FIFA soundtrack.

What are your sources of inspiration – other bands, people, experiences?

Inspiration can be a lot of things. I just had a daughter and she is my main inspiration now (wow that’s corny). In terms of other musicians we get inspiration from many different things. From The Beatles to Korn, Nirvana, Pavement, Alice Coltrane, Sonic Youth, Backstreet Boys, Slint, Wu Tang Clan – you name it. One sound in a track can be an inspiration to hours of new music. I find that really interesting.

What is your ambition playing at SPOT?

This is going to be the 3rd time we are playing at SPOT. The first time was a true game changer for us. On that late night at Radar we felt that our music was truly worth something. This year we are focusing on getting some attention drawn towards the new album and hopefully get in touch with some people outside Denmark.

Have you ever played abroad? – If yes, where and how was it different?

We have been playing quite a lot abroad. In Norway, Germany, Netherlands and even Lithuania to name a few, but we want to do it more often. It is like starting from scratch in some way. We like that. Getting on stage with a clean slate and then hopefully conquer people.

What is your dream as a musician?

Of course, we want to be able to live from our music. And we are working hard on that. It is extremely hard. Especially when you don’t play the most commercial music in the world. Nevertheless, we just want to make music that we like and play concerts for those who want to hear it.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned so far?

It’s all about the music.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Hopefully on some extremely large stages with a wall of Marshall stacks and my foot on the monitor.