What is your first musical memory?
One of the strongest memories I have is of me and my two siblings sitting in the back of the car listening to an American children’s songs cassette. We played it over and over again and sang along very loudly. It felt euphoric to be totally free with the music and to really connect with each other through singing.
Would you say you come from a musical family?
I’m the only one pursuing music professionally, but we all play piano and used to sing in the same choir. There were always a lot of instruments at home—violins, trumpets, clarinets. There was always a lot of sound in my house.
I guess this is what inspired you to start writing your own music, right?
Yes! I don’t think I had any choice. Music was the only thing to do in our family. I really enjoyed it and filled all my spare time with it.
You moved to Oslo to study music performance arts when you were 20. Can you tell us about the music scene there?
My university class was a really inspiring bunch of people. They were all really great musicians who were so connected to music, inspired, and really wanted to go for it. So my first reaction to moving to Oslo was getting really inspired by my classmates. I started a band with some of them, which turned out to be Beharie. Two of my classmates still play in my band.
Where did the name Beharie come from?
It’s my last name—it comes from my dad’s side, which is Jamaican. My family are the only people with this surname in the whole of Norway!
Was your Jamaican heritage a big part of your childhood?
Definitely. My dad played a lot of old school Jamaican reggae records when we were growing up, so I’ve definitely been influenced by his music taste. I wish I could know more about the culture though. I really want to go to Jamaica, stay there for a while, and really connect with it.