Today, in the era of auto-tune and over production, it’s difficult to believe that genuine talent and good music still exists. And if it does exist, that music is difficult to find as it's not receiving the adequate attention while the artists who are producing it aren’t receiving the credit they deserve.

But when it comes to R&B and soul the wait is over, or so Bernhoft proved at The Hotel Café last night.  

Upon his arrival to Los Angeles, the Prince/Curtis Mayfield/Donny Hathaway sounding Norwegian artist—who grew up around opera and got his start in a rock band (SPAN)—only had one show scheduled at the venue.

That is, until the original show sold out within a week. A second show (scheduled for the 19th) was then added to his tour, leaving fans counting down the days to his arrival. All were not satisfied, however, with attending one show.

From Americans to fellow Norwegians, half of last night’s audience (that began lining up for the 8pm show at 6pm) attended Tuesday night’s performance as well. Some had tickets to both shows, while others had detailed plans of how they would finagle a ticket and squeeze in the standing room for one more epic show.

Bernhoft, who expressed great humility and satisfaction with his current success on Monday, is on his way to reaching a popularity level he never desired or expected.

NT: I know that you started singing the Norwegian opera growing up but where did your interest in music start? Where did it come from do you think?

B: Oh, I really don’t know. It’s one of those things where you just have this connection to something and don’t really know where it came from, but it probably had to do with growing up with, my dad worked as an opera singer and just hanging with him and his work. It was just like music was seeping in my ears all the time. So I guess I didn’t have a choice.

NT: Were there other genres that you grew up listening to?

B: Yeah obviously when the radio was on, I had this huge craze? when Michael Jackson’s music came on and also Prince and Nick Churchill this British artist. At the same time there was all this classical music it was more rhythmically music that later led me into soul music.

NT: What about now, do you still listen to classical music? Do you try and incorporate that type of style into any of the music you create today?

B: No I think the classical music has probably gone from my mind a bit.  I still listen to it though, but I don’t think it influences me as much. Maybe in my writing, that might still appear but I listen to not classical music but old stevies music haha (it’s a station that I don’t agree with) but I still tend to go more in a modern style of the classical writing. Like temporary music, I get a huge kick out of that. But it’s very far from song structure I think.

NT: I know you mentioned Prince, but who are some other artists that you really admire and who styles you try and emulate?

B: I think I emulate a bit of everything, but I think when I heard Fly and the Family Stone that was like a revelation to me because I suddenly understood where Prince got all his stuff from. So I kind of dove into that sixties/seventies soul thing as well which led me to almost everything that was released then from Stacks and Detroit Motown and New Orleans as well. Though that I got a glimpse of what was going on politically as well during those times which further increased my appreciation for that music.  So I think that that whole soul music could also be surrounding the super structure around me, and has been a great fascination for me.

NT: I’m so intrigued by your live performances, with the loop and it seems like more and more artists seem to be incorporating that into their performances. Why do you think that is and what do you think the loop adds to your performance?

B: Well it has to do with the economy doesn’t it? I mean I started using it because I couldn’t afford a band. Ideally I would travel with a huge band, because I get a huge kick out of playing with people on stage and the chemistry. So what I found I had to do was to scale things down and I tried scaling it to the bone but at the same time I found it was very boring just standing with hand strumming up and down on the guitar and singing songs. So I felt I had to develop something that would make it stand out and hence the looping thing. But I think that situation economic for a lot of artists, so it’s probably going to just grow, that whole thing.

NT: Do you think it helps with the intimacy of your performances rather than playing with a big band?

B: Yeah definitely. It’s a proximity booster. I think that the distance between me sitting down and the members of the audience is just diminished so fundamentally – it’s almost like when I standing there with a band I’m a dictator of sorts. I tend to, ya know, not control what the band is doing but it’s almost like I’m the conductor right? So I’m also conducting the audience, I’ll tell people what to do but when I’m sitting down it’s almost like I’m friends with the members of the audience. I enjoy it immensely!

I enjoy both but ideally it would be a 50/50 thing. If I could go on tour solo and then go on another tour with a band and then, ya know, take it back to different settings…

NT: What’s your favorite song on the album?

B: I think it’s probably one of the ones I’m not doing that often, haha. Whenever I hear this song called “Prophets,” which is kind of a strange quirky synths driven thing with broken glass sounds, I like that one. I try and play that both a band and solo and I can never do it and do that song justice, so I think the recorded version of “Prophet” I enjoy that immensely.

NT: Why do you think “C’mon Talk” has gotten so popular? What do you think the audience enjoys about the song so much?

B: I’ve asked myself that too. Because when I made that song I kind of felt that that could be a single, but I think I was alone in thinking that. When we made the video we just decided “let’s not make it like a standard music video,” because I think most of them are really boring, you have some exceptions but at the same time I wanted to just break free from the whole music video format. So we made a video for “Choices” which is a single and then we had time to spare…but I don’t know there’s probably something, ya know a couple hooks in that song and then there’s that stuttering throughout the whole song...probably a circus of events...I don’t know think it’s a collection of small events that people like and hopefully tit sounds good as well.

NT: How has your life changed in the last 10 years or so, as far as when you were playing with the band and started with your first EP “The Ceramic City Chronicles” and now where you are having to book two shows at the Hotel Café, did you ever see all of this happening?

B:  Well both yes and now. It wasn’t really in my mind that it would be so successful. It was more like I had this fundamental ambition that I wanted to play live in front of people, on a regular basis, like once a week. That was a need to me and still is. And I think when I first had that fundament it was almost like it didn’t really matter whether I was playing in front of 3 friends in their living room or at a stadium. If I’m just doing live performances every now and then I’d be happy. But I think that follows form that just follows organically and that’s cool. So in a way I kind of found that this could go as far as I want it to for me. But at the same time I’m still very humbled by the fact that it’s actually gone quite far.

NT: And where do you want to see yourself in the next 5 years?

B: Still doing this. I just want to go down rivers ya know, I mean just not fight it but swim and accelerate and sometimes break to the side but I’m not going to fight this. I fell like I’m in the right place where I’m supposed to be. And if I just keep on doing this, keep on playing gigs that people want to hear then they’ll bring friends and I think it’ll just evolve. I’m just going to keep on writing songs alone and with other people.

Well 5-10 years time I’ll probably be having released a couple more albums. In a way I hope things don’t blow up if you know what I mean I hope I’m not that number one hit. HAHA But at the same time if that happens, that happens that’s cool too.

NT: Are there any artists out now that you would like to perform or write with, off the top of your head?  

B: Oh there’s tons! I mean I think at times Bruno Mars is a fantastic solo artist. There’s this guy in Los Angeles called Richard Swift. I heard a gig of his in 2006 when I was here that blew my mind. He’s great, I haven’t heard from him since.

There’s this English guy called Louis Taylor. Reggie Watts, you know the comedian? I think he’s a fantastic musician as well, so I’d like to do some writing with him. Janelle Monet is cool; it’d be cool to write with.

There’s so many I probably don’t have time [to] cover all my wish list.

NT: How are you looking forward to playing at Bonoroo?

B: Very much! I think the events leading up to my playing there is just so weird and so cool. I’ve seen the line up as well and everyone has so much good stuff to say about the festival so I’m just really stoked about that. 

NT: What do you hope the audience gets out of seeing you play live?

B: I hope they go in there with their own individual agendas and exit the room with these efforts to spend the night together, all of them.

There was no sign of the audience making plans to spend the night together following Bernhoft’s performance, but their standing ovation was just one indication of how pleased they were with the show. 

It all started with Javier Dunn, a solo artist who is also a fan of Bernhoft and his looping skills. “I’m nervous to use to the loop in the presence of this guy,” said Dunn following his second song.

After Dunn’s set, the crowd settled in unison with drinks and cameras in hand, ready for Bernhoft to begin. He kicked off the show with a bang, sleekly sporting black slacks, a maroon button up and matching skinny tie—a wardrobe conducive to the dancing that would be happening throughout the rest of the night.

As he began with “So Many Faces,” fans were ecstatic, not skipping a beat or missing lyrics. His transition into “C’mon Talk” couldn’t have been more smooth or thrilling. The effervescence and organic groove he throws into the tune are surely just two of the reasons why the song is so popular. In fact, those are the main reasons why Bernhoft has gathered such a wide and dedicated fan base.

On stage, with 2 guitars, one mini electric, two sets of keys, two microphones and a loop station (also known as his fascinating one-man-band), his presence is effortlessly engaging. Eyes are locked on his figure although every other body part of his listeners is moving with and without command.

Although when he shouts “C’mon, clap your hands like this!” or says “We're going to do a little dancing…it’s all in the hips,” everyone moves a little bit more and laughs a lot harder. Bernhoft perfectly balanced upbeat tunes like “Choices” and “Shout” however, with other tunes, such as when he moved to the keys and slowed things down with “Stay With Me” and “A Bad Place To Reside.”

Bernhoft redefines soul, performance and interactivity all in one. Exactly how, however, is an indescribable and unforgetable experience. Check out the album, but but sure to get in line for a live performance, because the two are incomparable.

It’ll be hard for Bernhoft to stay away from that number one slot, almost as hard as it was for his audience to walk away at the end of the set. 

Read more of NT's show reviews here.

Reach Staff Reporter Cortney Riles here. Follow her on Twitter here.