“The sky’s the limit.”
Under his previous moniker ‘Gulddreng’ Malte Ebert had seven number one singles in his Danish homeland. We caught up with the 23- year old to talk about the Danish way of life and challenges overcome.
What are you listening to, reading and watching at the moment?
I’m on holiday in Italy and I dropped my iPhone in the swimming pool by accident, which means I can’t really do much but live life as it was before the invention of the iPhone! Luckily, I found an old CD player with a collection of Dean Martin’s greatest hits. So, to answer the question, I’m now listening to the smooth voice of one of my favourite crooners as I watch the sun go down behind the olive trees. I guess breaking my iPhone wasn’t so bad after all! My manager still managed to get a hold of me any way to answer these questions. Quite impressive if you ask me.
What has been your biggest life challenge so far and what did you do to overcome it?
Tough question. I guess growing up and dealing with the responsibilities of adulthood can be categorised as a pretty big life challenge, but really I can’t complain, life hasn’t thrown a lot of curveballs, yet. Except for global warming, perhaps. That freaks me out.
What have you learned about yourself over the past five or so years?
That I can’t force creativity and that I should always trust my instincts when it comes to music. It’s such a difficult process writing a song, and even more difficult if too many people are involved. It can get me really confused and sometimes it will kill the song for me. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Denmark seems to be top of the world’s happiness index. What do the Danes do differently that makes them happy?
We lie. A lot. Just kidding! It might have something to do with the welfare. Education and health care is free, which makes it easier to pursue the career you want. Also, we make the best beer in the entire world! I think that might be it.
What would constitute a ‘perfect’ day for you?
There are many ways in which my day could be classified as perfect: writing a great song; having dinner with my family; seeing new places; meeting new people; not dropping my iPhone in the swimming pool…
For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
The circumstances that I’ve grown up with here in Denmark. As I mentioned earlier, growing up believing that the sky’s the limit, instead of the depth of your family’s pocket, has made me feel like I had a sea of possibilities.
Complete this sentence: “Ace mental health for me means…”
A lot.
What do you eat to stay healthy?
Happy Meals!
Do you have a daily routine of exercise or do you make it up as you go along?
I try to do both. Structure is good but variation is also good. I have to get back to Dean Martin and dinner is almost ready, so I think I’ll throw this MacBook in the swimming pool and get back to my holiday. Ciao from Italy!
Malte Ebert’s debut single ‘Rather Be’ is out now.