Have you ever felt that fleeting, yet profound moment when a song takes hold of you—stopping time for just a second, shifting your emotions, and altering the way you see the world? The Portuguese even have a (beautiful) word for this: saudade—a deep, melancholic longing wrapped in beauty.
I remember the first time I experienced this feeling with Vancouver Sleep Clinic’s music. I was watching the movie Before We Go when “Flaws” played softly in the background. The song’s hauntingly ethereal sound, intertwined with the dimly lit New York streets, deepened the bittersweet, almost dreamlike atmosphere of the night Nick Vaughan (Chris Evans) and Brooke Dalton (Alice Eve) shared. It was one of those rare cinematic moments where music, emotion, and storytelling seamlessly merge into something unforgettable.
From that moment on, I knew I wanted to sit down with Tim Bettinson—the voice and soul behind Vancouver Sleep Clinic—to talk about the music that stirs hearts across the world. Fast forward a few years, and we finally found ourselves meeting at Paradiso Amsterdam. When I arrived, Tim was on stage, lost in the music, rehearsing before the concert. Thousands of kilometres from home, he was fully present—embracing the magic of the moment, just as his music has the power to make us do.
Oana Cernat: Hi, Tim! I’m glad that we finally got the chance to meet each other. It’s been quite a long journey waiting for you to come to Europe. How does it feel for you to be here?
Tim Bettinson: I’m very excited to be here. We worked it out, the other day it’s been 1001 days since we played a show and since I’ve been here, and yeah, it’s very exciting to finally be back playing and obviously, the continent is beautiful, and the people here are very sweet. I am super happy to be here.
Oana: Our sense of hearing is what brought us here. And, of course, all the seeds implanted in our hearts, made us who we really are as humans. What sounds inspire you today?
Tim: I really like using a lot of sounds from nature. Actually I just got a field recorder, similar to the one that you have here and I like taking that into the forest or into the desert and to just record sounds and then starting songs from that because I really like that organic feel of nature in my music. It’s a big one for me.
“I always write songs with the live show in mind”
Oana: How does it feel to play Live in Paradiso, your songs from “Fallen Paradise”? It’s like a different kind of paradise.
Tim: I didn’t think about that, it’s an interesting perspective. The thing I find really interesting is that we played our very first show in Amsterdam right here, at Paradiso, about seven years ago. So it feels like a bit of a full circle moment to be back here in the same building. There’s a video of me online actually playing here, and I’m like an 18 year old. It’s weird to see it now that I’m older. Maybe I will be here again in ten years.
“I find joy in little things, like a really good coffee or hanging out with some friends in a park, reading a good book”
Oana: Let’s hope you will be back sooner than that. What is Paradise for you? And where do you find it?
Tim: Paradise for me is most of the time, just in the very simple things. I’m not really a big person for big houses or big touristy things or big, massive long holidays or anything like that. For me, I find joy in just little things, like a really good coffee or hanging out with some friends in a park, reading a good book. Just a simple thing for me can be paradise. And I try to look for it every day, just in something small.
Oana: There are 10 new and beautiful songs on your new album. Can you please share with us what are the themes that you explored when you created them?
Tim: So I wrote the album during the lockdown and it was really kind of inspired by that feeling of having when you feel like you have your own paradise and you’re very comfortable and secure and then have that feeling of when it’s all taken away from you. I think for me in lockdown it felt a bit like that and probably for a lot of people. We all have some kind of a rhythm in our lives, whether with our careers or relationships or whatever it is, and then this big worldwide event happened that really forced a lot of us to change our plans and become uncomfortable so that, for me, “Fallen Paradise” is about. It was tricky. So that’s kind of what it’s about, really, just trying to make the most of being in that situation.
Oana: Is it a big difference between the way we do music here in Europe and the way you are doing music in Australia?
Tim: I think the biggest thing for me is I just like having a change of scenery. Because I was in Australia for two years during lockdown, I was towards the end of it, finding it very hard to be inspired because I got so bored of seeing the same things all the time. So for me, the biggest thing is just coming somewhere new into a different culture, meeting new people and seeing different things and that helps me just become inspired in a different way.
Oana: Are you haunted by one of them in particular?
Tim: It’s weird because this song was written so long ago. I wrote most of them about two years ago now. It often happens with releases that by the time the songs come out, you sort of already moved on as a person. And I’ve already been starting to write new things. So at the time of writing, there were some songs that really helped me get through what I was going through emotionally, but then a lot of the time went by the time it’s released, I’m already feeling a certain way, or I’ve already overcome that emotion and I’m moved on to the next song. So at the moment I’m already working on some new things.
Oana: Let’s put it another way, are you obsessed with a new song that nobody knows about yet? Are you creating something special now?
Tim: I hope so, I’m trying to. I’ve got a few new songs on the way and I’ve got a girlfriend now, so there might be some happy songs coming as well, which would be a bit of a change, so, yeah, we’ll see what happens.
“When I’m in the studio, working, I’m always trying to envision that connection, that real life connection when you play the shows.”
Oana: Have you felt any shifts in doing music after the unprecedented times we’ve all been through? I know Australia was very strict, to say the least. Are you doing music now differently than you used to before pandemics?
Tim: Not really, I think the biggest thing for me is just being able to travel again, that really helps me to be inspired. So that’s the main thing. I’m just trying to keep going in new places, take my computer with me and I keep writing my ideas as I go.
Oana: Oslo, Copenhagen, Frankfurt and now Amsterdam – is there a moment from this tour that resonated with you like nothing else before?
Tim: I think, honestly, probably just the first show in Stockholm was just very special. We actually had quite a lot of things go wrong for the show, like technical difficulties. But we played one song off the microphone, so we played with just the acoustics in the room and that was very special. A moment for me because it sort of just hit me that finally, after a thousand days, we’re playing music again and that’s always been my dream. So that was a very special moment.
Oana: I was talking with a few artists after the lockdown and they were saying “We don’t even know how to play live anymore”.
Tim: Yeah!!! I’m still trying to get in the groove. This is our fifth show tonight, and I’m still feeling like we’re only just getting back into it.
Oana: Is there a connection between the studio and this moment?
Tim: Well, I always write songs with the live show in mind. So when I’m in the studio, working, I’m always trying to envision that connection, that real life connection when you play the shows, because that’s what it’s really all about for me, is that feeling of being on stage, seeing the people that listen to my music and actually having a face-to-face.
Oana: Do you also envision being in a specific venue in particular?
Tim: Sometimes yes. But I don’t really have a specific goal. I mean, I’d like to start doing some more festivals. Couldn’t wait to go and play a big festival with everyone together in the sun. I thought that would be really nice. So hopefully soon.
Oana: Who is your greatest influence in music? Who are your favourite musicians?
Tim: I really like Sigur Rós from Iceland, it’s one of my favorites bands of all time. I really like James Blake, Bon Iver of course, The National, there’s a lot really. These are some of the big ones and Sigur Rós was probably the band that really got me into music.
Oana: It was a moment during your rehearsals earlier, when it felt like hearing Sigur Rós.
Tim: Yeah! It’s a band from where I got voice inspiration from.
Oana: What concert have you attended last time as a fan or who would you like to see live?
Tim: We actually went to see The National and Fleet Foxes a couple of weeks ago and that was one of the best shows I’ve seen, two of my favorite bands. So yeah, that was awesome.
Oana: Also, as an artist, you experience music differently than us.
Tim: Yeah, it’s hard sometimes. I find myself always kind of trying to analyze the show rather than enjoy it sometimes, which is annoying, because I wish I could just go and enjoy it, but I’m always trying to look at it and see how they made that sound or how they got the guitar to play like that. Or I’m always trying to learn when I’m watching.
Oana: Going back to your music, can you play an excerpt from your favourite song that you ever made?
Tim: Do you want me to sing my favorite song ever made? My favourite is the one called “Ayahuasca”. The chorus is like “I don’t know what I’m chasing, maybe I’ll never know, but everything else around me is faded, I don’t know where to go”.
Oana: And they suddenly started to play the piano in the other room at the same time.
Tim: Yes, so that will make it.
Oana: My favourite song from you is “Flaws” and that was the moment when I discovered your music – while watching the movie “Before We Go”. At the end of it I heard you and from that moment I was waiting for you to come at some point here in Europe. Is there a special story behind this song?
Tim: Oh, sweet! I am so happy that I could be here. I heard that it is a beautiful movie. They heard my song and wanted to use it. I haven’t actually seen the whole movie; I’ve seen the scene, though. I have to watch the whole movie?
Oana: Yes, absolutely, it’s beautiful! Only two characters are doing the whole movie, they are spending a whole night together and is that one night that can change your life forever. And talking about this movie and about your music, is it possible that you could meet someone who’s perfect for you even though you’re committed to someone else?
Tim: I don’t think anyone’s ever perfect for you to be honest; I’m not really a big believer in that. I think that everyone has their flaws and everyone in relationships will have their difficulties. So I think that whoever you end up with, you’re going to have to put some effort into making it work and overcoming the differences. I think there can be a feeling sometimes, where you feel like you’re a perfect match for each other. But there is always a time when you’ll be different I think.
Oana: I think you don’t have to find perfect, you have to find the perfect person to struggle with.
Tim: That’s a good way of putting it. Yeah, I totally agree.
Oana: What message do you try to pour into our Dutch hearts tonight?
Tim: It’s a beautiful room, it’s very small and I want to just have a very intimate connection and a very warm feeling, I think it would be really nice.
Oana: Sure, it’s going to be a very intimate show. Do you think that after tonight, you will change your name to Amsterdam Sleep Clinic?
Tim: If I’d do that, I’d be changing my name a lot, for every city where I am playing.
Oana: Before we go (see what I did there?), can you tell us something about you that nobody knows?
Tim: There are a few people that know this, but I play, like, a lot of chess. It’s one of my favourite games and most times before the show, I’ll be back here, in this room, playing a couple of games just to try and ease my mind a little bit, and calm the nerves.
If Tim’s music speaks to your soul and you want to follow the journey of his artistry, step into his world by visiting his website or connecting with him on social media. Stay tuned for the next chapter of his musical story—where every note finds a new home.
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