FSC Norway
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martin
Well-known member
- Joined
- October 1, 2009
- Posts
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norway have already found 8 song to fight for the ticket to be norway song in august. But if someone have a song they like and will that norway should sent it just write here the song and we see that maybe norway send this song in september
FabiESC
Well-known member
Please Please sent Tone Damil Aaberger with I Love you in September for -no
FSC August 2010 - Norway
FSC Norway - August 2010 - Alexander Rybak - Europe’s Skies
Representing Norway in FSC August 2010 is the popular Norwegian folk-pop artist and ESC winner Alexander Rybak. Here is some more information about him.
Alexander Rybak was born in Minsk, Belarus on 13th May 1986. When he was 4 years old he and his family moved to Norway and Nesodden just outside of Oslo. He has lived in Norway ever since and has made his music-career here in Norway. At the age of five, Alexander began to play the piano and violin, but as time went by he focused more and more on mastering the violin (being tutored first by his father, later by professional music-teachers and professors in music-academies). Both his parents were musicians; his mother a classical pianist, his father a classical violinist. In many ways Alexander was destined to become a musician and entertainer. As he has stated in later years: "I always liked to entertain and somehow that is my vocation".
Alexander has been a student at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo for many years. He has attained music-scholarships, has studied abroad and has played with many established Norwegian musicians, at music-festivals and with symphony orchestras. He has also taken part in musical theatre productions, perhaps most well known is his role and acclaimed performance as the fiddler in Oslo Nye Teater’s production of ”Fiddler on the Roof”. His popular breakthrough and what made him come to the Norwegian people’s attention was his winning the talent competition ”Kjempesjansen”, hosted by the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, in 2006.
His international and commercial breakthrough came, of course, with his triumphant victory for Norway with the song ”Fairytale” in the 54th Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in 2009 in Moscow, Russia. The song, written and composed by Alexander himself and inspired by Norwegian folk-music but also (Bela)Russian rhythms, was performed together with the modern folk dance company Frikar - and having first cruised to victory in the Norwegian MGP it then went on to win a landslide victory in the international ESC-final with a record-breaking 387 points.
Alexander Rybak's first album called ”Fairytales” was released shortly after his ESC-win. It included besides ”Fairytale” several other songs in the same style, among them ”Roll With The Wind” (the song that participated for Norway in FSC July 2009). The album got great reviews in several Norwegian newspapers (especially VG), though not all reviewers were entirely convinced. The album went to nr 1 on the Norwegian album charts and it was a commercial success in many other European countries also. Alexander - together with Frikar - went on tour across Norway in the months that followed and subsequently around Europe. In the year since his ESC-victory Alexander has played many concerts around Europe and has taken part in countless events, ranging from interval-performances in ESC national finals in many countries to smaller gigs and shows, as well as taking part in a Nordic film and recording music in Russia, and it has been feared by some that his very exhausting and extensive travelling-program and constant attention by the media and public may have taken its toll on his mental strength and capacity. It remains to be seen how he tackles these mental strains.
In December 2009 he performed his song ”Fairytale” at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert held at the Oslo Spektrum. And then on 30th January 2010 he performed a new song called "Europe’s Skies" at the interval in the Finnish national final for ESC 2010. He simmilarly performed the song at various national finals (his ”national final tour”) in the months that followed, though the song was in fact not officially released until June 2010 when it was one of the songs on Alexander Rybak’s new album ”No Boundaries”. A song that was released in the Spring of 2010 was ”Fela Igjen”, a song which included the group Opptur. It only had moderate success and gained rather poor reviews. Another song, ”Oah”, was then released as the first single from his coming album ”No Boundaries”. It was a slight departure from the traditional ”Rybak-sound”, a light summer-type pop-song which gained some radio-play, and perhaps also a taste of what was to come on his new more experimental-sounding second album.
”No Boundaries” was released on Universal Music on 21st June 2010. The album received more lukewarm/average reviews than his debut album. Music-critics and reviewers quickly found that the album was more experimental in style, a slight departure from the typical ”Rybak-sound” of his first album, and it seemed that like the album-title proclaimed with this album Alexander wanted to show that music has no boundaries and that he wanted to experiment with different music-styles. Some songs on this album are musical-type melodies, others are in the disco-style, punk-pop style, country-pop style and reggae-ish light summer-style. One song, however, is in the traditional ”Rybak-style” of Norwegian folk-pop (where he sings and plays the violin/fiddle) and (Bela)Russian rhtyhms, the aforementioned song ”Europe’s Skies” (now a Norwegian radio-single) which is the song we have chosen for Norway here in FSC August 2010.
Alexander Rybak is without doubt one of Norway’s most popular music-artists at the moment, both nationally and internationally, and it will be very interesting to follow his music-career in the years to come.
Our entry for FSC August is alas a melodious folk-pop song in the traditional ”Rybak-style” where Norwegian folk-pop rhythms and instrumentation meet the sounds and rhythms of Eastern Europe with fulfilling musical results. It is another great Alexander Rybak-song to enjoy!
Below are the English lyrics for the song. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for August!
Alexander Rybak - Europe’s Skies
Now I'm home, but I cannot stay
I dream of you, every day
Got to know every inch of you
Will you make my dream come true?
There's no place like home, they say
You're my home, so hear me pray.
I don't know you, but I need more time
Promise me you'll be mine
Birds are flying over Europe’s skies
Tell me please, why can't I?
Times have changed, but so have I
I view my life through your eyes
On the go in my tourist’s shoes
But I'll stay truthful to you
’Cause there's no place like home, they say
You're my home, so I guess I'll stay.
I don't know you, but I need more time
Promise me you'll be mine
Birds are flying over Europe’s skies
Tell me please, why can't I?
I don't know you, but I need more time
Promise me you'll be mine
Birds are flying over Europe’s skies
Tell me please, why can't I?
-M
FSC Norway - August 2010 - Alexander Rybak - Europe’s Skies
Representing Norway in FSC August 2010 is the popular Norwegian folk-pop artist and ESC winner Alexander Rybak. Here is some more information about him.
Alexander Rybak was born in Minsk, Belarus on 13th May 1986. When he was 4 years old he and his family moved to Norway and Nesodden just outside of Oslo. He has lived in Norway ever since and has made his music-career here in Norway. At the age of five, Alexander began to play the piano and violin, but as time went by he focused more and more on mastering the violin (being tutored first by his father, later by professional music-teachers and professors in music-academies). Both his parents were musicians; his mother a classical pianist, his father a classical violinist. In many ways Alexander was destined to become a musician and entertainer. As he has stated in later years: "I always liked to entertain and somehow that is my vocation".
Alexander has been a student at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo for many years. He has attained music-scholarships, has studied abroad and has played with many established Norwegian musicians, at music-festivals and with symphony orchestras. He has also taken part in musical theatre productions, perhaps most well known is his role and acclaimed performance as the fiddler in Oslo Nye Teater’s production of ”Fiddler on the Roof”. His popular breakthrough and what made him come to the Norwegian people’s attention was his winning the talent competition ”Kjempesjansen”, hosted by the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, in 2006.
His international and commercial breakthrough came, of course, with his triumphant victory for Norway with the song ”Fairytale” in the 54th Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in 2009 in Moscow, Russia. The song, written and composed by Alexander himself and inspired by Norwegian folk-music but also (Bela)Russian rhythms, was performed together with the modern folk dance company Frikar - and having first cruised to victory in the Norwegian MGP it then went on to win a landslide victory in the international ESC-final with a record-breaking 387 points.
Alexander Rybak's first album called ”Fairytales” was released shortly after his ESC-win. It included besides ”Fairytale” several other songs in the same style, among them ”Roll With The Wind” (the song that participated for Norway in FSC July 2009). The album got great reviews in several Norwegian newspapers (especially VG), though not all reviewers were entirely convinced. The album went to nr 1 on the Norwegian album charts and it was a commercial success in many other European countries also. Alexander - together with Frikar - went on tour across Norway in the months that followed and subsequently around Europe. In the year since his ESC-victory Alexander has played many concerts around Europe and has taken part in countless events, ranging from interval-performances in ESC national finals in many countries to smaller gigs and shows, as well as taking part in a Nordic film and recording music in Russia, and it has been feared by some that his very exhausting and extensive travelling-program and constant attention by the media and public may have taken its toll on his mental strength and capacity. It remains to be seen how he tackles these mental strains.
In December 2009 he performed his song ”Fairytale” at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert held at the Oslo Spektrum. And then on 30th January 2010 he performed a new song called "Europe’s Skies" at the interval in the Finnish national final for ESC 2010. He simmilarly performed the song at various national finals (his ”national final tour”) in the months that followed, though the song was in fact not officially released until June 2010 when it was one of the songs on Alexander Rybak’s new album ”No Boundaries”. A song that was released in the Spring of 2010 was ”Fela Igjen”, a song which included the group Opptur. It only had moderate success and gained rather poor reviews. Another song, ”Oah”, was then released as the first single from his coming album ”No Boundaries”. It was a slight departure from the traditional ”Rybak-sound”, a light summer-type pop-song which gained some radio-play, and perhaps also a taste of what was to come on his new more experimental-sounding second album.
”No Boundaries” was released on Universal Music on 21st June 2010. The album received more lukewarm/average reviews than his debut album. Music-critics and reviewers quickly found that the album was more experimental in style, a slight departure from the typical ”Rybak-sound” of his first album, and it seemed that like the album-title proclaimed with this album Alexander wanted to show that music has no boundaries and that he wanted to experiment with different music-styles. Some songs on this album are musical-type melodies, others are in the disco-style, punk-pop style, country-pop style and reggae-ish light summer-style. One song, however, is in the traditional ”Rybak-style” of Norwegian folk-pop (where he sings and plays the violin/fiddle) and (Bela)Russian rhtyhms, the aforementioned song ”Europe’s Skies” (now a Norwegian radio-single) which is the song we have chosen for Norway here in FSC August 2010.
Alexander Rybak is without doubt one of Norway’s most popular music-artists at the moment, both nationally and internationally, and it will be very interesting to follow his music-career in the years to come.
Our entry for FSC August is alas a melodious folk-pop song in the traditional ”Rybak-style” where Norwegian folk-pop rhythms and instrumentation meet the sounds and rhythms of Eastern Europe with fulfilling musical results. It is another great Alexander Rybak-song to enjoy!
Below are the English lyrics for the song. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for August!
Alexander Rybak - Europe’s Skies
Now I'm home, but I cannot stay
I dream of you, every day
Got to know every inch of you
Will you make my dream come true?
There's no place like home, they say
You're my home, so hear me pray.
I don't know you, but I need more time
Promise me you'll be mine
Birds are flying over Europe’s skies
Tell me please, why can't I?
Times have changed, but so have I
I view my life through your eyes
On the go in my tourist’s shoes
But I'll stay truthful to you
’Cause there's no place like home, they say
You're my home, so I guess I'll stay.
I don't know you, but I need more time
Promise me you'll be mine
Birds are flying over Europe’s skies
Tell me please, why can't I?
I don't know you, but I need more time
Promise me you'll be mine
Birds are flying over Europe’s skies
Tell me please, why can't I?
-M
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FSC September 2010 - Norway
FSC Norway - September 2010 - D’Sound - If You Dream
Representing Norway in FSC September 2010 is the popular Norwegian pop-group of many years D’Sound. Here is some more information about them.
Drummer Kim Ofstad and bassist Jonny Sjo met while both attending Berklee College of Music. D'Sound was formed back in 1993 in Oslo with vocalist Simone Larsen (German-born but a Norwegian citizen since 2002) at a coincident rehearsal-meeting. Their debut album, ”Spice of Life”, was released in 1997, following the successful single "Real Name", and was nominated for two Norwegian Grammys (”Spellemanspris”).
D'Sound's blend of Jazzpop with funky elements was well received and they also gained recognition as a live-performance act. Other popular singles from their debut-album were ”Smooth Escape” and ”All I Wanna Do”. The next album ”Beauty is a Blessing” was released in 1998 and won the Norwegian Grammy for Best Norwegian pop-group. The album, which included the very popular singles ”Down on the street” and ”A’int giving up”, reached platinum staus, even though it was never released internationally. Musical influence had now shifted more to drum’n’bass and modern soul. After extended successful touring, the band took a break.
In 2000 D'Sound resumed working together on the next album in Johnny Sjos home-studio. After a long period of writing material, "Talkin Talk" was recorded and subsequently released in 2001. D'Sound, for the first time, also produced the album, along with their long-time keyboardist Stein Austrud. Quoted major influences included modern USA R&B-artists Angie Stone, d’Angelo, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. "Talkin' Talk" was mixed in Virginia Beach, USA, by Serban Ghenea, whose credits include work for Janet Jackson and Prince. The single ”Sing my name” was representative of their current sound. For the subsequent tour D'Sound joined with numerous national and international musicians touring Norway with the songs from the new album.
In 2003 they presented their new album ”Doublehearted” which included anbother popular single called ”Do I need a reason”, and then in 2004 they released a compilation album with all their best songs and singles, called ”Smooth Escapes - The Very Best of D’Sound”. Another album came in 2005, called ”My Today”, where they went back to their acid-jazz pop-funk roots, which received international attention and paved the way for concerts and tours in Europe and Asia, and after this D’Sound decided on another break from the music-scene (due to personal reasons/other projects).
D’Sound: Album-discography:
Spice of Life (1997)
Beauty is a Blessing (1998)
Talkin' Talk (2001)
Doublehearted (2003)
Smooth Escapes - The Very Best of D'Sound (2004)
My Today (2005)
Starts and Ends (2010)
In 2009 they decided it was time to make some more music together and they started work on what was to become the new album ”Starts And Ends” subsequently released in Norway in January 2010. Their music style was now shifting away from acid-jazz and soul-based funk-pop to more mainstream commercial pop (to some critics’ delight but to others’ great disappointment), the sound which dominated their new album. Around the time of the new album-release Kim Ofstad, who had contributed on the making of the album, decided to leave the band, making D’Sound in effect a duo of Simone Larsen and Johnny Sjo.
The album ”Starts And Ends” received fair but mixed reviews, mostly due to the group’s change in musical style which some reviewers were not that keen on, but most reviewers admitted that the album was well produced and the songs well written. 11 new songs were on the album, most in the mainstream pop-style but with a D’Sound-ish feel to them, and one of these is the catchy pop-song ”If You Dream” which is the song we have chosen as the Norwegian entry here in FSC September 2010.
Even more recently, in the summer of 2010 D’Sound recorded a song called ”We live We love” which became the official song for the Norway Cup in Oslo, a large annual international football-tournament for youth and children.
Besides playing in the band, Simone has had a shot at a solo-career and has written songs for several other artists, while Johnny has been a record-producer for other artists. They are multi-talented and creative, D’Sound - of that there is little doubt.
We are happy to enter D’Sound in the FSC for Norway. They play an integral part in recent Norwegian pop-music history. “If You Dream” is another great song of theirs for you to enjoy!
Below are the English lyrics for the song. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for September!
D’Sound - If You Dream
The holiest places, the place where we play
Heartbeat-nights and hangover-days
We took it for granted, we paid it no mind
When memory’s buoy and time is unkind
’Cause if you dream, you have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wish for
You break the enchantment
I dream to be someone, I dream to escape
Soothing lights and hangover-days
I got what I wished for, more than I could take
Now that it’s over, I see my mistake
’Cause if you dream, you have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wished for
You break the enchantment
’Cause if you dream, you have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wished for
You break the enchantment
Every day is a, why not go?
Every sob is a sob in a pool
Every night is a kickstart
Every step is a step we take in the dark
’Cause if you dream, you’ll have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wished for
You break the –
’Cause if you dream, you’ll have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wished for
You break the enchantment
’Cause if you dream, you’ll have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wished for
You break the enchantment
You break the enchantment
You break the enchantment
-M
FSC Norway - September 2010 - D’Sound - If You Dream
Representing Norway in FSC September 2010 is the popular Norwegian pop-group of many years D’Sound. Here is some more information about them.
Drummer Kim Ofstad and bassist Jonny Sjo met while both attending Berklee College of Music. D'Sound was formed back in 1993 in Oslo with vocalist Simone Larsen (German-born but a Norwegian citizen since 2002) at a coincident rehearsal-meeting. Their debut album, ”Spice of Life”, was released in 1997, following the successful single "Real Name", and was nominated for two Norwegian Grammys (”Spellemanspris”).
D'Sound's blend of Jazzpop with funky elements was well received and they also gained recognition as a live-performance act. Other popular singles from their debut-album were ”Smooth Escape” and ”All I Wanna Do”. The next album ”Beauty is a Blessing” was released in 1998 and won the Norwegian Grammy for Best Norwegian pop-group. The album, which included the very popular singles ”Down on the street” and ”A’int giving up”, reached platinum staus, even though it was never released internationally. Musical influence had now shifted more to drum’n’bass and modern soul. After extended successful touring, the band took a break.
In 2000 D'Sound resumed working together on the next album in Johnny Sjos home-studio. After a long period of writing material, "Talkin Talk" was recorded and subsequently released in 2001. D'Sound, for the first time, also produced the album, along with their long-time keyboardist Stein Austrud. Quoted major influences included modern USA R&B-artists Angie Stone, d’Angelo, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. "Talkin' Talk" was mixed in Virginia Beach, USA, by Serban Ghenea, whose credits include work for Janet Jackson and Prince. The single ”Sing my name” was representative of their current sound. For the subsequent tour D'Sound joined with numerous national and international musicians touring Norway with the songs from the new album.
In 2003 they presented their new album ”Doublehearted” which included anbother popular single called ”Do I need a reason”, and then in 2004 they released a compilation album with all their best songs and singles, called ”Smooth Escapes - The Very Best of D’Sound”. Another album came in 2005, called ”My Today”, where they went back to their acid-jazz pop-funk roots, which received international attention and paved the way for concerts and tours in Europe and Asia, and after this D’Sound decided on another break from the music-scene (due to personal reasons/other projects).
D’Sound: Album-discography:
Spice of Life (1997)
Beauty is a Blessing (1998)
Talkin' Talk (2001)
Doublehearted (2003)
Smooth Escapes - The Very Best of D'Sound (2004)
My Today (2005)
Starts and Ends (2010)
In 2009 they decided it was time to make some more music together and they started work on what was to become the new album ”Starts And Ends” subsequently released in Norway in January 2010. Their music style was now shifting away from acid-jazz and soul-based funk-pop to more mainstream commercial pop (to some critics’ delight but to others’ great disappointment), the sound which dominated their new album. Around the time of the new album-release Kim Ofstad, who had contributed on the making of the album, decided to leave the band, making D’Sound in effect a duo of Simone Larsen and Johnny Sjo.
The album ”Starts And Ends” received fair but mixed reviews, mostly due to the group’s change in musical style which some reviewers were not that keen on, but most reviewers admitted that the album was well produced and the songs well written. 11 new songs were on the album, most in the mainstream pop-style but with a D’Sound-ish feel to them, and one of these is the catchy pop-song ”If You Dream” which is the song we have chosen as the Norwegian entry here in FSC September 2010.
Even more recently, in the summer of 2010 D’Sound recorded a song called ”We live We love” which became the official song for the Norway Cup in Oslo, a large annual international football-tournament for youth and children.
Besides playing in the band, Simone has had a shot at a solo-career and has written songs for several other artists, while Johnny has been a record-producer for other artists. They are multi-talented and creative, D’Sound - of that there is little doubt.
We are happy to enter D’Sound in the FSC for Norway. They play an integral part in recent Norwegian pop-music history. “If You Dream” is another great song of theirs for you to enjoy!
Below are the English lyrics for the song. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for September!
D’Sound - If You Dream
The holiest places, the place where we play
Heartbeat-nights and hangover-days
We took it for granted, we paid it no mind
When memory’s buoy and time is unkind
’Cause if you dream, you have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wish for
You break the enchantment
I dream to be someone, I dream to escape
Soothing lights and hangover-days
I got what I wished for, more than I could take
Now that it’s over, I see my mistake
’Cause if you dream, you have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wished for
You break the enchantment
’Cause if you dream, you have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wished for
You break the enchantment
Every day is a, why not go?
Every sob is a sob in a pool
Every night is a kickstart
Every step is a step we take in the dark
’Cause if you dream, you’ll have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wished for
You break the –
’Cause if you dream, you’ll have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wished for
You break the enchantment
’Cause if you dream, you’ll have a chance
To get wishes granted
And if you get, all you wished for
You break the enchantment
You break the enchantment
You break the enchantment
-M
FSC October 2010 - Norway
FSC Norway - October 2010 - Maria Haukaas Storeng - My Heart Is Singing
Representing Norway in FSC October 2010 is the popular Norwegian pop-artist and former ESC-participant Maria Haukaas Storeng. Here is some more information about her.
Maria, born on 3rd August 1979, is a popular Norwegian pop-artist. She was born in Finnsnes but grew up in Senja in Troms County in northern Norway. She first received national media attention when she had her first musical role at the age of 12, with the lead in the musical ”Annie” at the theater Bryggeteatret in Oslo in 1991. Maria and her family moved to Oslo for the musical, and when the show run was over, they moved back to Senja.
She has since performed in several musicals, both in the capital Oslo and in Troms County where she grew up, and has received much critical acclaim for her beautiful singing voice.
At the age of 24, in 2003 she was part of the Norwegian pop-IDOL-show on national tv. She was by many considered the top performer and was a favourite among the professional critics but was, surprisingly, voted out by the public halfway through the competition. Even so, she came to the public’s attention and also took part in the 2004 IDOL-tour together with other contestants in the show’s top ten.
In 2005 she got a record contract and released her debut solo album called ”Breathing”. The album peaked at a decent 13th position in the Norwegian album charts. The single and title-track "Breathing" peaked at nr 5 in the singles chart and was certified Gold in Norway, while the next single "Should've" peaked at nr 20. She went on a four month national tour to promote the album and already had a devoted fanbase. In 2006 came another single called ”Nobody Knows”.
Then in 2008 she was chosen by Mira Craig to perform Mira’s song ”Hold On Be Strong” in the 2008 Norwegian MGP and she went on to celebrate victory, gaining the privelige to represent Norway in the ESC in Belgrade in May 2008. She achieved an impressive 5th place in the International ESC-final and gained an international fanbase. The song became a big hit in Norway, topping the singles chart, and also charted elsewhere. Maria’s second album called ”Hold On Be Strong”, which included her ESC-song and many other popular melodies, was released in the spring of 2008. The album peaked at nr 3 in the Norwegian album charts.
The next year, in 2009, Maria also participated in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2009, singing the song "Killing Me Tenderly" with the Swedish pop-artist Anna Sahlene. They did not qualify for the final, but the song and the performance was appreciated by many.
Maria Haukaas Storeng: Discography:
Albums
Breathing (2005)
Hold On Be Strong (2008)
Make My Day (June 2010)
Singles
Breathing (2004)
Should’ve (2005)
Nobody Knows (2006)
Hold On Be Strong (2008)
Mine All Mine [feat. Mira Craig] (2008)
Lazy (2008)
Killing Me Tenderly [feat. Sahlene] (2009)
Make My Day (2010)
Precious To Me [feat. Måns Zelmerlöw] (2010)
In 2010 she took part once again in the Norwegian MGP, this time with her song and ballad ”Make My Day”. She advanced to the final from her semifinal but did not make the top 4. The song was released as a single and gained some radio-play. She also released a second single during the first part of 2010, the song ”Precious To Me” together with the Swedish pop-artist Måns Zelmerlöw, and this song (a cover of an earlier hitsong) became popular among the fans and also got some radio-play.
Maria’s new album titled ”Make My Day”, her third solo album, was finally released on 14th June 2010 and it included her singles as well as several other good pop-songs, among them the catchy pop-song ”My Heart Is Singing” which is the song we have chosen to represent Norway here in FSC October 2010.
Maria married her sweetheart Hans Marius Hoff Mittet in June 2010, around the time of her album-release, and some have speculated (no confirmation received) that the song ”My Heart Is Singing” may be a partial reference to the personal happiness she feels this year. She will according to the media be taking her husband’s surname Mittet.
Maria is a popular and talented Norwegian singer and pop-/musical artist from whom we will without doubt hear much more in the coming years.
The song ”My Heart Is Singing” is alas a new song written (text/music) for Maria by Simen Eriksrud and Simone Larsen. It is a catchy melodious pop-song with cool rhythms and very good vocals, a happy song to sing for Maria.
We are happy to enter Maria Haukaas Storeng in the FSC for Norway. “My Heart Is Singing” is another great song of hers for you to enjoy!
Below are the English lyrics for the song. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for October!
Maria Haukaas Storeng - My Heart Is Singing
(Lalalala la la)
I broke the chain, I know my name
Finally found who I am
Don’t wanna be lonely, don’t need to be lonely
Stumbled, and got up again
Mmh, I’m just looking for my love tonight
I’m so ready, I will get it right
Bands are playing and the bells are ringing
I am ready and my heart is singing
Lalalala la la, ooh
Lalalala la la
Lalalala la la, oh…
I love the fame, I know the game
Just can’t control who I am
Take a chance on me baby, gotta go for it baby
Find me before I am gone
Ay-ey I’m just looking for my love tonight
I’m so ready, I will get it right
Bands are playing and the bells are ringing
I am ready and my heart is singing
Lalalala la la, ooh
Lalalala la la
Lalalala la la, oh…
And oh, everything is possible tonight
Got a brand-new twinkle in my eye
Stepin’ from the dark into the light
And oh, everything is possible tonight
Got a brand-new twinkle in my eye
Stepin’ from the dark into the light
Ay-ey I’m just looking for my love tonight
I’m so ready, I will get it right
Bands are playing and the bells are ringing
I am ready and my heart is singing
Lalalala la la, my heart is singing
Lalalala la la
Lalalala la la, oh…
-M
FSC Norway - October 2010 - Maria Haukaas Storeng - My Heart Is Singing
Representing Norway in FSC October 2010 is the popular Norwegian pop-artist and former ESC-participant Maria Haukaas Storeng. Here is some more information about her.
Maria, born on 3rd August 1979, is a popular Norwegian pop-artist. She was born in Finnsnes but grew up in Senja in Troms County in northern Norway. She first received national media attention when she had her first musical role at the age of 12, with the lead in the musical ”Annie” at the theater Bryggeteatret in Oslo in 1991. Maria and her family moved to Oslo for the musical, and when the show run was over, they moved back to Senja.
She has since performed in several musicals, both in the capital Oslo and in Troms County where she grew up, and has received much critical acclaim for her beautiful singing voice.
At the age of 24, in 2003 she was part of the Norwegian pop-IDOL-show on national tv. She was by many considered the top performer and was a favourite among the professional critics but was, surprisingly, voted out by the public halfway through the competition. Even so, she came to the public’s attention and also took part in the 2004 IDOL-tour together with other contestants in the show’s top ten.
In 2005 she got a record contract and released her debut solo album called ”Breathing”. The album peaked at a decent 13th position in the Norwegian album charts. The single and title-track "Breathing" peaked at nr 5 in the singles chart and was certified Gold in Norway, while the next single "Should've" peaked at nr 20. She went on a four month national tour to promote the album and already had a devoted fanbase. In 2006 came another single called ”Nobody Knows”.
Then in 2008 she was chosen by Mira Craig to perform Mira’s song ”Hold On Be Strong” in the 2008 Norwegian MGP and she went on to celebrate victory, gaining the privelige to represent Norway in the ESC in Belgrade in May 2008. She achieved an impressive 5th place in the International ESC-final and gained an international fanbase. The song became a big hit in Norway, topping the singles chart, and also charted elsewhere. Maria’s second album called ”Hold On Be Strong”, which included her ESC-song and many other popular melodies, was released in the spring of 2008. The album peaked at nr 3 in the Norwegian album charts.
The next year, in 2009, Maria also participated in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2009, singing the song "Killing Me Tenderly" with the Swedish pop-artist Anna Sahlene. They did not qualify for the final, but the song and the performance was appreciated by many.
Maria Haukaas Storeng: Discography:
Albums
Breathing (2005)
Hold On Be Strong (2008)
Make My Day (June 2010)
Singles
Breathing (2004)
Should’ve (2005)
Nobody Knows (2006)
Hold On Be Strong (2008)
Mine All Mine [feat. Mira Craig] (2008)
Lazy (2008)
Killing Me Tenderly [feat. Sahlene] (2009)
Make My Day (2010)
Precious To Me [feat. Måns Zelmerlöw] (2010)
In 2010 she took part once again in the Norwegian MGP, this time with her song and ballad ”Make My Day”. She advanced to the final from her semifinal but did not make the top 4. The song was released as a single and gained some radio-play. She also released a second single during the first part of 2010, the song ”Precious To Me” together with the Swedish pop-artist Måns Zelmerlöw, and this song (a cover of an earlier hitsong) became popular among the fans and also got some radio-play.
Maria’s new album titled ”Make My Day”, her third solo album, was finally released on 14th June 2010 and it included her singles as well as several other good pop-songs, among them the catchy pop-song ”My Heart Is Singing” which is the song we have chosen to represent Norway here in FSC October 2010.
Maria married her sweetheart Hans Marius Hoff Mittet in June 2010, around the time of her album-release, and some have speculated (no confirmation received) that the song ”My Heart Is Singing” may be a partial reference to the personal happiness she feels this year. She will according to the media be taking her husband’s surname Mittet.
Maria is a popular and talented Norwegian singer and pop-/musical artist from whom we will without doubt hear much more in the coming years.
The song ”My Heart Is Singing” is alas a new song written (text/music) for Maria by Simen Eriksrud and Simone Larsen. It is a catchy melodious pop-song with cool rhythms and very good vocals, a happy song to sing for Maria.
We are happy to enter Maria Haukaas Storeng in the FSC for Norway. “My Heart Is Singing” is another great song of hers for you to enjoy!
Below are the English lyrics for the song. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for October!
Maria Haukaas Storeng - My Heart Is Singing
(Lalalala la la)
I broke the chain, I know my name
Finally found who I am
Don’t wanna be lonely, don’t need to be lonely
Stumbled, and got up again
Mmh, I’m just looking for my love tonight
I’m so ready, I will get it right
Bands are playing and the bells are ringing
I am ready and my heart is singing
Lalalala la la, ooh
Lalalala la la
Lalalala la la, oh…
I love the fame, I know the game
Just can’t control who I am
Take a chance on me baby, gotta go for it baby
Find me before I am gone
Ay-ey I’m just looking for my love tonight
I’m so ready, I will get it right
Bands are playing and the bells are ringing
I am ready and my heart is singing
Lalalala la la, ooh
Lalalala la la
Lalalala la la, oh…
And oh, everything is possible tonight
Got a brand-new twinkle in my eye
Stepin’ from the dark into the light
And oh, everything is possible tonight
Got a brand-new twinkle in my eye
Stepin’ from the dark into the light
Ay-ey I’m just looking for my love tonight
I’m so ready, I will get it right
Bands are playing and the bells are ringing
I am ready and my heart is singing
Lalalala la la, my heart is singing
Lalalala la la
Lalalala la la, oh…
-M
MyHeartIsYours
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 22, 2010
- Posts
- 24,545
I 
Maria!
I used to have a lil' crush on her
Maria! I used to have a lil' crush on her
goktengri
Banned
I like this song
Thank you, enjoy the song!I
I used to have a lil' crush on her
Thank you, glad you enjoy our song!I like this song
goktengri
Banned
well cute song 
FSC November 2010 - Norway
FSC Norway - November 2010 - a-ha - Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)
Representing Norway in FSC November 2010 is the popular Norwegian pop/rock-group a-ha, with their - sadly - last and final single before - according to their announcement - they retire from the music-business in December of this year. With this entry we want to pay tribute to a-ha, the internationally most successful Norwegian pop/rock-group of all time. Here is some more information about them.
a-ha (normally spelled entirely in lower-case letters, but also sometimes seen as A-ha or A-HA) is a pop/rock music group and band from Norway that was founded in 1982 by Morten Harket (vocals, who over the years became one of Norway’s best male vocalists), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards), and Pål Waaktaar(-Savoy) (guitars). The trio left Norway for London in order to make a career in the music business. They got a record contract and their first international hit was to become the Synth-pop song ”Take On Me” in 1985. It was released with a new, groundbreaking video (combining pencil-sketch animation with real flowing pictures) which gained heavy MTV-rotation, and ultimately sold 1.5 million copies worldwide in one week and 7-9 million copies worldwide in all, an unheard of commercial success for a Norwegian band! a-ha became the first Norwegian band to have a number 1 song in the USA.
Their debut-album called ”Hunting High And Low”, a worldwide bestseller, was also released in 1985 and it included besides ”Take On Me” their successful second single ”The Sun Always Shines On Tv” as well as the title-track ”Hunting High And Low”. Their second album called ”Scoundrel Days” was released in 1986 and this album represented a move on their part from Synth-pop toward alternative rock. Although less successful than their debut-album, this album included the popular singles ”I’ve been losing you”, ”Cry Wolf” and ”Manhattan Skyline”. They went on to release their third studio album ”Stay On These Roads” in 1988. The title-track became a fan-favourite and it is a song a-ha are very proud of and which is very special to them, all three members having contributed to its writing. The album also included the James Bond-song and chart-hit ”The Living Daylights”.
The album ”East of the Sun, West of the Moon” came in 1990. It featured a somewhat darker and moodier tone than their more radio-friendly earlier releases. Most remembered from this album is perhaps their cover-version of the song ”Crying In The Rain”.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a-ha were very popular in South America, especially in Brazil, where the band sold-out some of the largest stadiums in the world. At the ”Rock in Rio II”-festival in January 1991, a-ha shocked the international entertainment press by drawing an audience of 198,000 at the Maracanã stadium for their top-billed evening concert - a Guinness World Record for paying audiences. In 1991 the compilation album "Headlines and Deadlines" was also released and it sold more than two million copies worldwide. It was followed by the studio album ”Memorial Beach” in 1993 which included the singles ”Move To Memphis” and ”Dark Is The Night”. This was a rather troublesome and difficult period for the band (with internal conflicts and musical disagreements), something which would subsequently force the band to take a break from the music business. In 1994 the final decision was made and a-ha entered a hiatus-period where the members started focusing on solo-projects.
a-ha: Album-Discography:
Hunting High and Low (1985)
Scoundrel Days (1986)
Stay on These Roads (1988)
East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990)
Memorial Beach (1993)
Minor Earth Major Sky (2000)
Lifelines (2002)
Analogue (2005)
Foot of the Mountain (2009)
25 - The Collection (September 2010)
They had their reunion 4 years later, in 1998, when they were invited to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. Paul wrote the song ”Summer Moved On” especially for this performance and they also performed ”The Sun Always Shines On Tv”. After this successful reunion they returned to the studio to start work on an upcoming new album. The recording sessions resulted in the album ”Minor Earth Major Sky” in 2000 and an international tour. The album spawned 4 big chart-hits: ”Minor Earth Major Sky”, ”Velvet”, ”The Sun Never Shone That Day” and the aforementioned ”Summer Moved On”. The next album ”Lifelines” came in 2002. It included the hits ”Forever Not Yours” and ”Lifelines”. They released another compilation album in 2004, together with a book entitled ”The Swing Of Things” which also included early demo material. And then in November 2005 the band released their 8th studio album called ”Analogue”. It included the single ”Analogue (All I Want)” as well as the songs ”Celice” and ”Birthright”.
In 2006-2008 the a-ha members focused more on their solo projects once again, until new recording sessions took place before the release of their new album ”Foot of the Mountain” in 2009. This was to become their last studio album, their 9th. The album showed a shift in musical style back toward the Synth-pop of their earlier days, combining synth hooks with yearning lyrics and melodic melancholia, although the title-track and popular first single (which also was a previous Norwegian FSC-entry in 2009) was not wholly indicative of this. The album was commercially successful in Europe and pleased their many fans worldwide.
Even so, the success-story that was a-ha was coming to an end. And on October 15th 2009 the band finally announced to the press that they were going to retire from the music business after 25 successful years, after completing a worldwide ”Farewell” concert tour in 2010. Their final concerts would be in their home capital Oslo, Norway in December 2010.
A new and final a-ha single titled "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)", which is the song we have chosen as the Norwegian entry here in FSC November 2010, was revealed in June 2010 and released as a single in July, to promote the new double CD compilation album called ”25 - The Collection” (in recognition of their 25th anniversary as a band) which was subsequently released in September. It was announced that "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" was to be a-ha's last ever recording.
This is a classic a-ha Synth-pop song, with catchy melody-lines and inherent melancholia, a fitting final single and song from this very successful and memorable Norwegian band of 25 years.
We are happy to enter a-ha a final time in the FSC for Norway, paying them a tribute for their great contribution to Norwegian pop/rock music. "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" is another great song of theirs for you to enjoy!
Below are the English lyrics for the song. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for November!
a-ha - Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)
Butterfly, Butterfly
Flying into the wind
You can be sure of it
That's no place to begin
Over-thinking every little thing
Acknowledge the bell you can't unring
Tomorrow, you don't have to say what you're thinking
You don't have to mean what you say
Butterfly, Butterfly
Flutter into the skies
Butterfly, Butterfly
Their molecular cries
Chrysalis dreams waiting on the fifth in-star
These stained glass wings could only take you so far
You don't have to say that it matters
You don't have to turn something in
Stay with it through thick and thin
Butterfly, begin
Butterfly, Butterfly
Tomorrow, you don't have to mean what you say
Left without a reason to stay
Comes the last hurrah
Here's our last hurrah
Butterfly, Butterfly
You can be sure of it
Butterfly
-M
FSC Norway - November 2010 - a-ha - Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)
Representing Norway in FSC November 2010 is the popular Norwegian pop/rock-group a-ha, with their - sadly - last and final single before - according to their announcement - they retire from the music-business in December of this year. With this entry we want to pay tribute to a-ha, the internationally most successful Norwegian pop/rock-group of all time. Here is some more information about them.
a-ha (normally spelled entirely in lower-case letters, but also sometimes seen as A-ha or A-HA) is a pop/rock music group and band from Norway that was founded in 1982 by Morten Harket (vocals, who over the years became one of Norway’s best male vocalists), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards), and Pål Waaktaar(-Savoy) (guitars). The trio left Norway for London in order to make a career in the music business. They got a record contract and their first international hit was to become the Synth-pop song ”Take On Me” in 1985. It was released with a new, groundbreaking video (combining pencil-sketch animation with real flowing pictures) which gained heavy MTV-rotation, and ultimately sold 1.5 million copies worldwide in one week and 7-9 million copies worldwide in all, an unheard of commercial success for a Norwegian band! a-ha became the first Norwegian band to have a number 1 song in the USA.
Their debut-album called ”Hunting High And Low”, a worldwide bestseller, was also released in 1985 and it included besides ”Take On Me” their successful second single ”The Sun Always Shines On Tv” as well as the title-track ”Hunting High And Low”. Their second album called ”Scoundrel Days” was released in 1986 and this album represented a move on their part from Synth-pop toward alternative rock. Although less successful than their debut-album, this album included the popular singles ”I’ve been losing you”, ”Cry Wolf” and ”Manhattan Skyline”. They went on to release their third studio album ”Stay On These Roads” in 1988. The title-track became a fan-favourite and it is a song a-ha are very proud of and which is very special to them, all three members having contributed to its writing. The album also included the James Bond-song and chart-hit ”The Living Daylights”.
The album ”East of the Sun, West of the Moon” came in 1990. It featured a somewhat darker and moodier tone than their more radio-friendly earlier releases. Most remembered from this album is perhaps their cover-version of the song ”Crying In The Rain”.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a-ha were very popular in South America, especially in Brazil, where the band sold-out some of the largest stadiums in the world. At the ”Rock in Rio II”-festival in January 1991, a-ha shocked the international entertainment press by drawing an audience of 198,000 at the Maracanã stadium for their top-billed evening concert - a Guinness World Record for paying audiences. In 1991 the compilation album "Headlines and Deadlines" was also released and it sold more than two million copies worldwide. It was followed by the studio album ”Memorial Beach” in 1993 which included the singles ”Move To Memphis” and ”Dark Is The Night”. This was a rather troublesome and difficult period for the band (with internal conflicts and musical disagreements), something which would subsequently force the band to take a break from the music business. In 1994 the final decision was made and a-ha entered a hiatus-period where the members started focusing on solo-projects.
a-ha: Album-Discography:
Hunting High and Low (1985)
Scoundrel Days (1986)
Stay on These Roads (1988)
East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990)
Memorial Beach (1993)
Minor Earth Major Sky (2000)
Lifelines (2002)
Analogue (2005)
Foot of the Mountain (2009)
25 - The Collection (September 2010)
They had their reunion 4 years later, in 1998, when they were invited to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. Paul wrote the song ”Summer Moved On” especially for this performance and they also performed ”The Sun Always Shines On Tv”. After this successful reunion they returned to the studio to start work on an upcoming new album. The recording sessions resulted in the album ”Minor Earth Major Sky” in 2000 and an international tour. The album spawned 4 big chart-hits: ”Minor Earth Major Sky”, ”Velvet”, ”The Sun Never Shone That Day” and the aforementioned ”Summer Moved On”. The next album ”Lifelines” came in 2002. It included the hits ”Forever Not Yours” and ”Lifelines”. They released another compilation album in 2004, together with a book entitled ”The Swing Of Things” which also included early demo material. And then in November 2005 the band released their 8th studio album called ”Analogue”. It included the single ”Analogue (All I Want)” as well as the songs ”Celice” and ”Birthright”.
In 2006-2008 the a-ha members focused more on their solo projects once again, until new recording sessions took place before the release of their new album ”Foot of the Mountain” in 2009. This was to become their last studio album, their 9th. The album showed a shift in musical style back toward the Synth-pop of their earlier days, combining synth hooks with yearning lyrics and melodic melancholia, although the title-track and popular first single (which also was a previous Norwegian FSC-entry in 2009) was not wholly indicative of this. The album was commercially successful in Europe and pleased their many fans worldwide.
Even so, the success-story that was a-ha was coming to an end. And on October 15th 2009 the band finally announced to the press that they were going to retire from the music business after 25 successful years, after completing a worldwide ”Farewell” concert tour in 2010. Their final concerts would be in their home capital Oslo, Norway in December 2010.
A new and final a-ha single titled "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)", which is the song we have chosen as the Norwegian entry here in FSC November 2010, was revealed in June 2010 and released as a single in July, to promote the new double CD compilation album called ”25 - The Collection” (in recognition of their 25th anniversary as a band) which was subsequently released in September. It was announced that "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" was to be a-ha's last ever recording.
This is a classic a-ha Synth-pop song, with catchy melody-lines and inherent melancholia, a fitting final single and song from this very successful and memorable Norwegian band of 25 years.
We are happy to enter a-ha a final time in the FSC for Norway, paying them a tribute for their great contribution to Norwegian pop/rock music. "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)" is another great song of theirs for you to enjoy!
Below are the English lyrics for the song. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for November!
a-ha - Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)
Butterfly, Butterfly
Flying into the wind
You can be sure of it
That's no place to begin
Over-thinking every little thing
Acknowledge the bell you can't unring
Tomorrow, you don't have to say what you're thinking
You don't have to mean what you say
Butterfly, Butterfly
Flutter into the skies
Butterfly, Butterfly
Their molecular cries
Chrysalis dreams waiting on the fifth in-star
These stained glass wings could only take you so far
You don't have to say that it matters
You don't have to turn something in
Stay with it through thick and thin
Butterfly, begin
Butterfly, Butterfly
Tomorrow, you don't have to mean what you say
Left without a reason to stay
Comes the last hurrah
Here's our last hurrah
Butterfly, Butterfly
You can be sure of it
Butterfly
-M
Last edited:
FSC December 2010 - Norway
FSC Norway - December 2010 - Odd Nordstoga - November
Representing Norway in FSC December 2010 is the popular Norwegian Folk-pop artist and musician Odd Nordstoga who comes from the traditional inland-region called Telemark. Here is some more information about him.
Odd Nordstoga, born on 10th December 1972, grew up in Vinje in Telemark, the homestead of the Norwegian author and poet Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (who pioneered the use of ”Nynorsk”, a Norwegian language originating from Old Norse, as opposed to ”Bokmål”, the more city-spoken (”standard”) Norwegian language which originated from Danish). Odd hails from a hugely cultural/musical family. Both his parents are Folk-singers. In addition, his brother Aasmund Nordstoga has made a name for himself as a Folk-singer, dancer, actor and radio and tv-presenter.
Odd Nordstoga made his debut as a recording artist in 1997 with the band Something Odd and their self-titled debut-album. This album earned them a record deal with BMG Norway and they swiftly released the follow-up ”Solreven” in 1998. Two minor radio-hits, the Folk-rock inspired "Fuggel i Karmen" and the haunting ballad "Ingen eg kjenner", came out of this album, but the album sold poorly and the band was dropped from their label. In 2000, Odd Nordstoga changed the name of the band to simply Nordstoga, signed to the Norwegian label Grappa and released a more pop-music oriented self-titled album. A couple of minor radio-hits, "Dag" and "Bie på deg", ensued. Nordstoga won Norway's prestigious Edvardprisen Award for "Bie på Deg". However, soon afterwards they disbanded.
Between 2001-2003, Odd Nordstoga concentrated most of his efforts towards the more traditional Folk-music of Telemark. With his other band Blåmann Blåmann (consisting of Nordstoga and his friends from Vinje, guitarist Asgaut H. Bakken, flute player Silje Hegg and hardingfiddle virtuoso Lars Underdal), he released a self-titled album to great reviews in 2001, and scored a radio-hit in "Tippe Tippe Tuve". In 2002 he teamed up with the highly respected Norwegian folk-musician Øyonn Groven Myhren (also known from the folk-ensemble Dvergmål) to write, perform and release the album ”Nivelkinn”, based on poems by Telemark-poet Aslaug Vaa. This collaboration scored a couple of minor radio-hits in "Uppi Måneskin" and "Guten og Folen", and earned them the Spellemannprisen award (Norwegian Grammy) in 2003 for best Folk-music album.
It was also in 2003 that the mainstream public opened its eyes for Nordstoga as he teamed up with famous singer/actress/writer Herborg Kråkevik to write and perform the title-track from her Édith Piaf-cabaret, entitled ”Eg & Edith”. The title-track proved to be a radio-hit. Nordstoga, together with lyricist Stein Versto (another Vinje native), also contributed with the track "Rosevev" on this album.
In 2004, Odd Nordstoga signed for Universal Records and made his definitive breakthrough with the album ”Luring”, selling 150.000 copies and spending 14 weeks on top of the Norwegian album charts. The lead single from the album, about a howling pig, entitled "Kveldssong for deg og meg", is already a Norwegian evergreen and was one of the most played songs on Norwegian radio in 2004. "Texas", "Lause Ting", "Hallo Hallo" and "Farvel til deg" from the same album also became big radio-hits for Odd Nordstoga. He won the Spellemansprisen award (Norwegian Grammy) again in 2005 as he was named best male artist and artist of the year.
Odd Nordstoga released his next album in October 2006. Entitled ”Heim Te Mor”, the album received a great deal of airplay and acclaim from critics all over Norway. The radio-single and title-track "Heim Te Mor" became a radio-hit upon release in September 2006, marking another milestone for Odd Nordstoga as this release marks his first music-video as a solo artist, an animated video based on a Nordstoga concert in his local community made by the Animidas film maker crew. With radio single number two "Frøken Franzen" coinciding with the album's release, Odd Nordstoga looked set for another album success.
In 2008 the album ”Pilegrim” was released to great acclaim, securing the third bestseller in a row for the artist. This album was somewhat different in style from his previous albums but his unmistaken quality as a musician shone through in the songs. In the autumn of the same year Odd Nordstoga, together with his brother Aasmund Nordstoga and fiddler Per Anders Buen Garnås, toured Norway with a revamped version of the Storegut performance. Then on 9th November 2009 Odd Nordstoga released the Christmas-album ”Strålande Jul” together with Norwegian international soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø. The album was a collection of Norwegian, Swedish and Danish Christmas songs and became another chart- and sales-success. It was revealed by the end of 2009 that this album was the best selling album of the 2000s in Norway, selling 400,000 copies.
Odd Nordstoga: Album-Discography (with band and solo-career):
1997 Something Odd (Odd Productions) - by Something Odd
1998 Solreven (BMG Norway/RCA) - by Something Odd
2000 Nordstoga (Grappa Musikkforlag) - by Nordstoga
2001 Blåmann Blåmann (Heilo/Grappa Musikkforlag) - by Blåmann Blåmann
2002 Nivelkinn (with Øyonn Groven Myhren) (Heilo/Grappa Musikkforlag)
2004 Luring (Sonet/Universal)
2006 Heim Te Mor (Sonet/Universal)
2008 Pilegrim (Sonet/Universal)
2009 Strålande jul (with Sissel Kyrkjebø) (Universal)
2010 November (Sonet/Universal, October 2010)
Odd Nordstoga’s latest album called ”November” was released in October 2010, having been preceeded in August 2010 by the title-track and first single called ”November, which is the song we have chosen as the Norwegian entry here in FSC December 2010. Before the autumn album-release a second single was also released from the album, and the album has subsequently received positive reviews in the Norwegian press with good sales and a good fan-response.
Being from Vinje in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark, Odd Nordstoga writes and performs most of his original work in his native Telemark-dialect - a kind of variant of the aforementioned Norwegian ”Nynorsk” - which is perhaps the Norwegian dialect that bears most resemblance to Old Norse and modern day Icelandic. He also speaks the dialect privately and in the media. This has become a trademark for him and has gained him respect from language organizations. He was also awarded the Telemark County Travel Industry Award for 2010 for using his dialect to promote the county/region of Telemark in a positive way.
Odd Nordstoga has showed remarkable crossover potential in his career. He has collaborated with leading Norwegian artists and musicians from a wide variety of genres including Folk-(pop/rock) music, jazz, electronica, chanson, hip hop, rock, classical music and pop. In addition to this, Odd Nordstoga has shown that he is a "jack-of-all-trades" within the cultural field having also performed in and helped writing cabarets, opera, edited books and acted in a film. This is a multi-talented Norwegian artist from whom we will without doubt hear much more in the future.
The song ”November” is a song about the dark, sometimes depressing, and ”mystic” Norwegian month of November, told within a framework of Norwegian mythology and Nordic folklore/fairy-tales. The song is sung in his distinctive Telemark-dialect which as mentioned differs a fair bit from ”standard” Norwegian (Bokmål). The melody has traditional Norwegian Folk-pop music instrumentation with the hardingfele (fiddle) carrying the tune besides Odd Nordstoga’s familiar guitar. It all makes for a very satisfying and melodious musical experience.
We are happy to enter the accomplished Norwegian Folk-pop singer- and musician Odd Nordstoga in the FSC for Norway. "November" is a great song of his for you to enjoy!
Below are the Norwegian lyrics (in Telemark-dialect) for the song as well as an English interpretation (i.e. not a direct translation) of the lyrics that I have made to convey the meaning. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for December!
Odd Nordstoga - November
Det er eit troll på loftet, og draugen er på dass / A troll is in the loft, and the ”draug” at the loo
I kjellaren bråkar ein skummel ein / In the cellar someone frightening is making much noise
Og ute er eit skrømt frå den tid slike fanst / And outside there is a wraith from times gone by
Han dansar utpå marka ein skummel dans / He is performing a scary dance out in the fields
Og veden vil ’kje brenne, og livet det er stutt / And the firewood won’t burn, and life is short
Så alle dei ringer og gjer det slutt / So they all call me up to break up with me
Og koppane dei skranglar når toget fér forbi / And the tablecups rattle as the train passes by
Det skingrar gjennom byen, men det er ingen i / It races through town, but noone’s inside
Ååå, d'er noko som fer / Ohh, something is on its way
Ååå, d'er noko som skjer / Ohh, something’s going on
Åååå, d'er noko som hender / Ohh, something’s happening
Og d'er ein som eg kjenner: / And it’s someone I know:
Det er November / It’s November
Og katten er så rar av det vonde han ser / The cat acts oddly ’cause of the bad things he sees
På sin blodige tur der ute / During his bloody walk outside
Iblant halvetne fuglar og livredde mus / Among half-eaten birds and terrified mice
Som nok aldri kjem heim til sitt musehus / Who probably will never reach their safe homes
Ååå, d'er noko som fer / Ohh, something is on its way
Ååå, d'er noko som skjer / Ohh, something’s going on
Åååå, d'er noko som hender / Ohh, something’s happening
Og d'er ein som eg kjenner: / And it’s someone I know:
Det er November / It’s November
Det er eit troll på loftet, og draugen er på dass / A troll is in the loft, and the ”draug” at the loo
I kjellaren bråkar ein skummel ein / In the cellar someone frightening is making much noise
Og eg er ikkje heime, så alt det eg fortel / And I am not at home, so everything I am telling
Ja, det høyrde eg i lufta av ei daud og plaga sjel / I heard it here from a dead and plagued soul
Ååå, d'er noko som fer / Ohh, something is on its way
Ååå, d'er noko som skjer / Ohh, something’s going on
Åååå, d'er noko som hender / Ohh, something’s happening
Og d'er ein som eg kjenner: / And it’s someone I know:
Det er November / It’s November
Ååå, d'er noko som fer / Ohh, something is on its way
Ååå, d'er noko som skjer / Ohh, something’s going on
Åååå, d'er noko som hender / Ohh, something’s happening
Og d'er ein som eg kjenner: / And it’s someone I know:
Det er November / It’s November
Ååå, d'er noko som fer / Ohh, something is on its way
Ååå, d'er noko som skjer / Ohh, something’s going on
Åååå, d'er noko som hender / Ohh, something’s happening
Og d'er ein som eg kjenner: / And it’s someone I know:
Det er November / It’s November
-M
FSC Norway - December 2010 - Odd Nordstoga - November
Representing Norway in FSC December 2010 is the popular Norwegian Folk-pop artist and musician Odd Nordstoga who comes from the traditional inland-region called Telemark. Here is some more information about him.
Odd Nordstoga, born on 10th December 1972, grew up in Vinje in Telemark, the homestead of the Norwegian author and poet Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (who pioneered the use of ”Nynorsk”, a Norwegian language originating from Old Norse, as opposed to ”Bokmål”, the more city-spoken (”standard”) Norwegian language which originated from Danish). Odd hails from a hugely cultural/musical family. Both his parents are Folk-singers. In addition, his brother Aasmund Nordstoga has made a name for himself as a Folk-singer, dancer, actor and radio and tv-presenter.
Odd Nordstoga made his debut as a recording artist in 1997 with the band Something Odd and their self-titled debut-album. This album earned them a record deal with BMG Norway and they swiftly released the follow-up ”Solreven” in 1998. Two minor radio-hits, the Folk-rock inspired "Fuggel i Karmen" and the haunting ballad "Ingen eg kjenner", came out of this album, but the album sold poorly and the band was dropped from their label. In 2000, Odd Nordstoga changed the name of the band to simply Nordstoga, signed to the Norwegian label Grappa and released a more pop-music oriented self-titled album. A couple of minor radio-hits, "Dag" and "Bie på deg", ensued. Nordstoga won Norway's prestigious Edvardprisen Award for "Bie på Deg". However, soon afterwards they disbanded.
Between 2001-2003, Odd Nordstoga concentrated most of his efforts towards the more traditional Folk-music of Telemark. With his other band Blåmann Blåmann (consisting of Nordstoga and his friends from Vinje, guitarist Asgaut H. Bakken, flute player Silje Hegg and hardingfiddle virtuoso Lars Underdal), he released a self-titled album to great reviews in 2001, and scored a radio-hit in "Tippe Tippe Tuve". In 2002 he teamed up with the highly respected Norwegian folk-musician Øyonn Groven Myhren (also known from the folk-ensemble Dvergmål) to write, perform and release the album ”Nivelkinn”, based on poems by Telemark-poet Aslaug Vaa. This collaboration scored a couple of minor radio-hits in "Uppi Måneskin" and "Guten og Folen", and earned them the Spellemannprisen award (Norwegian Grammy) in 2003 for best Folk-music album.
It was also in 2003 that the mainstream public opened its eyes for Nordstoga as he teamed up with famous singer/actress/writer Herborg Kråkevik to write and perform the title-track from her Édith Piaf-cabaret, entitled ”Eg & Edith”. The title-track proved to be a radio-hit. Nordstoga, together with lyricist Stein Versto (another Vinje native), also contributed with the track "Rosevev" on this album.
In 2004, Odd Nordstoga signed for Universal Records and made his definitive breakthrough with the album ”Luring”, selling 150.000 copies and spending 14 weeks on top of the Norwegian album charts. The lead single from the album, about a howling pig, entitled "Kveldssong for deg og meg", is already a Norwegian evergreen and was one of the most played songs on Norwegian radio in 2004. "Texas", "Lause Ting", "Hallo Hallo" and "Farvel til deg" from the same album also became big radio-hits for Odd Nordstoga. He won the Spellemansprisen award (Norwegian Grammy) again in 2005 as he was named best male artist and artist of the year.
Odd Nordstoga released his next album in October 2006. Entitled ”Heim Te Mor”, the album received a great deal of airplay and acclaim from critics all over Norway. The radio-single and title-track "Heim Te Mor" became a radio-hit upon release in September 2006, marking another milestone for Odd Nordstoga as this release marks his first music-video as a solo artist, an animated video based on a Nordstoga concert in his local community made by the Animidas film maker crew. With radio single number two "Frøken Franzen" coinciding with the album's release, Odd Nordstoga looked set for another album success.
In 2008 the album ”Pilegrim” was released to great acclaim, securing the third bestseller in a row for the artist. This album was somewhat different in style from his previous albums but his unmistaken quality as a musician shone through in the songs. In the autumn of the same year Odd Nordstoga, together with his brother Aasmund Nordstoga and fiddler Per Anders Buen Garnås, toured Norway with a revamped version of the Storegut performance. Then on 9th November 2009 Odd Nordstoga released the Christmas-album ”Strålande Jul” together with Norwegian international soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø. The album was a collection of Norwegian, Swedish and Danish Christmas songs and became another chart- and sales-success. It was revealed by the end of 2009 that this album was the best selling album of the 2000s in Norway, selling 400,000 copies.
Odd Nordstoga: Album-Discography (with band and solo-career):
1997 Something Odd (Odd Productions) - by Something Odd
1998 Solreven (BMG Norway/RCA) - by Something Odd
2000 Nordstoga (Grappa Musikkforlag) - by Nordstoga
2001 Blåmann Blåmann (Heilo/Grappa Musikkforlag) - by Blåmann Blåmann
2002 Nivelkinn (with Øyonn Groven Myhren) (Heilo/Grappa Musikkforlag)
2004 Luring (Sonet/Universal)
2006 Heim Te Mor (Sonet/Universal)
2008 Pilegrim (Sonet/Universal)
2009 Strålande jul (with Sissel Kyrkjebø) (Universal)
2010 November (Sonet/Universal, October 2010)
Odd Nordstoga’s latest album called ”November” was released in October 2010, having been preceeded in August 2010 by the title-track and first single called ”November, which is the song we have chosen as the Norwegian entry here in FSC December 2010. Before the autumn album-release a second single was also released from the album, and the album has subsequently received positive reviews in the Norwegian press with good sales and a good fan-response.
Being from Vinje in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark, Odd Nordstoga writes and performs most of his original work in his native Telemark-dialect - a kind of variant of the aforementioned Norwegian ”Nynorsk” - which is perhaps the Norwegian dialect that bears most resemblance to Old Norse and modern day Icelandic. He also speaks the dialect privately and in the media. This has become a trademark for him and has gained him respect from language organizations. He was also awarded the Telemark County Travel Industry Award for 2010 for using his dialect to promote the county/region of Telemark in a positive way.
Odd Nordstoga has showed remarkable crossover potential in his career. He has collaborated with leading Norwegian artists and musicians from a wide variety of genres including Folk-(pop/rock) music, jazz, electronica, chanson, hip hop, rock, classical music and pop. In addition to this, Odd Nordstoga has shown that he is a "jack-of-all-trades" within the cultural field having also performed in and helped writing cabarets, opera, edited books and acted in a film. This is a multi-talented Norwegian artist from whom we will without doubt hear much more in the future.
The song ”November” is a song about the dark, sometimes depressing, and ”mystic” Norwegian month of November, told within a framework of Norwegian mythology and Nordic folklore/fairy-tales. The song is sung in his distinctive Telemark-dialect which as mentioned differs a fair bit from ”standard” Norwegian (Bokmål). The melody has traditional Norwegian Folk-pop music instrumentation with the hardingfele (fiddle) carrying the tune besides Odd Nordstoga’s familiar guitar. It all makes for a very satisfying and melodious musical experience.
We are happy to enter the accomplished Norwegian Folk-pop singer- and musician Odd Nordstoga in the FSC for Norway. "November" is a great song of his for you to enjoy!
Below are the Norwegian lyrics (in Telemark-dialect) for the song as well as an English interpretation (i.e. not a direct translation) of the lyrics that I have made to convey the meaning. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for December!
Odd Nordstoga - November
Det er eit troll på loftet, og draugen er på dass / A troll is in the loft, and the ”draug” at the loo
I kjellaren bråkar ein skummel ein / In the cellar someone frightening is making much noise
Og ute er eit skrømt frå den tid slike fanst / And outside there is a wraith from times gone by
Han dansar utpå marka ein skummel dans / He is performing a scary dance out in the fields
Og veden vil ’kje brenne, og livet det er stutt / And the firewood won’t burn, and life is short
Så alle dei ringer og gjer det slutt / So they all call me up to break up with me
Og koppane dei skranglar når toget fér forbi / And the tablecups rattle as the train passes by
Det skingrar gjennom byen, men det er ingen i / It races through town, but noone’s inside
Ååå, d'er noko som fer / Ohh, something is on its way
Ååå, d'er noko som skjer / Ohh, something’s going on
Åååå, d'er noko som hender / Ohh, something’s happening
Og d'er ein som eg kjenner: / And it’s someone I know:
Det er November / It’s November
Og katten er så rar av det vonde han ser / The cat acts oddly ’cause of the bad things he sees
På sin blodige tur der ute / During his bloody walk outside
Iblant halvetne fuglar og livredde mus / Among half-eaten birds and terrified mice
Som nok aldri kjem heim til sitt musehus / Who probably will never reach their safe homes
Ååå, d'er noko som fer / Ohh, something is on its way
Ååå, d'er noko som skjer / Ohh, something’s going on
Åååå, d'er noko som hender / Ohh, something’s happening
Og d'er ein som eg kjenner: / And it’s someone I know:
Det er November / It’s November
Det er eit troll på loftet, og draugen er på dass / A troll is in the loft, and the ”draug” at the loo
I kjellaren bråkar ein skummel ein / In the cellar someone frightening is making much noise
Og eg er ikkje heime, så alt det eg fortel / And I am not at home, so everything I am telling
Ja, det høyrde eg i lufta av ei daud og plaga sjel / I heard it here from a dead and plagued soul
Ååå, d'er noko som fer / Ohh, something is on its way
Ååå, d'er noko som skjer / Ohh, something’s going on
Åååå, d'er noko som hender / Ohh, something’s happening
Og d'er ein som eg kjenner: / And it’s someone I know:
Det er November / It’s November
Ååå, d'er noko som fer / Ohh, something is on its way
Ååå, d'er noko som skjer / Ohh, something’s going on
Åååå, d'er noko som hender / Ohh, something’s happening
Og d'er ein som eg kjenner: / And it’s someone I know:
Det er November / It’s November
Ååå, d'er noko som fer / Ohh, something is on its way
Ååå, d'er noko som skjer / Ohh, something’s going on
Åååå, d'er noko som hender / Ohh, something’s happening
Og d'er ein som eg kjenner: / And it’s someone I know:
Det er November / It’s November
-M
FSC January 2011 - Norway
FSC Norway - January 2011 - Tristania - Exile
Representing Norway in FSC January 2011 is the famous Norwegian Gothic Metal band Tristania, who were among the pioneers of Gothic Metal here together with another Norwegian band called Theatre of Tragedy. Here is some more information about Tristania.
Tristania was founded in 1996 in Stavanger, Norway by Morten Veland (vocals/guitar) together with Einar Moen (keyboards) and Kenneth Olsson (drums). A few weeks later Anders Høyvik Hidle (guitars/vocals) and Rune Østerhus (bass) joined the band. In May 1997 the band entered the studio for the first time and recorded their demo in Klepp Lydstudio. The soprano Vibeke Stene was initially recruited as a guest singer for the demo recording, but she later joined as a regular member. Tristania signed with Napalm Records and released the EP ”Tristania”. Tristania's first full length album, ”Widow's Weeds”, was released in early 1998. The album was Symphonic Metal in style with elements from a large variety of genres including Gothic/Death/Black Metal and Classical music. Two guest performers who were involved with ”Widow's Weeds” would later get more prominent roles on Tristania’s albums; the singer Østen Bergøy (who would later become a full band member) and violinist Pete Johansen.
The band's second full length album, the critically acclaimed fan-favourite ”Beyond The Veil” was released in 1999. As on the debut-album, Moen and Veland wrote the majority of the music, but Moen and Hidle emerged as a songwriting team. Jan Kenneth Barkved appeared as an additional singer. The band toured with the groups Tiamat and Anathema in 1999 and continued touring extensively in 2000. Then, in December of 2000, founder Morten Veland left the band. He and the rest of the band agreed on going separate ways, due to musical and personal differences. Morten Veland went on to form the Norwegian-based Gothic Metal band Sirenia as well as, more recently, a Gothic Metal-project called Mortemia (in 2009).
The next Tristania-album ”World of Glass” was released in September of 2001, with guest contributions from Ronny Thorsen, Pete Johansen, and Jan Kenneth Barkved. The album added classical and industrial elements to Tristania's sound. Bergøy, now a permanent member of the band, also began to write lyrics on this album and has since become the band's main lyricist. Kjetil Ingebrethsen joined the band prior to the World of Glass tour on extreme vocals. More touring of Europe and Latin America followed in 2002.
In 2003-2004 Tristania took a break from performing live to focus solely on songwriting. The album ”Ashes” was released on SPV/Steamhammer Records in February of 2005 and featured a stripped-down sound that de-emphasized the classical and operatic elements of the previous albums. The band then toured Europe and Latin America along with the famous bands Nightwish, Gothminister, and Kreator. After the tours, Ingebrethsen decided to leave the band as he wanted to continue his musical career at a lower level. The band decided not to recruit a replacement, and Hidle took over the growling vocals.
The album ”Illumination” was released in January of 2007, with touring guitarist Svein Terje Solvang added as an official member. Shortly after the release of the album, Vibeke Stene - the band’s accomplished and popular operatic vocalist - suddenly decided to quit her musical career in order to focus on family and her work as a teacher. As a result, all planned touring activities were put on hold. After holding auditions for a new female singer and vocalist, Tristania recruited the singer Mariangela Demurtas from Sardinia, Italy, who officially joined the band in October of 2007. It appeared that the band wanted a female vocalist with a different voice - a non-operatic voice - this time. Though many fans were disappointed with Vibeke’s decision to leave the band and also with the band’s decision to go for a female singer with a more rock-oriented voice (rather than operatic), most fans seem since to have embraced Mariangela and now believe her voice matches Tristania’s current sound very well.
Tristania: Album-Discography:
Tristania (EP) (1997)
Widow's Weeds (1998)
Beyond The Veil (1999)
World Of Glass (2001)
Ashes (2005)
Illumination (2007)
Rubicon (August 2010)
Tristania: Current Members:
Kjetil Nordhus - Clean Vocals (2010–present)
Anders Høyvik Hidle - Guitars/Harsh Vocals (1996–present)
Mariangela Demurtas - Female Vocals (2007–present)
Gyri Smørdal Losnegaard - Guitars (2009–present)
Ole Vistnes - Bass/Backing Vocals (2009–present)
Einar Moen - Synth/Programming (1996–present)
Tarald Lie Jr. - Drums (2010–present)
Tristania has had many members through the years of the band’s existence and there have been many changes in personell. In 2008 the members Østerhus and Solvang left the band while Ole Vistnes joined as the new bassist and Gyri S Losnegaard later joined as second guitarist. The new line-up featuring Demurtas on vocals debuted on 29th February 2008 at a festival-appearance in Kiev, Ukraine. The next member to depart was another of the founders, drummer Kenneth Olsson, who was replaced by Tarald Lie Jr., while singer Østen Bergøy scaled back to part-time status with the band due to family commitments. Kjetil Nordhus was added to the lineup on clean vocals.
The band's sixth and newest full length album called ”Rubicon” was released in August of 2010. Violinist Pete Johansen rejoined the group for the recording sessions for ”Rubicon”. Prior to the album-release, the first single ”Year of the Rat” was released in mid-2010 with an accompanying music-video. The album also included popular and powerful songs such as ”Protection”, ”Illumination”, and ”Exile”, and this last song is the song we have chosen as the Norwegian entry here in FSC January 2011.
Tristania’s sound has evolved through the years, from their Gothic Metal with Doom Metal/Death Metal-influences and keyboard/symphonic choirs with female operatics of their earlier albums, to their more mainstream industrial Gothic Metal sound of their last few albums. The heart and soul of Tristania is ever-present though in their current sound and this accomplished Norwegian band will without doubt continue to excite their many fans all over the world with their music in the years to come.
The song ”Exile” is with music by Anders Høyvik Hidle, Ole Vistnes & Mariangela Demurtas and with text/lyrics by Østen Bergøy. It is an epic Gothic Metal-song with both ballad- and uptempo-elements, powerful riffs and melodylines and with both male and female vocals.
We are happy to enter the Norwegian Gothic Metal band Tristania in the FSC for Norway. Besides promoting one of our leading bands in this musical genre, with this entry we also want to show some musical diversity in Norwegian music. "Exile" is a great song of theirs for you to enjoy!
Below are the English lyrics for the song. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for January!
Tristania - Exile
I’m light-years away
You can’t change me
I’m passive and cold
Just waiting
I’ve seen the future’s threatening sky
Through dreams at night
I’ve seen the dogs of war let loose
I’ve seen the blood-red sky
Night
A promise of rain
Divided we stand
A distance I can’t take anymore
In the cage in the corner
I’m safe from the beast
Once you wanted me
The image of me
I’ve played that game a million times
And seen the signs
I’ve played that game from A to Z
I’ve lost a million times
Night
A promise of rain
Divided we stand
A distance I can’t take anymore
Wounds are open again
Divided we fall
I’m bleeding from the dark of my soul
Burning in water
Drowning in fire
Burning in water
Drowning in fire
Night
A promise of rain
Divided we stand
A distance I can’t take anymore
Wounds are open again
Divided we fall
I’m bleeding from the dark of my soul
-M
FSC Norway - January 2011 - Tristania - Exile
Representing Norway in FSC January 2011 is the famous Norwegian Gothic Metal band Tristania, who were among the pioneers of Gothic Metal here together with another Norwegian band called Theatre of Tragedy. Here is some more information about Tristania.
Tristania was founded in 1996 in Stavanger, Norway by Morten Veland (vocals/guitar) together with Einar Moen (keyboards) and Kenneth Olsson (drums). A few weeks later Anders Høyvik Hidle (guitars/vocals) and Rune Østerhus (bass) joined the band. In May 1997 the band entered the studio for the first time and recorded their demo in Klepp Lydstudio. The soprano Vibeke Stene was initially recruited as a guest singer for the demo recording, but she later joined as a regular member. Tristania signed with Napalm Records and released the EP ”Tristania”. Tristania's first full length album, ”Widow's Weeds”, was released in early 1998. The album was Symphonic Metal in style with elements from a large variety of genres including Gothic/Death/Black Metal and Classical music. Two guest performers who were involved with ”Widow's Weeds” would later get more prominent roles on Tristania’s albums; the singer Østen Bergøy (who would later become a full band member) and violinist Pete Johansen.
The band's second full length album, the critically acclaimed fan-favourite ”Beyond The Veil” was released in 1999. As on the debut-album, Moen and Veland wrote the majority of the music, but Moen and Hidle emerged as a songwriting team. Jan Kenneth Barkved appeared as an additional singer. The band toured with the groups Tiamat and Anathema in 1999 and continued touring extensively in 2000. Then, in December of 2000, founder Morten Veland left the band. He and the rest of the band agreed on going separate ways, due to musical and personal differences. Morten Veland went on to form the Norwegian-based Gothic Metal band Sirenia as well as, more recently, a Gothic Metal-project called Mortemia (in 2009).
The next Tristania-album ”World of Glass” was released in September of 2001, with guest contributions from Ronny Thorsen, Pete Johansen, and Jan Kenneth Barkved. The album added classical and industrial elements to Tristania's sound. Bergøy, now a permanent member of the band, also began to write lyrics on this album and has since become the band's main lyricist. Kjetil Ingebrethsen joined the band prior to the World of Glass tour on extreme vocals. More touring of Europe and Latin America followed in 2002.
In 2003-2004 Tristania took a break from performing live to focus solely on songwriting. The album ”Ashes” was released on SPV/Steamhammer Records in February of 2005 and featured a stripped-down sound that de-emphasized the classical and operatic elements of the previous albums. The band then toured Europe and Latin America along with the famous bands Nightwish, Gothminister, and Kreator. After the tours, Ingebrethsen decided to leave the band as he wanted to continue his musical career at a lower level. The band decided not to recruit a replacement, and Hidle took over the growling vocals.
The album ”Illumination” was released in January of 2007, with touring guitarist Svein Terje Solvang added as an official member. Shortly after the release of the album, Vibeke Stene - the band’s accomplished and popular operatic vocalist - suddenly decided to quit her musical career in order to focus on family and her work as a teacher. As a result, all planned touring activities were put on hold. After holding auditions for a new female singer and vocalist, Tristania recruited the singer Mariangela Demurtas from Sardinia, Italy, who officially joined the band in October of 2007. It appeared that the band wanted a female vocalist with a different voice - a non-operatic voice - this time. Though many fans were disappointed with Vibeke’s decision to leave the band and also with the band’s decision to go for a female singer with a more rock-oriented voice (rather than operatic), most fans seem since to have embraced Mariangela and now believe her voice matches Tristania’s current sound very well.
Tristania: Album-Discography:
Tristania (EP) (1997)
Widow's Weeds (1998)
Beyond The Veil (1999)
World Of Glass (2001)
Ashes (2005)
Illumination (2007)
Rubicon (August 2010)
Tristania: Current Members:
Kjetil Nordhus - Clean Vocals (2010–present)
Anders Høyvik Hidle - Guitars/Harsh Vocals (1996–present)
Mariangela Demurtas - Female Vocals (2007–present)
Gyri Smørdal Losnegaard - Guitars (2009–present)
Ole Vistnes - Bass/Backing Vocals (2009–present)
Einar Moen - Synth/Programming (1996–present)
Tarald Lie Jr. - Drums (2010–present)
Tristania has had many members through the years of the band’s existence and there have been many changes in personell. In 2008 the members Østerhus and Solvang left the band while Ole Vistnes joined as the new bassist and Gyri S Losnegaard later joined as second guitarist. The new line-up featuring Demurtas on vocals debuted on 29th February 2008 at a festival-appearance in Kiev, Ukraine. The next member to depart was another of the founders, drummer Kenneth Olsson, who was replaced by Tarald Lie Jr., while singer Østen Bergøy scaled back to part-time status with the band due to family commitments. Kjetil Nordhus was added to the lineup on clean vocals.
The band's sixth and newest full length album called ”Rubicon” was released in August of 2010. Violinist Pete Johansen rejoined the group for the recording sessions for ”Rubicon”. Prior to the album-release, the first single ”Year of the Rat” was released in mid-2010 with an accompanying music-video. The album also included popular and powerful songs such as ”Protection”, ”Illumination”, and ”Exile”, and this last song is the song we have chosen as the Norwegian entry here in FSC January 2011.
Tristania’s sound has evolved through the years, from their Gothic Metal with Doom Metal/Death Metal-influences and keyboard/symphonic choirs with female operatics of their earlier albums, to their more mainstream industrial Gothic Metal sound of their last few albums. The heart and soul of Tristania is ever-present though in their current sound and this accomplished Norwegian band will without doubt continue to excite their many fans all over the world with their music in the years to come.
The song ”Exile” is with music by Anders Høyvik Hidle, Ole Vistnes & Mariangela Demurtas and with text/lyrics by Østen Bergøy. It is an epic Gothic Metal-song with both ballad- and uptempo-elements, powerful riffs and melodylines and with both male and female vocals.
We are happy to enter the Norwegian Gothic Metal band Tristania in the FSC for Norway. Besides promoting one of our leading bands in this musical genre, with this entry we also want to show some musical diversity in Norwegian music. "Exile" is a great song of theirs for you to enjoy!
Below are the English lyrics for the song. We hope you’ll enjoy the Norwegian entry for January!
Tristania - Exile
I’m light-years away
You can’t change me
I’m passive and cold
Just waiting
I’ve seen the future’s threatening sky
Through dreams at night
I’ve seen the dogs of war let loose
I’ve seen the blood-red sky
Night
A promise of rain
Divided we stand
A distance I can’t take anymore
In the cage in the corner
I’m safe from the beast
Once you wanted me
The image of me
I’ve played that game a million times
And seen the signs
I’ve played that game from A to Z
I’ve lost a million times
Night
A promise of rain
Divided we stand
A distance I can’t take anymore
Wounds are open again
Divided we fall
I’m bleeding from the dark of my soul
Burning in water
Drowning in fire
Burning in water
Drowning in fire
Night
A promise of rain
Divided we stand
A distance I can’t take anymore
Wounds are open again
Divided we fall
I’m bleeding from the dark of my soul
-M
goktengri
Banned
really great choice ! my fave this month good luck Norway !
good luck Norway !Thank you, happy to hear you enjoy our song by Tristania so much! Good luck to your entry as well!really great choice ! my fave this month