Music

by Tor Marcussen

Any account of popular music In Norway has to begin with a-ha, the only Norwegian band which has achieved resounding international success and has created songs of real quality.

But a-ha is not alone. Lene Marlin, a teenager from Tromso in north Norway is indisputably talented and the newcomers in the pop-band Briskeby show signs of promise. Bel Canto has also received some degree of international recognition and the rather more sombre rock group Madrugada is becoming known both at home and abroad. In the field of jazz Norway has a shining star in saxophonist Jan Garbarek.

New talent

During the last five years a new generation of musicians and artists has emerged who enjoy being in the limelight and who concentrate unashamedly on the commercial aspect. Parallel to the increasing number of "soap" stars and programme leaders on a multitude of TV-channels have appeared artists who have no objection to dressing the part, to being stars. There has been a positive change in mentality

This has admittedly produced a number of bands and artists who have embarrassingly little musical talent, but who nevertheless have made a try. The most important thing is that those who do have real talent are not afraid of being pop stars and no longer find it an embarrassment. A pop singer like the image and clothes- conscious Espen Lind would have been unthinkable ten years ago.

But it all begain with a-ha. Three self-confident youngsters decided as children that they wanted to be pop stars. Pal Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen from an Oslo suburb decided when they were 13 that they wanted to be like the Beatles : later The Doors also appeared. And it was not just a question of boyish dreams. The boys wanted to conquer the world with their music and they succeeded. After the two Oslo boys came into contact with Morten Harket, who possessed a rare natural talent, the young, ambitious group left for London to try its luck. There was a period of difficult days in shabby flats but also musical develop-ment. After a succession of broken promises from bragging agents and managers in the record trade, they recorded "Take On Me." On its first release it was a flop in England, but the song lived its own life. When an American agent heard it, he was enthusiastic. A new recording was made accompanied by a trail-blazing music video, where the combination of animation techniques and ordinary film made a strong impression. The video was a success on influential TV-channels like MTV. And in 1986 "Take On Me" became a hit ­ topping the lists in the USA and subsequently throughout the world.

But a-ha was not just a one-hit wonder band. Shortly after came other songs like "The Sun Always Shines On TV" and "Manhattan Skyline", now classics. a-ha achieved worldwide fame and toured Japan Australia, the USA and Europe. All this is now history, but a-ha still retains its popularity. For after a six-year break the three decided that they had unfinished work to do and started afresh in 1999. They performed at a concert in connection with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo and once again entered the recording studios. The result was the album "Minor Earth, Major Sky; which topped the European hit lists in 2000. They returned as a much more confident and mature live band and held award-winning concerts in Germany. Over one million sold copies of their comeback album indicate that we can expect more high quality pop music from a-ha.

At their comeback concerts in Germany a-ha took with them the new big pop band in Norway, Briskeby. These are the foremost representatives of the new generation of pop musicians in Norway, who perform with pride and self-confidence and are musically well trained. The front figure and lead vocalist is Lise Karlsnes who is only 21 years old, but performs with admirable assurance. She is Norway's new queen of pop. The group's debut album "Jeans for Onassis" has sold more than 100,000 copes in Norway alone and the singles "This Is Propaganda" and "Wide Awake" have attracted attention all over Europe, particularly in Germany.

Lise Karlsnes' title of queen of pop is shared with the vocalist in the Danish/Norwegian band Aqua, Lene Nystrom. She is Norwegian while the band is Danish. Sales of their hit tune "Barbie Girl", reached epidemic proportions throughout the world, but Aqua can scarcely be called Norwegian. They have now disbanded.

Northern star

Indupitably Norwegian, however, is Lene Marlin. This teenager from Tromso in the far north, who writes her own music and lyrics, took Norway, and subsequently the rest of Europe, by storm with her song "Unforgettable Sinner." With her acoustic guitar, youthful charm and fine lyrics she has been compared to Suzanne Vega and is a good example of the new generation of Norwegian artists equipped with self confidence and a strong desire to be a pop star. Malin's debut album has sold more than one milllion copies.

A similar accomplishment was that of the group M2M , Marion Ravn and Marit Larsen. They are even younger than Malin, but have already scored a success in the USA where they have figured on the hit lists and toured with the young bloods of the band Hanson - with pure ultra-commercial pop.

The group Secret Garden was a big international success after it won the European Song Contest with its mixture of New Age and Irish folk music. Rolf Lovland, the brains behind the project, has achieved both national and international success. He also wrote the song with which the Norwegian duo Bobbysocks won the European Song Contest in 1985.

More interesting perhaps in a musical context is Bel Canto. This group too has its background in Tromso. The vocalist, Anneli Drecker, delivers a delightful mixture of pure pop while experimenting with more ethnic forms of vocal expression. She has also been an actress and an interpreter of more advanced musical styles. This year she has appeared as the "fourth member" of a-ha and sung a number of duets with its lead vocalist Morten Harket at a-ha's concerts in Norway and abroad.

Similar to Bel Canto is the group D'Sound. They are perhaps a little more into pure black musical styles such as soul, rhythm and blues and funk, but sound highly modern with their knowledge of techno and hip hop. Their leading performer and vocalist, Simone, has natural talent and the group is starting to look abroad.

The most ethnic ,and paradoxically enough the most international singer we have in Norway is Mari Boine. She is a Sami and incorporates more modern pop expressions into her traditional "joik" ­ a type of yodelling which consists of rythmic sung poems or poetic songs. She has been invited to perform at a number of festivals of ethnic music through-out the world and has created her own special musical expression.

Madrugada operates within an entirely different musical field, a more dark and sombre one. The group has been compared to performers like Cris Isac and even Tom Waits. Contrary to expectations, Madrugada has topped the hit lists in Norway with its melancholy rock and played last year at several European festivals.

Even more dark and sombre are the Norwegian black-metal bands. Mayhem and Dimmi Borgur are to be found in the borderland between heavy rock and satanist rock .They have gained a reputation in Europe and live largely off the proceeds of album sales and live shows in Europe.

Like Simon & Garfunkel?

At the opposite end of the scale is the Bergen duo Kings Of Convenience. They are singer/song writers and have been compared to Simon & Garfunkel. But Kings of Convenience made their breakthrough in 2001 at a time when this genre was not particularly popular. They are now better known in Norway and have also attracted attention in England, where the blase rock press has even made them front figures in a new wave which has been called after the group's debut album "Quiet is the New Loud".

Also low key, and rather different describes the music of Anja Garbarek, the daughter of saxophonist Jan Garbarek, though she tends to favour quiet jazz. Her 2001 album "Smiling and Waving" has been called strange, unique and exciting. She is based in London and her album was issued by the international company Virgin.

Espen Lind is Norway's best-known male pop star. Good looking, well-dressed and extrovert but above all an accomplished composer, arranger and musician. He writes catchy, pure pop and enjoys great success in Norway though he has not made a real breakthrough abroad.

Morten Abel is the second best-known male singer in Norway. Originally part of the successful September When band, he has been equally successful as a solo artist. He is more a rock artist than a pop star, but has the right attitude towards being in the limelight.

But in Norway there is also a rich store of purely local music - Norwegian pop. The DDE band from mid Norway are exponents of unassuming, accessible pop, well-suited for singalong and with a strong festive touch. A special Norwegian phenomenon are the pretty and vocally gifted girls who sell thousands of albums of traditional Norwegian folk melodies and modern versions of musical treasures. Herbjorg Krakevik is a"natural". She is a richly gifted musician, actress, comedienne and singer and has become the darling of the Norwegians' after her album and concert tour with "Norsk Songbok" (The Norwegian songbook) - a collection of much loved,traditional songs, rendered with style and elegance.

Sissel Kyrkjebo belongs to the same genre. She sings to full houses at her Christmas concerts and has a God-given crystal -clear voice which never fails to impress, whether one likes her songs or not. She sang choir in the international film success "Titanic," and her voice has been compared to that of Celine Dion. Kyrkjebo has been unable to make an international breakthrough but has sufficient fans in Scandinavia to secure her rich earnings.

In rather more subtle style is the band De Lillos, headed by vocalist, composer and lyricist Lars Lillo Stenberg. De Lillos belongs to the very special group of intellectual cult bands which have reaped popular acclaim: strange, ironic and droll, but with a gift for very catchy melodies.

Equally subtle, but still popular is the band Di Derre, fronted by vocalist and composer Jo Nesbo who is also an established writer and combines good lyrics with catchy tunes in a very special way.

Ketil Bjornstad also combines writing with composing. His books have been issued in England, Germany and a number of other European countries while his recordings are available worldwide through his contract with the German jazz-record company ECM and the international concern Universal. He operates constantly in the borderland between pure jazz, melodious ballads and pop and rock. He has given Norway one of its most beautiful songs in "Sommernatt ved fjorden" (Summer night by the fjord) and he tours Europe, the USA and the Far East with his group "The Sea Quartet", which plays modern, uncompromising jazz and contemporary music. His music accompanies films made by the avant-garde French film creator, Jean Luc Goddard.

A clear number one

But in the context of popular music in a wider sense, saxophonist Jan Garbarek stands foremost. He is in a class of his own as a representative of the new European jazz which is a continuation of American jazz. He has modernized the jazz and become a widely recognized artist on a worldwide scale - Norway's only really international star apart from a-ha. Jan Garbarek has played jazz for several decades, but not only that. In recent years his music has taken on an amost global character, which has earned him great personal success. His highly distinctive recording together with the classical vocal group, the Hilliard Ensemble, consisting of Gregorian chants and saxo-phone improvisations, was a major sales success with more than one million sold records. Garbarek is a worldwide name. playing to capacity audiences in prestigious concert halls in London, New York and Tokyo, for example.

Garbarek and Bjornstad both use the guitarist Terje Rypdal, who has also made a name for himself with the German record company ECM, where he alternately records modern, contemporary music and jazz.

Nils Petter Molv?r has also made recordings for ECM, but has recently switched to the more pop-orientated Universal. He plays crystal-clear trombone. mixing jazz, contemporary music and electronic techno in a way which has secured him a far wider public than the traditional jazz fans. So Norwegian pop music is flourishing.