Music of Norway
Encyclopedia
Music based on traditional Norwegian form usually includes minor or modal scales (sometimes mixed with major scales), making a sober and haunting sound. Pure major key dance music
forms also exist. Prior to the 18th century, there is scant written record of what kind of music was played in Norway, but there is a large aural tradition. In 1380, Norway had come under Danish rule, and thus had no royal house or nobility of its own; as a result, for 450 years, Norway did not participate as much in the musical development which occurred in royal (or "cultured") circles throughout the rest of Europe. Religious and traditional (folk) music were dominant throughout this era in rural areas, though again scant records exist to document their nature. In the last half of the 20th century, Norway, like many other countries in the world, underwent a roots revival
that saw indigenous music being revived.
and Sami
.
Traditional Sami music
is centered around a particular vocal style called joik
. Originally, joik referred to only one of several Sami singing styles, but in English the word is often used to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing. Its sound is comparable to the traditional chanting of some American Aboriginal
cultures.
Traditional North Germanic Norwegian vocal music includes (kvad), ballad
s and short, often improvised songs (stev
), among the most common types of traditional music. Work song
s, hymn
s, tralling vocals and old printed ballad stories, skillingsviser, have also been popular.
Norway shares a Nordic dance music tradition
with its neighbouring countries of Sweden and Denmark, where the most typical instrument is the fiddle. In Norway, the Hardanger
fiddle
(hardingfele
), the most distinctive instrument in Norwegian folk music, is used along with other fiddles like the standard violin
and Setesdals-fele. The hardingfele was part of kappleik musical contests from the late 19th century. The Hardanger fiddle tradition is rich and powerful. By traditional, orally conveyed instruction was one of the most important aspects of a Hardanger fiddle player’s accomplishment.
Traditional dances are normally referred to as bygdedans
(village or regional dance) and include halling
, pols
, springleik, rull, gangar and springar. These dances, sometimes called "courting dances" were often connected to the important events of rural (farming) life: weddings, funerals and cyclical feasts like Christmas
.
In the second half of the 19th century, some fiddlers, especially those from Voss
and Telemark
, significantly Lars Fykerud (who eventually moved to Stoughton
, Wisconsin
in the United States
and then returned to Telemark late in life), began introducing more expressive ways of playing, turning the traditional slått music to concert music for the urban classes.
At the same time, new dances and tunes were imported from Europe, including the fandango, reinlender, waltz
, polka
and mazurka
. Recent scholarship suggests that a number of these forms may have originally been brought to Norway by Romani (known in Norwegian by the pejorative
term, "tater"), among them the fiddler Karl Fant. These forms are now known as runddans (round dances) or gammeldans (old dances).
Perhaps the most popular and controversial of modern Hardanger fiddle artists is Annbjørg Lien
, who released her first album, Annbjørg in 1989. The album featured Helge Førde and Frode Fjellheim
and was both praised for its innovative fusion work and expressive style, and criticized for its watering-down of traditional sounds and a lack of regional tradition.
Other Norwegian traditional instruments include:
and chamber music
, including cantata
s. In 1814, Sweden entered into a union with Norway, and the Swedish royal family spent time in Norway's capital, Christiania, Norway (Oslo). At their royal court, music flourished.
ist Ole Bull
(1810–1880) was the first major Norwegian musician. He became world-famous starting in about 1834, and was known as the Nordic Paganini
.
From about 1831, traditional Norwegian music began to influence the classical scene, especially through Ole Bull
, who befriended the famous traditional Hardanger fiddle player Myllarguten
and through the friendship gained better understanding of traditional music. Bull himself started playing the Hardanger fiddle, and was the first to present folk tunes to the public in urban areas. He also saw to that Myllarguten played with him in concert, presenting a rural traditional musician to an urban audience for the very first time, in February, 1849, at the very height of Norwegian romantic nationalism
. This later inspired Edvard Grieg
to look for folk musical sources. But urban audiences were slow to gain an appreciation and understanding of traditional (rural) music.
Foreign musicians began settling in Norway in large numbers in the 1840s, bringing with them musical knowledge from the rest of Europe. Following the French Revolution
of 1848, Norway saw the development of a strong national consciousness, as well as economic growth which occurred the development of music. In comparison to most other countries of this period, female Norwegian musicians were widely accepted, and were even published and given stipends by the state.
With Norwegian nationalism
burgeoning, the musical scene throughout the country entered the Golden Age of Norwegian Music, led by Halfdan Kjerulf
and organist and collector Ludvig Mathias Lindeman
. The Golden Age's most prominent composers included Johan Svendsen
and Edvard Grieg
. Bull's efforts directly inspired Grieg to look for folk musical sources. These composers, inspired by Lindeman's collections and Ole Bull's Hardanger fiddling, incorporated Norwegian folk elements into their compositions.
At the end of the 19th century, the collection of folk tunes continued unabated, and composers like Christian Sinding
and Johan Halvorsen
were well-known. Following the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905, Norwegian nationalism continued to grow in popularity and innovation, led especially by David Monrad Johansen
, Geirr Tveitt
, Bjarne Brustad
, Ludvig Irgens Jensen
, Harald Sæverud
, Klaus Egge
and Eivind Groven
. These composers focused on using folk music in their compositions, a trend which continued well into World War II, though a process of internationalization began in the 1930s. In between the wars, only a few composers, like Pauline Hall
and Fartein Valen
, were significantly influenced by foreign styles.
, Edvard Hagerup Bull and Egil Hovland
. Of especial importance was French neo-classicism, Paul Hindemith
and Béla Bartók
. During this period, serial music appeared in Norway, led by Finn Mortensen
. Later, avant garde composers like Arne Nordheim
took advantage of technological developments, using a variety of electronic effects and bizarre instrumentation.
Much of the Norwegian public did not appreciate the new direction these avant-garde composers were moving in, which helped to fuel a conservative backlash. Some composers, like Kåre Kolberg, reacted by writing simple music, while others, such as Alfred Janson and Ragnar Søderlind
, revived romanticism. Some music from this era attempted to address social and political concerns, such as Janson's dedication of a violin concerto to Chilean president Salvador Allende
.
By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Norwegian classical music had become very diverse, incorporating elements from throughout the country's documented musical history, as well as modern jazz, pop and rock. Composers of the last part of the 20th century include Olav Anton Thommessen
, Per Christian Jacobsen, Magne Hegdal, Åse Hedstrøm
, Asbjørn Schaatun, Tor Halmrast, Glenn Erik Haugland, Nils Henrik Asheim, Cecille Ore and Ketil Hvoslef
. Popular and classical attention to folk music has also continued through the work of composers like Lasse Thoresen
.
Norway currently supports several orchestras of various sizes. There are two "national orchestras," namely the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
, and also orchestras in Trondheim
, Stavanger
, Kristiansand
, and Tromsø
.
and black metal
artists, then followed by electronica
and pop artists.
. He has also taken inspiration from traditional Norwegian music forms, including tuning a Stratocaster guitar like the Norwegian langeleik
, calling it a Hallingcaster(a word play
on the Norwegian term for the hat kick used in the athletic dance usually performed by men, the halling
). Reiersrud has made some interesting recordings with Norwegian organist Iver Kleive
. Bjørn Berge is another well known blues guitarist. He is well known for his so called "delta-funk" music, heavily inspired by 12 string delta blues and modern funk and rock bands. R&B stars include Noora Elweya Qadry, Winta
and Mira Craig
.
who write and sing their songs in traditional dialect from Hallingdal
. Their genre is country music influenced by traditional folk music elements. Norway has also produced Country music
ians like Heidi Hauge and Bjøro Håland
. Other artists that sing about common life and culture of Norway include Salhuskvintetten and Vinskvetten
. Alf Bretteville-Jensen is a popular singer/songwriter whose intense, somewhat noir-flavored music incorporates elements of country, folk, and rock, using instruments such as acoustic and electric guitar, as well as pedal steel guitar.
is also popular, with name like Ole Ivars and Scandinavia. Ole Ivars scored a 1999 hit with the song Jag trodde änglarna fanns together with med Kikki Danielsson
. Another famous Norwegian song, "Lys og varme", which was written by Åge Alexandersen, became a popular dansband song in Sweden
, as "Ljus och värme".
and Odd Nordstoga
have made folk music more accessible to younger crowds. Gåte fused folk music with metal and became very popular. Lumsk
is another band mixing Norwegian traditional folk music with metal. The most famous Sami singer is undoubtedly Mari Boine
, who sings a type of minimalist folk-rock with joik
roots. Karl Seglem is a Norwegian
music and composer who plays sax
and bukkehorn
. Sofia Jannok is also a popular Sami contemporary artist.
. Norway's electronic music scene has been heavily influenced by France
and French house
. Aside from stars Röyksopp
, Norway has produced electronic performers like Alog
, Apoptygma Berzerk
, Biosphere (musician)
, Bjørn Torske
, Bassdiver, Lindstrøm
, 120 Days
, Frost
, Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band
, Xploding Plastix
, Icon of Coil
, Det Svenska Folket, Palace of Pleasure, Binärpilot
, Flunk
, Ugress
, Sternklang, Teebee
and Polar.
, Tommy Tee
, Darkside of the Force
, Punktum, Klovner i Kamp
, Gatas Parlament
, Tungtvann, Karpe Diem, Paperboys
, Madcon
, Thomax, and Erik og Kriss.
. Pioneers of Norwegian jazz include Jan Garbarek
. His cool, almost ambient
approach is typical of Norwegian jazz, although recently there have been moves to build bridges with electronica
and post-rock
. He, too, has linked jazz with traditional Norwegian music, as evidenced in his recording Rosenfole with acclaimed Norwegian traditional-style singer, Agnes Buen Garnås
. His daughter, Anja Garbarek
, is one of the artists that has renovated the jazz scene, combining sweet melodies with electronic sounds and pop beats.
The work of the Christian Wallumrod Ensemble ("Fabula Suite Lugano", The Zoo Is Far) serves as a leading example of contemporary Norwegian jazz, along with ECM artists Trygve Seim
and Frode Haltli
. Other contemporary Norwegian jazz stars include the group Supersilent
, drummer Jon Christensen
, guitarist Terje Rypdal
, pianist Bugge Wesseltoft
, percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love
, bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten
, Nils Petter Molvaer, and experimental jazz band Jaga Jazzist
. Many of these artists record for the seminal jazz label ECM
. However some of the more modern artists record for the newer Norwegian labels Rune Grammofon
, Jazzland Records and Smalltown Superjazzz
.
This scene is infamous for having members that do not abide to the Christian religion (see Satanism
and Norse Paganism
). Also, during a time period in 1992 and 1993, Samoth
(Emperor
guitarist), Bard Faust
(then-Emperor
drummer) Tchort
(then-Emperor
bassist), Varg Vikernes
(sole-member of Burzum
) and members of the band Mayhem
went on a spree of church arsons that struck fear in Norway and caused much media attention. Samoth
and Tchort
were arrested and given jail sentences, while Vikernes
was not convicted for these counts of arsons until around the time he was found guilty of murdering fellow black metal musician Øystein Aarseth (Euronymous
of Mayhem) in 1993. Other controversial events in this scene include the suicide
of former Mayhem
vocalist Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin in 1991, and the murder of a homosexual man in Lillehammer
, Norway
by then-Emperor
drummer Bard "Faust" Eithun
in 1992.
, Leaves Eyes, Myriads
, Tristania
, Theatre of Tragedy
, and The Sins of Thy Beloved
.
bands as Blood Red Throne
, Cadaver
, Carpe Tenebrum
, Myrkskog
, Aeternus
, Zyklon
, Fester and Darkthrone
's first album Soulside Journey
.
, Furia Norway, Bertine Zetlitz
, M2M
, Marit Larsen
, Marion Raven
, Kings of Convenience
, Erlend Øye
, Minor Majority
, Ane Brun
, Briskeby
, D'Sound
, Datarock
, Maria Haukaas Storeng
, Serena Maneesh
, Jaga Jazzist
, Hanne Hukkelberg
, Maria Solheim
, Lene Marlin
, Margaret Berger
, Kurt Nilsen
, Annie, Sondre Lerche
, Maria Mena
, TNT
, Flunk
, Venke Knutson
, Thomas Dybdahl
, Postgirobygget
, Return
, Savoy
and Wig Wam
.
The synthpop
/-rock
band a-ha
is quite possibly the most successful music group ever to come out of Norway, having sold over 50 million albums worldwide.
Sissel Kyrkjebø
, the singer commonly known as "Sissel", has also reached a level of worldwide popularity - especially after her voice appeared on the soundtrack for the 1997 film Titanic
. Highlights of her career include singing the Olympic hymn at the 1994 Winter Olympics
in Lillehammer
, representing Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert
, and performing at the invitation of tenor greats Placido Domingo
and José Carreras
at the first Christmas concert in Moscow
after the fall of the Soviet Union
.
The Norwegian rock scene comprises bands such as Turbonegro
, Gluecifer
, BigBang, Kvelertak
, Madrugada, Kaizers Orchestra
and Gåte
. Legends of the scene include 1980s and 90s heroes Dum Dum Boys, CC Cowboys
, Jokke & Valentinerne
, deLillos
, Raga Rockers
, Seigmen
and Motorpsycho
. In alternative rock
, The Low Frequency in Stereo
is an example of a Norwegian post-rock
bands on the rise.
In recent times some Norwegian rock artists have based themselves abroad as a springboard to reach international audiences. Norwegian musicians have formed groups with British musicians. Groups formed include The Wombats and Daddysmilk.
In 2009, Norway won the Eurovision Song Contest
with the song Fairytale
composed and performed by Alexander Rybak
. This song received the highest score ever achieved on the Eurovision Song Contest
- 387 points.
aka Nasibu Mwanukuzi. Ras Nas, based in Oslo, plays reggae and soukous. His latest CD Dar-es-Salaam received a five-star review in one of Norway's biggest dailies, Dagsavisen, when it was released in summer 2008. This was the first time happening in Norway.
Secret Garden
is an award winning duo playing New Instrumental Music. Secret Garden features Norwegian composer/pianist Rolf Løvland
and Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry
. The duo has sold over 3 million albums and won the Eurovision Song Contest
for Norway's second time in 1995. Norwegian singer Gunnhild Tvinnereim sang the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest, but is actually not a member of the group. Ten years earlier Rolf Løvland also co-wrote the song La det swinge
that secured Norway
its first Eurovision Song Contest victory in 1985. Alexander Rybak won Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song Fairytale
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
forms also exist. Prior to the 18th century, there is scant written record of what kind of music was played in Norway, but there is a large aural tradition. In 1380, Norway had come under Danish rule, and thus had no royal house or nobility of its own; as a result, for 450 years, Norway did not participate as much in the musical development which occurred in royal (or "cultured") circles throughout the rest of Europe. Religious and traditional (folk) music were dominant throughout this era in rural areas, though again scant records exist to document their nature. In the last half of the 20th century, Norway, like many other countries in the world, underwent a roots revival
Roots revival
A roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.After an...
that saw indigenous music being revived.
Traditional (Folk) music
Folk music in Norway falls into 2 main categories based in the ethnic populations from which they spring: North GermanicNorwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
and Sami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
.
Traditional Sami music
Sami music
In traditional Sami music songs and joiks are important musical expressions. The Sami also use a variety of musical instruments, some unique to the Lapp, some traditional Scandinavian, and some modern introductions....
is centered around a particular vocal style called joik
Yoik
A joik, , luohti, vuolle, leu'dd, or juoiggus is a traditional Sami form of song.Originally, joik referred to only one of several Sami singing styles, but in English the word is often used to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing...
. Originally, joik referred to only one of several Sami singing styles, but in English the word is often used to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing. Its sound is comparable to the traditional chanting of some American Aboriginal
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
cultures.
Traditional North Germanic Norwegian vocal music includes (kvad), ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s and short, often improvised songs (stev
Stev
Stev is one of the poetic forms that can be found in lyric poetry from Scandinavia. The English version of the word is stave, meaning the stressed syllable in a metric verse.-Gamlestev:...
), among the most common types of traditional music. Work song
Work song
A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a specific form of work, either sung while conducting a task or a song linked to a task or trade which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song....
s, hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s, tralling vocals and old printed ballad stories, skillingsviser, have also been popular.
Norway shares a Nordic dance music tradition
Traditional Nordic dance music
Traditional Nordic dance music is a type of traditional music or folk music that once was common in the mainland part of the Nordic countries — Scandinavia plus Finland. The person who plays this kind of music might be called speleman , spelman , spelemann , pelimanni or spillemand...
with its neighbouring countries of Sweden and Denmark, where the most typical instrument is the fiddle. In Norway, the Hardanger
Hardanger
Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord. It consists of the municipalities of Odda, Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik, Granvin, Kvam and Jondal, and is located inside the county of Hordaland....
fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
(hardingfele
Hardingfele
A Hardanger fiddle is a traditional stringed instrument used originally to play the music of Norway. In modern designs, the instruments are very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings and thinner wood...
), the most distinctive instrument in Norwegian folk music, is used along with other fiddles like the standard violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and Setesdals-fele. The hardingfele was part of kappleik musical contests from the late 19th century. The Hardanger fiddle tradition is rich and powerful. By traditional, orally conveyed instruction was one of the most important aspects of a Hardanger fiddle player’s accomplishment.
Traditional dances are normally referred to as bygdedans
Bygdedans
Bygdedans or village dance is the term most commonly used for a variety of regional, traditional dances of Norway. Bygdedans are the oldest and most distinctive among Norwegian folk dances....
(village or regional dance) and include halling
Halling (dance)
The Halling is a folk dance traditionally performed in rural Norway, although versions of the halling can also be found in parts of Sweden. It is the most ancient documented dance of North Europe, and its roots go back to 2500 years old cave paintings.The dance is traditionally performed by...
, pols
Pols
The pols is a Norwegian folk dance, a fast version of the Nordic polska....
, springleik, rull, gangar and springar. These dances, sometimes called "courting dances" were often connected to the important events of rural (farming) life: weddings, funerals and cyclical feasts like Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
.
In the second half of the 19th century, some fiddlers, especially those from Voss
Voss
is a municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Voss. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen....
and Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
, significantly Lars Fykerud (who eventually moved to Stoughton
Stoughton, Wisconsin
Stoughton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States and is a neighbor of Madison. It straddles the Yahara River about 20 miles southeast of the capital, Madison. Stoughton is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and then returned to Telemark late in life), began introducing more expressive ways of playing, turning the traditional slått music to concert music for the urban classes.
At the same time, new dances and tunes were imported from Europe, including the fandango, reinlender, waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
, polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
and mazurka
Mazurka
The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...
. Recent scholarship suggests that a number of these forms may have originally been brought to Norway by Romani (known in Norwegian by the pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
term, "tater"), among them the fiddler Karl Fant. These forms are now known as runddans (round dances) or gammeldans (old dances).
Perhaps the most popular and controversial of modern Hardanger fiddle artists is Annbjørg Lien
Annbjørg Lien
Annbjørg Lien is a Norwegian musician. She plays the hardingfele , violin, and nyckelharpa....
, who released her first album, Annbjørg in 1989. The album featured Helge Førde and Frode Fjellheim
Frode Fjellheim
Frode Fjellheim is a Norwegian Sami yoiker and musician . Since 1997, he has also composed film scores for NRK and Lars Rasmussen's children's films. During the 1990s, he headed his namesake band «Jazz Joik Ensemble», which is currently known by the name of Transjoik. Fjellheim has also been...
and was both praised for its innovative fusion work and expressive style, and criticized for its watering-down of traditional sounds and a lack of regional tradition.
Other Norwegian traditional instruments include:
- bukkehornBukkehornA bukkehorn is an ancient Norwegian musical instrument, made from the horn of a ram or a goat. It was traditionally used by cowherds on summer dairy farms in the high mountains.-External links:*...
(goat horn) - harpeleik (chorded zither)
- langeleikLangeleikThe langeleik also called langleik is a Norwegian stringed folklore musical instrument, a droned zither.-Description:The langeleik has only one melody string and up to 8 drone strings....
(box dulcimerAppalachian dulcimerThe Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
) - lurLurA lur is a long natural blowing horn without finger holes that is played by embouchure. Lurs can be straight or curved in various shapes. The purpose of the curves was to make long instruments easier to carry A lur is a long natural blowing horn without finger holes that is played by embouchure....
(an older, trumpet-like instrument) - seljefløyte, a willow fluteWillow fluteThe willow flute, also known as sallow flute , is a Scandinavian folk flute, or whistle, consisting of a simple tube with a transverse fipple mouthpiece and no finger holes...
- tungehorn and MelhusMelhusMelhus is a village and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Melhus...
(clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s) - Norwegian harp
Classical music
The first classical composers from Norway are documented from the beginning of the 18th century, when they composed danceDance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
, including cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s. In 1814, Sweden entered into a union with Norway, and the Swedish royal family spent time in Norway's capital, Christiania, Norway (Oslo). At their royal court, music flourished.
National Romanticism
National romanticism, a movement that was prevalent throughout Europe, touched Norway as well, and began to affect classical musicians and classical music in the country. The violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Ole Bull
Ole Bull
Ole Bornemann Bull was a Norwegian violinist and composer.-Background:Bull was born in Bergen. He was the eldest of ten children of Johan Storm Bull and Anna Dorothea Borse Geelmuyden . His brother, Georg Andreas Bull became a noted Norwegian architect...
(1810–1880) was the first major Norwegian musician. He became world-famous starting in about 1834, and was known as the Nordic Paganini
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
.
From about 1831, traditional Norwegian music began to influence the classical scene, especially through Ole Bull
Ole Bull
Ole Bornemann Bull was a Norwegian violinist and composer.-Background:Bull was born in Bergen. He was the eldest of ten children of Johan Storm Bull and Anna Dorothea Borse Geelmuyden . His brother, Georg Andreas Bull became a noted Norwegian architect...
, who befriended the famous traditional Hardanger fiddle player Myllarguten
Myllarguten
Targjei Augundsson , better known as Myllarguten , is arguably the most acknowledged Norwegian folk musician to this day, and by far the most legendary.-Childhood:...
and through the friendship gained better understanding of traditional music. Bull himself started playing the Hardanger fiddle, and was the first to present folk tunes to the public in urban areas. He also saw to that Myllarguten played with him in concert, presenting a rural traditional musician to an urban audience for the very first time, in February, 1849, at the very height of Norwegian romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
. This later inspired Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
to look for folk musical sources. But urban audiences were slow to gain an appreciation and understanding of traditional (rural) music.
Foreign musicians began settling in Norway in large numbers in the 1840s, bringing with them musical knowledge from the rest of Europe. Following the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
of 1848, Norway saw the development of a strong national consciousness, as well as economic growth which occurred the development of music. In comparison to most other countries of this period, female Norwegian musicians were widely accepted, and were even published and given stipends by the state.
With Norwegian nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
burgeoning, the musical scene throughout the country entered the Golden Age of Norwegian Music, led by Halfdan Kjerulf
Halfdan Kjerulf
Halfdan Kjerulf was a Norwegian composer.Kjerulf was born in Christiania . He was the son of a high government official. His early education was at Christiania University, for a legal career, but his studies ended in 1839 as a result of illness, and the next year he spent some time in Paris...
and organist and collector Ludvig Mathias Lindeman
Ludvig Mathias Lindeman
Ludvig Mathias Lindeman was a Norwegian composer and organist. He is most noted for compiling Norwegian folk music in his work Ældre og nyere norske Fjeldmelodier. -Background:...
. The Golden Age's most prominent composers included Johan Svendsen
Johan Svendsen
Johan Severin Svendsen was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania , Norway, he lived most his life in Copenhagen, Denmark....
and Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
. Bull's efforts directly inspired Grieg to look for folk musical sources. These composers, inspired by Lindeman's collections and Ole Bull's Hardanger fiddling, incorporated Norwegian folk elements into their compositions.
At the end of the 19th century, the collection of folk tunes continued unabated, and composers like Christian Sinding
Christian Sinding
Christian August Sinding was a Norwegian composer.-Personal life:He was born in Kongsberg as a son of mine superindendent Matthias Wilhelm Sinding and Cecilie Marie Mejdell . He was a brother of the painter Otto Sinding and the sculptor Stephan Sinding...
and Johan Halvorsen
Johan Halvorsen
Johan Halvorsen was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist.-Biography:Born in Drammen, Norway he was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical life...
were well-known. Following the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905, Norwegian nationalism continued to grow in popularity and innovation, led especially by David Monrad Johansen
David Monrad Johansen
David Monrad Johansen was a Norwegian composer.He was born in Vefsn and grew up near Mosjøen, where he received his first piano lessons. He came to Christiania in 1904 to study at the conservatory there, and he continued taking lessons with Catharinus Elling, Iver Holter and others until he went...
, Geirr Tveitt
Geirr Tveitt
Geirr Tveitt, born Nils Tveit was a Norwegian composer and pianist. Tveitt was a central figure of the national movement in Norwegian cultural life during the 1930s.-Early years:...
, Bjarne Brustad
Bjarne Brustad
Bjarne Brustad was a Norwegian composer, violinist and violist. He played with symphonic orchestras in Stavanger and Oslo. In the 1920s he travelled to European cities such as Paris, Munich and Berlin, where he received musical inspiration and contacts...
, Ludvig Irgens Jensen
Ludvig Irgens Jensen
Paul Ludvig Irgens-Jensen was a Norwegian twentieth-century composer.Irgens-Jensen studied piano with Nils Larsen while a philology student at the University of Oslo. He began composing in 1920, and the radical nature of his work attracted some interest...
, Harald Sæverud
Harald Sæverud
Harald Sigurd Johan Sæverud was a Norwegian composer. He is most known for his music to Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt, Rondo Amoroso, and the Ballad of Revolt . Sæverud wrote nine symphonies, and a large number of pieces for solo piano...
, Klaus Egge
Klaus Egge
Klaus Egge was a Norwegian composer and music critic. His music, often called a stream of will, is characterized by polyphony and a strong rhythmical energy.-Music:...
and Eivind Groven
Eivind Groven
Eivind Groven was a Norwegian microtonal composer and music-theorist. He was from Telemark and had his background in the folk music of the area.- Biography :...
. These composers focused on using folk music in their compositions, a trend which continued well into World War II, though a process of internationalization began in the 1930s. In between the wars, only a few composers, like Pauline Hall
Pauline Hall (composer)
Pauline Margrete Hall was a Norwegian writer, music critic, organizer and composer. She was born in Hamar and began her study of music in Oslo, continuing in Paris from 1912-13, After completing her studies, she worked as a composer and music critic for the Oslo daily newspaper Dagbladet.Hall was...
and Fartein Valen
Fartein Valen
Olav Fartein Valen was a Norwegian composer and musical theorist, notable for his work within atonal polyphonic music.-Background:...
, were significantly influenced by foreign styles.
Post World War II
After World War II, Norwegian music began moving in a new direction, away from the Nordic and Germanic ideals of the past, and towards a more international, especially American, British and French, style. New composers of this period included Johan Kvandal, Knut NystedtKnut Nystedt
Knut Nystedt is an orchestral and choral composer.Nystedt was born in Kristiania , Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important part of everyday life. His major compositions for choir and vocal soloists are mainly based on texts from the Bible or sacred...
, Edvard Hagerup Bull and Egil Hovland
Egil Hovland
Egil Hovland is a Norwegian composer.Hovland was born in Råde. He studied at the Oslo conservatory with Arild Sandvold and Bjarne Brustad, in Copenhagen with Vagn Holmboe, in Tanglewood with Aaron Copland, and in Florence with Luigi Dallapiccola. He has been the organist and choir leader in...
. Of especial importance was French neo-classicism, Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
and Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
. During this period, serial music appeared in Norway, led by Finn Mortensen
Finn Mortensen
Finn Mortensen was a Norwegiancomposer, critic and educator. Finn Einar Mortensen was born in Oslo. His parents were publisher Ernst Gustav Mortensen and Anna Marie Damnæs . Mortensen grew up in a publishing environment and it was at first expected that he would go into his father's...
. Later, avant garde composers like Arne Nordheim
Arne Nordheim
Arne Nordheim was a Norwegian composer who had since 1982 been living in the Norwegian State's honorary residence, Grotten, next to the Royal Palace in Oslo. Nordheim received numerous prizes for his compositions, and was elected an honorary member of the International Society for Contemporary...
took advantage of technological developments, using a variety of electronic effects and bizarre instrumentation.
Much of the Norwegian public did not appreciate the new direction these avant-garde composers were moving in, which helped to fuel a conservative backlash. Some composers, like Kåre Kolberg, reacted by writing simple music, while others, such as Alfred Janson and Ragnar Søderlind
Ragnar Søderlind
Ragnar Søderlind is a Norwegian composer. He has written ballets and operas, and for the concert hall, programmatic works based on poems.-Biography:...
, revived romanticism. Some music from this era attempted to address social and political concerns, such as Janson's dedication of a violin concerto to Chilean president Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
.
By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Norwegian classical music had become very diverse, incorporating elements from throughout the country's documented musical history, as well as modern jazz, pop and rock. Composers of the last part of the 20th century include Olav Anton Thommessen
Olav Anton Thommessen
Olav Anton Thommessen is a Norwegian composer. He trained in the United States earning degrees from Westminster Choir College and Indiana University. He is currently professor of composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music, where he has taught since 1972. He won the Nordic Council Music Prize in...
, Per Christian Jacobsen, Magne Hegdal, Åse Hedstrøm
Åse Hedstrøm
Åse Hedstrøm is a Norwegian composer based in Stockholm, Sweden. She studied music at the Institute of Sonology in Utrecht, and composition at the Norwegian State Academy of Music...
, Asbjørn Schaatun, Tor Halmrast, Glenn Erik Haugland, Nils Henrik Asheim, Cecille Ore and Ketil Hvoslef
Ketil Hvoslef
Ketil Hvoslef is a Norwegian composer. He is the son of composer Harald Sæverud.Hvoslef studied viola and organ at the Bergen Music Conservatory graduating in 1962...
. Popular and classical attention to folk music has also continued through the work of composers like Lasse Thoresen
Lasse Thoresen
Lasse Thoresen is a Norwegian composer whose works concentrate on a contemporary transformation of the folk-music traditions of many peoples, especially those of Scandinavia.-Biography:...
.
Norway currently supports several orchestras of various sizes. There are two "national orchestras," namely the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world's oldest orchestral institutions. It performs some 110 concerts a year, and is based at the 1,500-seat Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway.-History:...
and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
The Oslo-Filharmonien is a symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra was founded in 1919, and has since 1977 had its home in the Oslo Concert Hall. The orchestra consists of 69 musicians in the string section, 16 in the woodwinds, 15 in brass, 5 in percussionists, 1 harpist, and 1...
, and also orchestras in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
, Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
, and Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
.
Popular and contemporary music
As in other countries, Norway has developed its own forms of popular, contemporary music. Since 2000, Norwegian popular music has generally been appearing on the international scene, initially through breakthroughs by Norwegian jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
artists, then followed by electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and pop artists.
Blues
One of Norway's top blues guitarist is Knut ReiersrudKnut Reiersrud
Knut Reiersrud is a Norwegian blues guitarist. His work also incorporates elements of Norwegian traditional music and African music. He lives in Oslo...
. He has also taken inspiration from traditional Norwegian music forms, including tuning a Stratocaster guitar like the Norwegian langeleik
Langeleik
The langeleik also called langleik is a Norwegian stringed folklore musical instrument, a droned zither.-Description:The langeleik has only one melody string and up to 8 drone strings....
, calling it a Hallingcaster(a word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
on the Norwegian term for the hat kick used in the athletic dance usually performed by men, the halling
Halling (dance)
The Halling is a folk dance traditionally performed in rural Norway, although versions of the halling can also be found in parts of Sweden. It is the most ancient documented dance of North Europe, and its roots go back to 2500 years old cave paintings.The dance is traditionally performed by...
). Reiersrud has made some interesting recordings with Norwegian organist Iver Kleive
Iver Kleive
Iver Kleive is a Norwegian composer and organist. He is known for his composing style which is a fusion of traditional church music with other musical idioms such as blues, jazz, and Norwegian folk music. He has appeared in nearly 200 recordings as a studio musician, composer and...
. Bjørn Berge is another well known blues guitarist. He is well known for his so called "delta-funk" music, heavily inspired by 12 string delta blues and modern funk and rock bands. R&B stars include Noora Elweya Qadry, Winta
Winta
Winta Efrem Negassi is a Norwegian R&B and soul musician from Haugerud, Oslo. She grew up in Oslo, Norway. Both of her parents fled Eritrea after heightened civil strife erupted there and forced them to become refugees. Winta has been interested in music since she was a child.Winta's debut album...
and Mira Craig
Mira Craig
Mira Scherdin Craig is a Norwegian-American R&B artist. Her father is an African American from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America.Craig is a DIY musician who writes and produces all her songs and music videos....
.
Country
One of Norway's most popular, best-selling and award-winning country music groups is the HellbilliesHellbillies
The Hellbillies are a Norwegian country rock group formed in 1990. As of 2010, they have released twelve albums—including a compilation and two live albums—as well as one live concert DVD...
who write and sing their songs in traditional dialect from Hallingdal
Hallingdal
Hallingdal is a valley and traditional district in Buskerud county in Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol.-History:Ancient routes went to Vestlandet through Valdres and Hallingdal and down Røldal to Odda...
. Their genre is country music influenced by traditional folk music elements. Norway has also produced Country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
ians like Heidi Hauge and Bjøro Håland
Bjøro Håland
Bjøro Håland is a Norwegian country singer.He was born on Håland in Norway and grew up in Audnedal with five siblings. In 1960 he emigrated to the USA. He worked as a construction worker and sang in bars...
. Other artists that sing about common life and culture of Norway include Salhuskvintetten and Vinskvetten
Vinskvetten
Vinskvetten is a Norwegian music and comedy troupe. They were active from 1975 to 2009.- History :...
. Alf Bretteville-Jensen is a popular singer/songwriter whose intense, somewhat noir-flavored music incorporates elements of country, folk, and rock, using instruments such as acoustic and electric guitar, as well as pedal steel guitar.
Dansband music
Dansband musicDansband
Dansband is a Swedish term for a band that plays dansbandsmusik . Dansbandsmusik is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by swing, schlager, country, jazz, and rock...
is also popular, with name like Ole Ivars and Scandinavia. Ole Ivars scored a 1999 hit with the song Jag trodde änglarna fanns together with med Kikki Danielsson
Kikki Danielsson
Ann-Kristin "Kikki" Danielsson is a Swedish country, dansband and pop singer. Sometimes, she also plays the accordion and she has also written some lyrics. She is also famous for yodeling in some songs. Kikki Danielsson gained her largest popularity in the Nordic region from the late 1970s until...
. Another famous Norwegian song, "Lys og varme", which was written by Åge Alexandersen, became a popular dansband song in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, as "Ljus och värme".
Folk rock
In recent years artists like GåteGåte
Gåte was a band from Trøndelag, Norway playing Norwegian folk music bred with metal and electronica. Their style has been referred to as progressive folk-rock...
and Odd Nordstoga
Odd Nordstoga
Odd Nordstoga is a musician, actor and editor from Vinje in Telemark, Norway. In 2004, he went from relative obscurity to becoming the country's biggest selling recording artist, with the phenomenal success of his first solo album proper, "Luring"...
have made folk music more accessible to younger crowds. Gåte fused folk music with metal and became very popular. Lumsk
Lumsk
Lumsk is a folk metal band from Trondheim, Norway. It combines traditional Norwegian folk music and folklore with rock, progressive rock and metal...
is another band mixing Norwegian traditional folk music with metal. The most famous Sami singer is undoubtedly Mari Boine
Mari Boine
Mari Boine, previously known as Mari Boine Persen, is a Norwegian Sami musician known for having added jazz and rock to the yoiks of her native people...
, who sings a type of minimalist folk-rock with joik
Yoik
A joik, , luohti, vuolle, leu'dd, or juoiggus is a traditional Sami form of song.Originally, joik referred to only one of several Sami singing styles, but in English the word is often used to refer to all types of traditional Sami singing...
roots. Karl Seglem is a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
music and composer who plays sax
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and bukkehorn
Bukkehorn
A bukkehorn is an ancient Norwegian musical instrument, made from the horn of a ram or a goat. It was traditionally used by cowherds on summer dairy farms in the high mountains.-External links:*...
. Sofia Jannok is also a popular Sami contemporary artist.
Electronic
The electronic music scene in Norway mostly revolves around House musicHouse music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
. Norway's electronic music scene has been heavily influenced by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and French house
French house
French house is a catch-all term for house music by many French artists, a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance music scene and a form of Euro disco. The genre has also been referred to as "neu-disco" , "French touch", "filter house" and "tekfunk" over the years...
. Aside from stars Röyksopp
Röyksopp
Röyksopp is a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø, formed in 1998. Since their inception, the band's line-up has included Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland....
, Norway has produced electronic performers like Alog
Alog
-Musical duo:The musical duo Alog was formed in Tromsoe in Troms county, Norway in 1997. Alog has been among Norway's performers of experimental electronic music....
, Apoptygma Berzerk
Apoptygma Berzerk
Apoptygma Berzerk is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synthpop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselves as "futurepop". Apop has won awards and top-10 spots in Germany and Scandinavia...
, Biosphere (musician)
Biosphere (musician)
Biosphere is the main recording name of Geir Jenssen , a Norwegian musician who has released a notable catalogue of ambient electronic music. He is well known for his "ambient techno" and "arctic ambient" styles, his use of music loops, and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources. His track "Novelty...
, Bjørn Torske
Bjørn Torske
Bjørn Torske is a house music producer. Born in 1971 in Tromsø, Norway, Torske became involved with producing music and local radio before moving to Bergen, Norway. He has collaborated on many occasions with Röyksopp.-Disco Members:...
, Bassdiver, Lindstrøm
Hans-Peter Lindstrøm
Hans-Peter Lindstrøm is a Norwegian producer who works under the name Lindstrøm. He often collaborates with fellow producer Prins Thomas . Lindstrøm won a Spellemannsprisen in 2008 for Where You Go I Go Too...
, 120 Days
120 Days
120 Days is a Norwegian band. The group consists of Jonas Dahl, Arne Kvalvik, Kjetil Ovesen, and Ådne Meisfjord, and was formed in 2001 under the name 'The Beautiful People'. Originally based in their hometown of Kristiansund, they moved to Oslo in 2002. After two EPs on the Public Demand label,...
, Frost
Frost (Norwegian band)
Frost is a Norwegian electronic duo consisting of Aggie Peterson and Per Martinsen. The group formed in 1997 in Tromsø, Norway with original line-up composed of Aggie Peterson and DJ Rune Lindbæk. They released their debut album "Bedsit Theories" in 1998....
, Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band
Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band
Ralph Myerz and the Jack Herren Band is a Norwegian electronica group.-Career:The band was formed in 1997 when Erlend Sellevold asked for people to play percussion with him during a party in Bergen. Thomas Lønnheim and Tarjei Strøm showed up through a combination of mutual contacts and high-school...
, Xploding Plastix
Xploding Plastix
Xploding Plastix is a Norwegian two-man band playing Electrofunk/Big beat music with elements of jazz. Jens Petter Nilsen and Hallvard Wennersberg Hagen formed the group in early 1999, and submitted their first demotape in 2000...
, Icon of Coil
Icon of Coil
Icon of Coil is a Norwegian electronic music band. The band was established as a solo project in 1997 by Andy LaPlegua who was joined by former Sector 9 bandmate Sebastian Komor to perform live. With the release of Shallow Nation, the band's first single, Komor joined full-time. In 2000, Christian...
, Det Svenska Folket, Palace of Pleasure, Binärpilot
Binärpilot
Binärpilot is an electronic music project by Alexander Støver.All of his music is freely available online through various outlets such as Jamendo and 8bitpeoples as well as torrenting hosts such as The Pirate Bay. His music style resembles that of a chiptune-style, incorporating vocoder vocals and...
, Flunk
Flunk
Flunk is a Norwegian electronic band consisting of producer Ulf Nygaard, guitarist Jo Bakke, drummer Erik Ruud, and vocalist Anja Oyen Vister.-Biography:...
, Ugress
Ugress
Ugress is an electronica project from Bergen, Norway, the main project of prolific electronic musician Gisle Martens Meyer . Among Meyer's other projects are Nebular Spool, Shadow of the Beat and Ninja9000 as well as scoring soundtracks for moving pictures and several TV-shows. Ugress means weed in...
, Sternklang, Teebee
Teebee
Teebee or DJ Teebee is a Norwegian DJ and producer of drum and bass. Real name Torgeir Byrknes, Teebee began DJing in 1990 and released his first record in 1996...
and Polar.
Hip hop
Norway's hip hop scene includes WarlocksWarlocks (band)
Warlocks has been one of the most respected rap acts in America for almost two decades, and the group has also been heavily involved in the graffiti and b-boy scene in Oslo since day one. The trio, which was formed in 1992, consists of producer Hawk and the rappers Tech and Karma, who are twins...
, Tommy Tee
Tommy Tee
Tommy Flaaten , best known by his stage name Tommy Tee, is a Norwegian record producer, rapper, broadcaster, record executive, concert promoter and magazine publisher. He is known as the godfather of Norwegian hip hop. Tee owns the label Tee Productions, which is located in Oslo, Norway and is...
, Darkside of the Force
Darkside of the Force
Darkside Of The Force is a Norwegian hip hop band made up of the half-brothers Oscar Sepulveda and Salvador Sanchez along with DJ Breakneck. They currently reside in Kristiansand, Norway. In 1998 they released their debut album Darkside Of The Force. On May 8, 2006, they released the follow-up El...
, Punktum, Klovner i Kamp
Klovner I Kamp
Klovner I Kamp is a Norwegian hip-hop group. Formed in 1994, at the time as a duo with Ali and Dr. S . Shortly after the band got a new member, "Dane" or "Danish" . Klovner I Kamp had this trio for several years, but in 2000, Finger'n or Goldfinger joined as the last and fourth man on the team...
, Gatas Parlament
Gatas Parlament
Gatas Parlament is a Norwegian group of rap artists. It consists of the brothers Aslak and Elling Borgersrud and DJ Don Martin. All three have strong left-leaning political views, and make their feelings on many things, including American president George W...
, Tungtvann, Karpe Diem, Paperboys
Paperboys
Paperboys is a Norwegian hip hop-duo consisting of rapper Øyvind «Vinni» Sauvik and DJ Ole Aleksander «Pope Dawg» Halstensgård. The duo has released four albums and their debut included Barcelona, a collaboration with Madcon which was a hit in Norway...
, Madcon
Madcon
Madcon is a Norwegian Hip Hop duo formed in 1992 by Yosef Wolde-Mariam and Tshawe Baqwa.They are well known from the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Interval Act, in which they performed their hit song "Glow"...
, Thomax, and Erik og Kriss.
Jazz
In recent years Norway has also become a major force in world jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. Pioneers of Norwegian jazz include Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek is a Norwegian tenor and soprano saxophonist, active in the jazz, classical, and world music genres. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war Czesław Garbarek and a Norwegian farmer's daughter...
. His cool, almost ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
approach is typical of Norwegian jazz, although recently there have been moves to build bridges with electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
. He, too, has linked jazz with traditional Norwegian music, as evidenced in his recording Rosenfole with acclaimed Norwegian traditional-style singer, Agnes Buen Garnås
Agnes Buen Garnås
Agnes Buen Garnås is a Norwegian folk singer from the county of Telemark. She comes from a famous musical family from the town of Jondalen, and is known particularly for her singing of ancient unaccompanied Norwegian ballads, as well as her updated arrangements of these songs in collaboration with...
. His daughter, Anja Garbarek
Anja Garbarek
Anja Garbarek is a Norwegian singer-songwriter of mixed Norwegian and Polish descent. She is the daughter of the Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek and grew up around Oslo. She received the Spellemannsprisen in 2001 for her album Smiling & Waving in the open class category. She is married to...
, is one of the artists that has renovated the jazz scene, combining sweet melodies with electronic sounds and pop beats.
The work of the Christian Wallumrod Ensemble ("Fabula Suite Lugano", The Zoo Is Far) serves as a leading example of contemporary Norwegian jazz, along with ECM artists Trygve Seim
Trygve Seim
Trygve Seim is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist and composer. Born in Oslo, Norway, Seim started to play the saxophone in 1985 after hearing Jan Garbarek's CD eventyr...
and Frode Haltli
Frode Haltli
Frode Haltli , is a Norwegian accordion player.-Biography:Haltli started to play the accordion at the age of seven and over the following few years he won several national competitions and scholarships...
. Other contemporary Norwegian jazz stars include the group Supersilent
Supersilent
Supersilent is a Norwegian avant-garde/improvisational music group formed in Bergen in 1997 and signed on Rune Grammofon. They are known for making only improvised music and for the distinctive uniformity of their album covers....
, drummer Jon Christensen
Jon Christensen
Jon Christensen is a Norwegian jazz percussionist.In the late 1960s he played alongside Jan Garbarek on several recordings by the composer George Russell....
, guitarist Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. Most of his music has been released on albums of the German record label ECM. Rypdal has collaborated both as a guitarist and as a composer with other ECM artists such as Ketil Bjørnstad and David Darling...
, pianist Bugge Wesseltoft
Bugge Wesseltoft
Jens Christian Bugge Wesseltoft is a Norwegian jazz musician, pianist, composer and producer. He has his own label named Jazzland Records. In the 1990s, Bugge has made a transition from Nordic jazz traditions exemplified by the ECM record label to a style sometimes referred to as "future jazz" or...
, percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love
Paal Nilssen-Love
Paal Nilssen-Love is a Norwegian drummer active in the jazz and free jazz genres.Nilssen-Love was raised at a jazz club in Stavanger, run by his mother, and his father, who was also a drummer...
, bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten is a Norwegian bassist active in the jazz and free jazz genres.-Selected Projects:*Atomic*Element*The Thing*Scorch Trio*Ingebrigt Håker Flaten Quintet-Major Collaborators:*Ken Vandermark*Joe McPhee...
, Nils Petter Molvaer, and experimental jazz band Jaga Jazzist
Jaga Jazzist
Jaga Jazzist is an experimental jazz band from Norway that rose to prominence when the BBC named their first album, A Livingroom Hush , the best jazz album of 2002. The core of the band are brothers and main songwriters Lars and Martin Horntveth...
. Many of these artists record for the seminal jazz label ECM
ECM (record label)
ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
. However some of the more modern artists record for the newer Norwegian labels Rune Grammofon
Rune Grammofon
Rune Grammofon is a Norwegian record label founded in 1998 by Rune Kristoffersen. Rune Grammofon's reputation for lovingly issued experimental electronic music, jazz, and improvised music by Norwegian artists has grown over the years with its artists being featured heavily in magazines such as The...
, Jazzland Records and Smalltown Superjazzz
Smalltown Superjazzz
Smalltown Superjazzz is an independent record label based in Oslo, Norway, and dedicated to new forms of jazz. It is a subsidiary of the label Smalltown Supersound.Their catalog features albums by The Thing, Mats Gustafsson and Free Fall....
.
Black metal
Norway is perhaps most notable for giving birth to the controversial Norwegian black metal scene, which has produced such bands as:- 13491349 (band)1349 is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1997. Their name comes from the year the Black Death reached Norway.- History :1349 formed in 1997 and comprises several former members of the band Alvheim...
- ArcturusArcturus (band)Arcturus is an avant-garde metal band formed in Norway in 1987. They named it Arcturus , after the Behenian fixed star Arcturus.-Biography:The band has released four official full-length albums...
- Aura NoirAura NoirAura Noir is a black metal/thrash metal band from Oslo, Norway. Aura Noir is heavily influenced by early thrash bands such as Slayer, Sodom and Kreator, to the latter they have also dedicated some of their songs...
- BorknagarBorknagarBorknagar is a progressive black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements...
- BurzumBurzumBurzum is a musical project by Varg Vikernes . It began during 1991 in Bergen, Norway and quickly became prominent within the early Norwegian black metal scene...
- Carpathian ForestCarpathian ForestCarpathian Forest is a Norwegian black metal band formed by Nattefrost and Nordavind in 1990.-Biography:Carpathian Forest emerged with the demo tape "Bloodlust and Perversion" in 1992. In 1993 the band released a second demo: Journey Through the Cold Moors of Svarttjern...
- DarkthroneDarkthroneDarkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band. They formed in 1987 as a death metal band, but after embracing the black metal style in 1991, they became a driving force in the Norwegian black metal scene. For most of this period Darkthrone has consisted of just two musicians, Nocturno Culto and...
- Dimmu BorgirDimmu BorgirDimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...
- EmperorEmperor (band)Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
- EnslavedEnslaved (band)Enslaved is a progressive black metal band formed in June 1991 in Sveio, Norway, and currently based out of Bergen, Norway.-History:Enslaved was formed in June 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an Immortal demo...
- GehennaGehenna (band)-Biography:Gehenna was formed in January, 1993 by original members Sanrabb, Dolgar, and Sir Vereda. Their first demo, entitled Black Seared Heart, was recorded between the 3rd and 7 June 1993 in Soundsuite Studios, and was released as a cassette...
- GorgorothGorgorothGorgoroth is a Norwegian black metal band based in Bergen. Formed in 1992 by Infernus , the band is named after the dead plateau of evil and darkness in the land of Mordor from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The group is currently signed to Regain Records and have released...
- Hades AlmightyHades AlmightyHades Almighty is a black metal band hailing from Bergen, Norway. They were formed in 1992, originally under the moniker Hades. They were forced to change their name to Hades Almighty in 1998, following complaints from an American band with a prior claim to the name.-Biography:Hades were formed in...
- II (band)I is a Norwegian heavy metal supergroup formed in 2006 in Norway. I contains members from various black metal bands; Immortal , Gorgoroth , and Enslaved...
- IldjarnIldjarnIldjarn was a black metal project from Norway that formed in 1991. Ildjarn recorded music until 1997 but did not officially end until 2005. The man behind Ildjarn was Vidar Vaaer, although some releases were collaborations with a musician known as Nidhogg...
- ImmortalImmortal (band)Immortal is a black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1990 by current frontman/guitarist Abbath Doom Occulta and former guitarist Demonaz Doom Occulta...
- In The Woods...In the Woods...In the Woods... was a heavy metal band from Kristiansand, Norway. The band released a total of three studio albums, three singles, one compilation album and one live album throughout its existence. The band was formed by previous members of the similar-styled band Green Carnation and is now...
- IsengardIsengard (band)Isengard is a solo project of Fenriz, famous for being the drummer of Darkthrone, created in 1989.It is rooted on Norwegian black/Viking metal and avant-garde rock on some tracks, and named after the Tolkienian locale Isengard.-Career:...
- KampfarKampfarKampfar is a black metal band from Fredrikstad, Norway. According to their singer, Dolk, their name is an ancient Norse battle cry which means Odin or Wotan.-History:...
- Keep of KalessinKeep of KalessinKeep of Kalessin is an extreme metal band from Trondheim, Norway formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two albums under this lineup: Through Times of War in 1997, and Agnen: A...
- KholdKholdKhold is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 2000 after the split-up of Tulus. The band plays midpaced and somewhat "groovy" black metal and has a history of touring with bands such as Behemoth and Satyricon.-Current line-up:*Gard - vocals/guitar...
- KoldbrannKoldbrannKoldbrann is a Norwegian black metal band founded in 2001.Musically Koldbrann, like countrymen 1349, play very orthodox black metal in the classic Norwegian mould and have also received favorable comparisons to early Gorgoroth, Mayhem and Darkthrone...
- Limbonic Art
- ManesManes (band)Manes was a band from Trondheim, Norway, formed in 1993. They started out as a two-piece band composed of Sargatanas and Cernunnus . They have been signed to Candlelight Records, Hammerheart Records and the Italian experimental label Code666...
- MayhemMayhem (band)Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
- Nattefrost
- Old Man's ChildOld Man's ChildOld Man's Child is a black metal band from Norway. The band is the brainchild of Galder who is the only permanent member of the band now.-Formation:...
- Ragnarok
- SatyriconSatyricon (band)Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band, and the first one in the genre to join a multi-national record label .-Biography:Satyricon was formed in 1990 by Czral and Wargod. Ulver and Satyr soon joined them...
- TaakeTaakeTaake, pronounced [toke], is a Norwegian black metal band whose name is the old spelling form of the Norwegian word "tåke" .-History:In 1993, Ørjan Stedjeberg, now known as Ulvhedin Høst , formed the first version of the band Taake under the name Thule, together with Svartulv, who was only twelve...
- ThornsThorns (band)Thorns is a Norwegian black metal band that formed in 1989 and was part of the early Norwegian black metal scene. They made two highly influential demos in the early 1990s, Grymyrk and Trøndertun, but have only released one full-length album....
- TsjuderTsjuderTsjuder is a Norwegian black metal band founded in 1993.- Name :The name Tsjuder was picked from the Norwegian movie Pathfinder...
- UlverUlverUlver is a musical group from Norway. Since their first, folklore-influenced black metal release entitled Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler , Ulver’s musical style has been fluid and increasingly eclectic, blending genres such as rock, electronica, symphonic and chamber traditions, noise and...
- UrgehalUrgehalUrgehal is a black metal band from Norway. It was formed in Hønefoss, 1992 by Nefas and Enzifer. Their musical style and sound resemble that of the Norwegian black metal bands that arose in the early 1990s....
- VreidVreidVreid is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 2004 after the break up of Windir following the death of lead singer and founder Valfar. The remaining members along with new guitarist Ese formed Vreid...
- WindirWindirWindir was a black metal band from Sogndal, Norway. The band combined black metal with folk music and mythology. The band was formed in 1994 and released its debut album in 1997...
- PeccatumPeccatumPeccatum was an avant-garde metal band from Norway. Their influences range from black metal, progressive metal, industrial music, symphonic metal and gothic metal to European classical music and contemporary music.-Biography:...
This scene is infamous for having members that do not abide to the Christian religion (see Satanism
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
and Norse Paganism
Norse paganism
Norse paganism is the religious traditions of the Norsemen, a Germanic people living in the Nordic countries. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes across most of Northern and Central Europe in the Viking Age...
). Also, during a time period in 1992 and 1993, Samoth
Samoth
Samoth is a prominent musician and multi-instrumentalist in the Norwegian black metal scene. He was well known for his distinct guitar work and drumming in the band Emperor, as well as his formation of the death metal band Zyklon...
(Emperor
Emperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
guitarist), Bard Faust
Bård Faust
Bård Guldvik "Faust" Eithun is a Norwegian drummer. He is best known for his work with early black metal band Emperor, especially on the releases As the Shadows Rise and In the Nightside Eclipse...
(then-Emperor
Emperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
drummer) Tchort
Tchort
Terje Vik Schei , better known by his stage name Tchort, is a Norwegian musician. He is known for his time spent playing bass for the black metal band Emperor and for leading the progressive metal band Green Carnation...
(then-Emperor
Emperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
bassist), Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes is a Norwegian black metal musician, writer, philosopher, religious and political activist, arsonist and convicted murderer.Vikernes was born near Bergen, Norway. In 1991, he founded the one-man music project Burzum, which quickly became popular within the early Norwegian black metal...
(sole-member of Burzum
Burzum
Burzum is a musical project by Varg Vikernes . It began during 1991 in Bergen, Norway and quickly became prominent within the early Norwegian black metal scene...
) and members of the band Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
went on a spree of church arsons that struck fear in Norway and caused much media attention. Samoth
Samoth
Samoth is a prominent musician and multi-instrumentalist in the Norwegian black metal scene. He was well known for his distinct guitar work and drumming in the band Emperor, as well as his formation of the death metal band Zyklon...
and Tchort
Tchort
Terje Vik Schei , better known by his stage name Tchort, is a Norwegian musician. He is known for his time spent playing bass for the black metal band Emperor and for leading the progressive metal band Green Carnation...
were arrested and given jail sentences, while Vikernes
Varg Vikernes
Varg Vikernes is a Norwegian black metal musician, writer, philosopher, religious and political activist, arsonist and convicted murderer.Vikernes was born near Bergen, Norway. In 1991, he founded the one-man music project Burzum, which quickly became popular within the early Norwegian black metal...
was not convicted for these counts of arsons until around the time he was found guilty of murdering fellow black metal musician Øystein Aarseth (Euronymous
Euronymous
Øystein Aarseth , who went by the pseudonym Euronymous, was a Norwegian guitarist and co-founder of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem...
of Mayhem) in 1993. Other controversial events in this scene include the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
of former Mayhem
Mayhem (band)
Mayhem is a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1984 in Oslo, Norway and regarded as one of the pioneers of the influential Norwegian black metal scene...
vocalist Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin in 1991, and the murder of a homosexual man in Lillehammer
Lillehammer
is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
by then-Emperor
Emperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
drummer Bard "Faust" Eithun
Bård Faust
Bård Guldvik "Faust" Eithun is a Norwegian drummer. He is best known for his work with early black metal band Emperor, especially on the releases As the Shadows Rise and In the Nightside Eclipse...
in 1992.
Gothic Metal
Norway has a large gothic metal scene, including bands like SireniaSirenia
Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. Four species are living, in two families and genera. These are the dugong and manatees...
, Leaves Eyes, Myriads
Myriads
For the wiktionary entry of the word "Myriads", see .Myriads is a Gothic metal band from Norway. Myriads was formed in September 1997, in Stavanger on the west coast of Norway.-Biography:...
, Tristania
Tristania
Tristania is a monotypic genus, native to New South Wales, Australia, closely related to Cistemon. The genus had a number of species, but some have been reclassified as Lophostemon and Tristaniopsis....
, Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which provided a great deal of influence to the gothic metal genre.-Biography:...
, and The Sins of Thy Beloved
The Sins of Thy Beloved
The Sins Of Thy Beloved is a gothic-doom metal band from Bryne, Norway.- Biography :The band was formed in November 1996 by Glenn Morten Nordbø, Arild Christensen and Stig Johansen. The band was initially called "Purgatory" but they soon decided to change their name to something less common...
.
Death Metal
Though less notable than its black metal scene, Norway is known for such death metalDeath metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
bands as Blood Red Throne
Blood Red Throne
Blood Red Throne is a death metal band from Kristiansand, Norway. They released their fourth full-length album, Come Death, on 27 August 2007...
, Cadaver
Cadaver (band)
Cadaver was a death metal band from Råde, Norway. The band had a brief venture in the early 1990s before splitting in 1993. Cadaver would eventually re-emerge as Cadaver Inc. in 1999 which consisted of only one founding member...
, Carpe Tenebrum
Carpe Tenebrum
Carpe Tenebrum is a black metal solo project of the former Dimmu Borgir and Covenant guitarist Jamie Stinson, better known as Astennu...
, Myrkskog
Myrkskog
Myrkskog is a death metal band formed in 1993 from Drammen, Norway.-Band history:Usually their music consisted of thunderous high speed double-bass with rapid blastbeats and fills. Guitars were made up of harmonic tremolo picking and sometimes powerchords with fast solos composed by Destructhor...
, Aeternus
Aeternus
Aeternus is a death metal band from Bergen, Norway.-Biography:Aeternus formed in 1993 as a trio, composed of Ares, Erik Vrolok, and Morrigan. They released their debut album, Beyond the Wandering Moon, in 1997 on Hammerheart Records , and toured that year with black metal bands Emperor and Limbonic...
, Zyklon
Zyklon
Zyklon is the German word for Cyclone.It may also refer to:* Zyklon, a Norwegian industrial blackened death metal band.* Zyklon B, a pesticide ultimately used by Nazi Germany in gas chambers...
, Fester and Darkthrone
Darkthrone
Darkthrone is a Norwegian black metal band. They formed in 1987 as a death metal band, but after embracing the black metal style in 1991, they became a driving force in the Norwegian black metal scene. For most of this period Darkthrone has consisted of just two musicians, Nocturno Culto and...
's first album Soulside Journey
Soulside Journey
-Credits:* Gylve Nagell – Drums* Ted Skjellum – Lead guitar, vocals* Dag Nilsen – Bass guitar* Ivar Enger – Rhythm guitar...
.
Rock and popular
Modern Norwegian pop acts include Rebekka Karijord, kaadaKaada
John Erik Kaada is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the composer of many Norwegian films...
, Furia Norway, Bertine Zetlitz
Bertine Zetlitz
Bertine Zetlitz is a Norwegian pop singer. She is one of Norway's most popular performers.-Biography:Bertine Axeliane Robberstad Zetlitz began her musical journey at a young age, penning her first numbers aged just 12. After gaining a background in classical music, Zetlitz began to experiment...
, M2M
M2M (band)
M2M was a pop music duo formed by two Norwegians, Marion Elise Raven and Marit Elisabeth Larsen. They released three albums under Atlantic Records and Warner Music: Shades of Purple, The Big Room, and The Day You Went Away: The Best of M2M, a greatest hits album released by their record label after...
, Marit Larsen
Marit Larsen
Marit Elisabeth Larsen is a Norwegian singer and songwriter.She began playing violins at age of 5,and played it until the age of 8. She gained international fame during her teenage years as a member of the pop duo M2M with childhood friend Marion Raven. More recently she has pursued her own music...
, Marion Raven
Marion Raven
Marion Elise Ravn, born 25 May 1984 in Lørenskog, Norway, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter, and former child actress. Her surname is of Norse origin, with Ravn meaning Raven, which she adopted as her stage name Marion Raven as well as her trademark raven logo. She was one-half of the now defunct...
, Kings of Convenience
Kings of Convenience
Kings of Convenience are an indie folk-pop duo from Bergen, Norway. Consisting of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe, the musical group is known for their delicate tunes, calming voices, and intricate and subtle guitar melodies...
, Erlend Øye
Erlend Øye
Erlend Øye is a Norwegian musician from Bergen, best known for being part of the indie folk duo Kings of Convenience together with Eirik Glambek Bøe. He has released one solo album, Unrest, in 2003 and a mix-CD in the DJ-Kicks series in 2004....
, Minor Majority
Minor Majority
The Norwegian pop group Minor Majority was formed by Pål Angelskår and Andreas Berczelly as a studio project in the spring of 2000. The first record, Walking Home From Nicole's, was released one year later with significant help from singer/songwriter Karen Jo Fields.In November 2001 the band saw...
, Ane Brun
Ane Brun
Ane Brun is a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, four of which are studio albums, a live DVD and a collection of duets...
, Briskeby
Briskeby
Briskeby is an electro-pop band from Norway. Bjørn Bergene, Claus Heiberg Larsen and Bård Helgeland are from Larvik, while Lise Karlsnes is from Tønsberg.-Band name:The band's name is derived from the neighbourhood where their rehearsal room was located....
, D'Sound
D'Sound
D'Sound is a Norwegian pop band based in Oslo, Norway. The band currently is composed of Simone Larsen, the lead vocalist, and Jonny Sjo, the bassist.-Band history:...
, Datarock
Datarock
Datarock, derived from the Norwegian word for computer – datamaskin and the word rock , is a Norwegian electro rock band. The band formed in 2000 as Fredrik Saroea, Ketil Mosnes and Kevin O'Brien and soon hired Tom Mæland. O'Brien and Mæland later left the band, but the duo of Saroea and Mosnes...
, Maria Haukaas Storeng
Maria Haukaas Storeng
The following article is a discography of albums and singles released by Norwegian artist Maria Mittet.-Albums:2011: , med Oslo Gospel Choir-Singles:-Featured-on albums:*1991 "Annie" - den norske suksessversjonen...
, Serena Maneesh
Serena Maneesh
Serena-Maneesh is an alternative rock band from Oslo, Norway.- Significance of the Name:...
, Jaga Jazzist
Jaga Jazzist
Jaga Jazzist is an experimental jazz band from Norway that rose to prominence when the BBC named their first album, A Livingroom Hush , the best jazz album of 2002. The core of the band are brothers and main songwriters Lars and Martin Horntveth...
, Hanne Hukkelberg
Hanne Hukkelberg
Hanne Hukkelberg is a singer-songwriter from Kongsberg, Norway.Hukkelberg started singing and playing instruments at the age of 3...
, Maria Solheim
Maria Solheim
Maria Solheim is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. She signed her first record deal with the label Kirkelig Kulturverksted in 1999 at the age of 17, and her first album was released two years later. She frequently tours Norway and Germany...
, Lene Marlin
Lene Marlin
Lene Marlin is a Norwegian musician.-Playing My Game :Marlin made her Norwegian debut on 12 October 1998, with the single "Unforgivable Sinner", which proved to be a hit as it reached number one and kept that position for eight weeks...
, Margaret Berger
Margaret Berger
Margaret Berger is an electropop singer and songwriter. She made her debut on Sony BMG after she placed second on the second season of Norwegian Idol....
, Kurt Nilsen
Kurt Nilsen
The following is a discography of albums and singles released by Norwegian music artist Kurt Nilsen.-Albums:-Singles:-Other releases:*1998 Shoe...
, Annie, Sondre Lerche
Sondre Lerche
-Career:Sondre Lerche was born in Bergen, Norway. Growing up, Lerche was heavily influenced by the '80s pop that emanated from his older siblings' rooms. Compelled by a defining fascination for bands such as The Beatles, A-ha, the Beach Boys, and Prefab Sprout, Lerche began formal guitar...
, Maria Mena
Maria Mena
Maria Viktoria Mena is a Norwegian pop artist.- Biography :Maria Mena was born into an artistic family, her mother, a playwright and her father, a drummer. Both Maria and her brother, Tony, are named after characters from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story...
, TNT
TNT (band)
TNT is a Norwegian hard rock/glam metal band from Trondheim, formed in 1982. The band has released twelve studio albums, three EPs and two live albums while going through numerous line-up changes since its formation...
, Flunk
Flunk
Flunk is a Norwegian electronic band consisting of producer Ulf Nygaard, guitarist Jo Bakke, drummer Erik Ruud, and vocalist Anja Oyen Vister.-Biography:...
, Venke Knutson
Venke Knutson
Venke Knutson is a Norwegian singer. Since 2003, she has had six top 10 hits in Norway.-Life and career:Venke Knutson was born in Birkeland, in 1978. She was the youngest of three sisters, in a musical family, and she got inspired to sing by her elder sisters.Early in her life she lived with her...
, Thomas Dybdahl
Thomas Dybdahl
Thomas Dybdahl is a Norwegian musician in the singer/songwriter tradition.- Biography :Thomas Dybdahl went out to become somewhat of a shooting-star in Norway. As a solo artist, the former guitarist of the band Quadraphonics released his first single EP Bird in 2000...
, Postgirobygget
Postgirobygget (band)
Postgirobygget is a Norwegian rock band from Trondheim. Singer and songwriter Arne Hurlén, bass player and backing vocals Nicolai Hauan , guitarist and backing vocals Nils Petter Time, keyboardist and harmonica player Øyvind Kolset, and drums, percussion and backing vocals Per Sarin Madsen...
, Return
Return (band)
Return is a Norwegian rock band from Stange, Hedmark. The band started in 1980, and was in its prime in the late 1980- and early 1990-. In this period they had several singles on the Norwegian hit charts and were among the bestselling bands in the country. In 1993 the band took a break, but came...
, Savoy
Savoy (band)
Savoy are a Norwegian-American rock trio consisting of Paul Waaktaar-Savoy , Lauren Savoy and Frode Unneland...
and Wig Wam
Wig Wam
Wig Wam is a Norwegian hard rock band, which is dedicated to Glam metal and is the style of typical rock bands from the 1980s movement.- Eurovision :...
.
The synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
/-rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band a-ha
A-ha
A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...
is quite possibly the most successful music group ever to come out of Norway, having sold over 50 million albums worldwide.
Sissel Kyrkjebø
Sissel Kyrkjebø
Sissel Kyrkjebø , also simply known as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano.Sissel is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Sissel's musical style runs the gamut from pop recordings and folk songs, to classical vocals and operatic arias...
, the singer commonly known as "Sissel", has also reached a level of worldwide popularity - especially after her voice appeared on the soundtrack for the 1997 film Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
. Highlights of her career include singing the Olympic hymn at the 1994 Winter Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
in Lillehammer
Lillehammer
is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...
, representing Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert
Nobel Peace Prize Concert
The Nobel Peace Prize Concert has been held annually since 1994 on 11 December, one day after the date of Alfred Nobel's death, to honour the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The award ceremony on 10 December takes place in the Oslo City Hall, while the concert is in the Oslo Spektrum Arena, with the...
, and performing at the invitation of tenor greats Placido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
and José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
at the first Christmas concert in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
after the fall of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
The Norwegian rock scene comprises bands such as Turbonegro
Turbonegro
Turbonegro is a Norwegian punk rock band that was initially active from 1989 to 1998, and later reformed in 2002. Their style combines glam rock, punk rock and hard rock into a style the band describes as "deathpunk"....
, Gluecifer
Gluecifer
Gluecifer was a hard rock band based in Oslo, Norway. Formed in 1994, they produced several underground releases during their first years of existence and soon claimed to be "kings of rock"....
, BigBang, Kvelertak
Kvelertak
Kvelertak is a six-piece rock & roll band from Stavanger, Norway. All lyrics are written in Norwegian, the band's native language, and concerning Norse mythology/Viking folklore...
, Madrugada, Kaizers Orchestra
Kaizers Orchestra
Kaizers Orchestra is a Norwegian alternative rock group formed on January 1, 2000. The two leading members, vocalist Janove Ottesen and guitarist Geir Zahl, had known each other for years, and first played together in a band called Blod, Snått & Juling in 1989.Kaizers Orchestra are notable for...
and Gåte
Gåte
Gåte was a band from Trøndelag, Norway playing Norwegian folk music bred with metal and electronica. Their style has been referred to as progressive folk-rock...
. Legends of the scene include 1980s and 90s heroes Dum Dum Boys, CC Cowboys
CC Cowboys
CC Cowboys is a Norwegian Rock band from Fredrikstad. Their members are the vocalist and guitarist Magnus Grønneberg, their guitarist Jørn Christensen their bassist Per Vestaby and their drummer Agne Sæther....
, Jokke & Valentinerne
Jokke & Valentinerne
Jokke & Valentinerne were a Norwegian rock band. The late Joachim "Jokke" Nielsen was their frontman, songwriter and lead singer. Unlike many other Norwegian bands at the time, Jokke & Valentinerne wrote their lyrics in Norwegian....
, deLillos
DeLillos
deLillos is a Norwegian rock band formed in Oslo in 1984. They are regarded as one the "Four Greats" in modern Norwegian pop music, i.e. one of the four 1980s groups that founded a new tradition for rock music with lyrics in Norwegian...
, Raga Rockers
Raga Rockers
Raga Rockers is a Norwegian rock band from Oslo with Michael Krohn on vocals. The band was formed in 1982 by front man Michael Krohn. The other members were Livio Aiello on bass, Bruno Hovden on guitar, Jan Arne Kristiansen on drums, Tore Berg on guitar, Hugo Alvarstein on keyboards, and Nils Aune...
, Seigmen
Seigmen
Seigmen was a Norwegian alternative rock band in the 1990s. The bandname is derived from a Norwegian brand of candies, "Seigmenn". The band went from a hard-edged grunge-like style to a more dynamic sound with more ambient parts and use of synthesizers and various audio-effects.-Members:* Kim...
and Motorpsycho
Motorpsycho
Motorpsycho is a band from Trondheim, Norway. Their music can generally be defined as psychedelic rock, but they also mix in elements from metal, jazz, rock, pop and many other musical styles. The members of the band are Bent Sæther , Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan and Kenneth Kapstad...
. In alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, The Low Frequency in Stereo
The Low Frequency In Stereo
The Low Frequency in Stereo are a post-rock group that was founded in February 2000 in Haugesund, Norway.The band is known both in Norway and internationally and have played renowned festivals like Quart, Dour and South By Southwest...
is an example of a Norwegian post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
bands on the rise.
In recent times some Norwegian rock artists have based themselves abroad as a springboard to reach international audiences. Norwegian musicians have formed groups with British musicians. Groups formed include The Wombats and Daddysmilk.
In 2009, Norway won the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
with the song Fairytale
Fairytale (Alexander Rybak song)
"Fairytale" is a song written and composed by Norwegian violinist/singer Alexander Rybak, and the first single from Rybak's debut album Fairytales...
composed and performed by Alexander Rybak
Alexander Rybak
Alexander Igoryevich Rybak or in Belarusian Alyaksandr Igaravich Rybak , born 13 May 1986 in Byelorussian SSR is a Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist, writer, and actor...
. This song received the highest score ever achieved on the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
- 387 points.
World music
There are few groups and artists in this genre in Norway. One of them is the Tanzanian musician and poet, Ras NasRas Nas
Born in Morogoro , Ras Nas aka Nasibu Mwanukuzi, is a musician and poet from Tanzania who blends African music and reggae with a dash of poetry. Ras Nas' latest album, Dar-es-Salaam, contains roots reggae, soukous and dub poetry. It is released by , KonPro...
aka Nasibu Mwanukuzi. Ras Nas, based in Oslo, plays reggae and soukous. His latest CD Dar-es-Salaam received a five-star review in one of Norway's biggest dailies, Dagsavisen, when it was released in summer 2008. This was the first time happening in Norway.
Secret Garden
Secret Garden (duo)
Secret Garden is an award-winning Irish-Norwegian duo playing New Instrumental Music, also sometimes erroneously known as Neo-classical music.Secret Garden features the Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry and the Norwegian composer/pianist Rolf Løvland...
is an award winning duo playing New Instrumental Music. Secret Garden features Norwegian composer/pianist Rolf Løvland
Rolf Løvland
Rolf Løvland is a Norwegian composer. Together with Fionnuala Sherry, he formed the celtic group Secret Garden, where he played as the composer/producer/keyboardist...
and Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry
Fionnuala Sherry
Fionnuala Sherry is an Irish violinist and vocalist. She makes up the female part of the New Instrumental duo Secret Garden, which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the predominantly instrumental piece "Nocturne".-Background:...
. The duo has sold over 3 million albums and won the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
for Norway's second time in 1995. Norwegian singer Gunnhild Tvinnereim sang the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest, but is actually not a member of the group. Ten years earlier Rolf Løvland also co-wrote the song La det swinge
La det swinge
"La det swinge" is a song in Norwegian, sung by the pop duo Bobbysocks!. It was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 - Norway's first victory in the contest.- Background :...
that secured Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
its first Eurovision Song Contest victory in 1985. Alexander Rybak won Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song Fairytale
Record Labels
Norwegian record labels include:- Burznazg
- Deathlike Silence ProductionsDeathlike Silence ProductionsDeathlike Silence Productions was an Oslo, Norway based independent record label founded in the late 1980s that focused primarily on black metal. It was the first independent label to do so. The label was founded by Øystein Aarseth, also known as Euronymous, who operated the label until his murder...
- Duplex RecordsDuplexDuplex commonly means double or twofold.It may also refer to:* Duplex , a two-unit apartment building or condominium* Duplex, a common electrical receptacle with two NEMA type 5 plugs* Duplex locomotive, a type of steam locomotive...
- Jazzland Records
- Jester RecordsJester RecordsJester Records is a record label founded in 1998 by Kristoffer Rygg after conflicts between his band Ulver and their German/American label Century Media Records.-Artists:* 1349 Rykkinn...
- Pleasuredisc RecordsPleasuredisc RecordsPleasuredisc Records is an independent record label, located in Tønsberg, Norway.A new addition the family of small, independent Norwegian record labels, Pleasuredisc can so far only claim to be the home to one artists - Ljungblut...
- Rune grammofonRune GrammofonRune Grammofon is a Norwegian record label founded in 1998 by Rune Kristoffersen. Rune Grammofon's reputation for lovingly issued experimental electronic music, jazz, and improvised music by Norwegian artists has grown over the years with its artists being featured heavily in magazines such as The...
- Smalltown SupersoundSmalltown SupersoundSmalltown Supersound is an independent record label based in Oslo, Norway, and dedicated to new forms of jazz, rock and electronic music.Their catalog features albums by Annie, Jaga Jazzist, 120 Days, Mental Overdrive, Bjørn Torske, Mats Gustafsson and Sonic Youth, amongst others.In 2004, the...
- Tee ProductionsTee ProductionsTee Productions is considered to be one of Scandinavia's largest Record label production it is hip hop record label owned by Tommy Tee, located in Oslo, Norway...
- Tribe Records (NO)Tribe Records (NO)Tribe Records was a Norwegian record label founded in 1998. The company became one of the biggest contributors to the Norwegian record chart VG-Lista Topp 20 the following years. Tribe fast became a commercial label focusing on dance, trance and pop....
See also
- VG-listaVG-listaVG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...
- List of Spelemannslag
- Norwegian Wood Festival
- Quart FestivalQuart FestivalThe Quart Festival was an annual popular music festival that took place in Kristiansand, Norway in the beginning of July. It was the most visited music festival in Norway....
- Black metalBlack metalBlack metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
- Norway in the Eurovision Song ContestNorway in the Eurovision Song ContestNorway has been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1960 and only been absent twice: in 1970, when they boycotted the contest over disagreements about the voting structure, and in 2002, when they did not qualify....
Sources
- Cronshaw, Andrew. Fjords and Fiddles. 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 211–218. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
External links
Audio clips: Traditional music of Norway. Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.- Norwegian pop music - article from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- The History of Music in Norway - article from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Norwegian Bandindex
- Urørt (Untouched) - Download songs from 7000 New Norwegian bands
- Norway Cultural Profile - national cultural portal for Norway in English
- NRK Folkemusikk - live feed from 24 hour folk music station run by Norwegian public broadcaster NRK