Nordman
Encyclopedia
Nordman is a Swedish
group founded in 1993, that mixes folk music with rock and pop. This genre is called etnorock or folk rock
in Swedish. The group consists of Håkan Hemlin, as singer and frontman and Mats Wester, who plays the nyckelharpa
as well as serving as the main songwriter..
The group's biggest hits were Förlist ("Shipwrecked") and Vandraren ("The Wanderer"). The group split up in 1998 because of the lead singer's drug problem, but reunited in 2004. They made a comeback in the Swedish Melodifestivalen
with the song Ödet var min väg and released a comeback album called Anno 2005 in 2005.
In 2008, they competed once again in Melodifestivalen
with the song I lågornas sken and finished in sixth place behind winner Charlotte Perrelli
.
His song "Vandraren" was covered by Blackmore's Night
on their 2010 album Autumn Sky
and by Ensiferum
on their 2009 album From Afar
.
met in a studio in Deer Park in 1991. Håkan was there with his rock band Bye Bye to record a demo to a promo-CD. Mats had for some years been experimenting with blending folk and pop and searched for a vocalist to the project. He asked Hakan if he was interested to try some, it was him. Experiments began after a few hits came the embryo
of what would become the song "Förlist" (wrecked). Gradually added another demos and autumn of 1993 it was time to check if any record company wanted to do an album with the new, completely unknown group Nordman.
showed interest and signed Nordman. Then work began on the first album. In February 1994, released first single "Förlist" (wrecked). The album was released in late April of that year. Already after four weeks, the album was recorded for gold record (at that time was 50 000 copies). The second single "The Wanderer" went straight to Sommartoppen first place, and remained there all summer. During the summer, the album also crossed the border for platinum (100 000 copies). Before the year was over they had passed the 3 x platinum. Nordman toured in Sweden
, more or less nonstop for a year. Two singles were released from the album, "Laglöst land" (Lawless Land) and "Ännu glöder solen" (The sun still glows) The latter came first in the Swedish charts in early 1995.
in Stockholm. The concert at Circus was filmed and broadcast by TV4, but were also given out in stores. The summer tour consisted of festival appearances around the country.
became the new record company contracted group. The first official appearance was in Melodifestivalen
2005 with the song "Ödet var min väg." (Fate was my path) New album was recorded between January and April 2005. The album was released on April 27. During the summer of 2005, Nordman toured again in Sweden.
and Chris Lind wearing white jackets! In the autumn of 2007 Nordman toured in clubs around Sweden. On 24 October 2007 Nordman released a new single "Du Behöver" (You Need).
from the upcoming album "Djävul eller gud." (Devil or God) Nordman participated in Melodifestivalen with the song "I lågornas sken" (In light of the flames) Written by Lina Eriksson and Mårten Eriksson. In race number four in Karlskrona, March 1, Nordman became eligible to the second chance in Kiruna, which was held the week after. After an exciting game exclusion with Andreas and Carola
and then Suzzie Tapper Nordman goes on to the final in Globen. In the finale, Nordman was placed creditable 6th.
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....
group founded in 1993, that mixes folk music with rock and pop. This genre is called etnorock or folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
in Swedish. The group consists of Håkan Hemlin, as singer and frontman and Mats Wester, who plays the nyckelharpa
Nyckelharpa
A nyckelharpa , sometimes called a keyed fiddle, is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string.The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a...
as well as serving as the main songwriter..
The group's biggest hits were Förlist ("Shipwrecked") and Vandraren ("The Wanderer"). The group split up in 1998 because of the lead singer's drug problem, but reunited in 2004. They made a comeback in the Swedish Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...
with the song Ödet var min väg and released a comeback album called Anno 2005 in 2005.
In 2008, they competed once again in Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...
with the song I lågornas sken and finished in sixth place behind winner Charlotte Perrelli
Charlotte Perrelli
Charlotte Perrelli is a Swedish singer and occasional television host, perhaps most famous for winning the 1999 Melodifestivalen and subsequently that year's Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven."Since then she has released six singles and five albums...
.
His song "Vandraren" was covered by Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night is an English-American traditional folk rock duo led by Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night .-Early:...
on their 2010 album Autumn Sky
Autumn Sky
Autumn Sky is the eighth album by musical group Blackmore's Night and is dedicated to their daughter Autumn Esmerelda Blackmore who was born on May 27, 2010. It was released on September 3, 2010 in Europe and on January 18, 2011 in USA...
and by Ensiferum
Ensiferum
Ensiferum is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "heroic folk metal." Since their formation, Ensiferum has released four full-length albums, one EP, one compilation, three singles, and three demo albums and one unreleased album.-Musical...
on their 2009 album From Afar
From Afar
-Track listing:-Charts:-Band members:*Petri Lindroos – harsh vocals, guitars*Markus Toivonen – guitars, clean and backing vocals*Sami Hinkka – bass, clean and backing vocals*Janne Parviainen – drums*Emmi Silvennoinen – keyboards, backing vocals...
.
1991–1993
Håkan Hemlin and Mats WesterMats Wester
Mats Wester, born 1964, is a Swedish musician and plays the nyckelharpa. Together with the singer Håkan Hemlin he operates the musical group Nordman. During Nordman's long pause Mats created another group together with Py Bäckman and Elenor Ågeryd .Mats has also written a song for the group...
met in a studio in Deer Park in 1991. Håkan was there with his rock band Bye Bye to record a demo to a promo-CD. Mats had for some years been experimenting with blending folk and pop and searched for a vocalist to the project. He asked Hakan if he was interested to try some, it was him. Experiments began after a few hits came the embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
of what would become the song "Förlist" (wrecked). Gradually added another demos and autumn of 1993 it was time to check if any record company wanted to do an album with the new, completely unknown group Nordman.
1994
Sonet RecordsSonet Records
Sonet Records is a jazz record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956.Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980s. Dag Haeggqvist, the owner of Gazell Records, became an executive of the...
showed interest and signed Nordman. Then work began on the first album. In February 1994, released first single "Förlist" (wrecked). The album was released in late April of that year. Already after four weeks, the album was recorded for gold record (at that time was 50 000 copies). The second single "The Wanderer" went straight to Sommartoppen first place, and remained there all summer. During the summer, the album also crossed the border for platinum (100 000 copies). Before the year was over they had passed the 3 x platinum. Nordman toured 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....
, more or less nonstop for a year. Two singles were released from the album, "Laglöst land" (Lawless Land) and "Ännu glöder solen" (The sun still glows) The latter came first in the Swedish charts in early 1995.
1995–1996
Just one year after their debut album is played the second disc set. 22 November 1995 released the album "Ingenmansland" (No Man's Land). The pre-ordered in over 100 000 copies. which meant the platinum before the album was even released. The song "Be Mig" (Ask Me) became a hit on the radio. In the spring of 1996 went on a Nordman-sized ice rink-tour finale at CirkusCirkus (Stockholm)
Cirkus is an arena in Djurgården, Stockholm, that holds 1,650 people. It was built in 1892 and originally used as a circus , but is today mostly used for concerts and musical shows.-External links:*...
in Stockholm. The concert at Circus was filmed and broadcast by TV4, but were also given out in stores. The summer tour consisted of festival appearances around the country.
1997
In spring and summer of 1997 was spent writing new material for another album. Autumn 1997 was the album "Här och Nu" (Here and Now) set. It became clear later in the fall and was released in November of that year. Although this album was pre-ordered in over 100 000 copies. Thus, although the platinum. Promotional work was done during November–December. In January 1998, the Nordman takes a break.2004–2005
It would take seven years before Håkan and Mats meet again. Their friendship was built up and eventually led to a restart of songwriting and studio work. After the summer of 2004 Håkan and Mats seriously started picking up the work of Nordman again. Bonnier AmigoBonnier Amigo Music Group
Cosmos Music Group is an independent record company based in Stockholm, Sweden.Bonnier Amigo Music Group was formed in 2001 when record company and distributor Amigo Musik merged with record company Bonnier Music. BAMG claims to be the biggest independent record company in Scandinavia with a...
became the new record company contracted group. The first official appearance was in Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen 2005
Melodifestivalen 2005 was the selection for the 45th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 44th time that this system of picking a song had been used. Five semifinals had taken place to select the ten songs for the final, in Gothenburg, Linköping, Skellefteå, Växjö and...
2005 with the song "Ödet var min väg." (Fate was my path) New album was recorded between January and April 2005. The album was released on April 27. During the summer of 2005, Nordman toured again in Sweden.
2006–2007
Nordman has gone back into the studio to write new songs for another album. During November–December 2006, Nordman toured with Julgalan Norrland. A highly acclaimed performance, in which Hakan Hemlin among other things gave us an unexpected Motown-medley with Brolle Jr., Roger PontareRoger Pontare
Fred Roger Pontare is a Swedish musician. He currently lives in Vingåker, Södermanland County....
and Chris Lind wearing white jackets! In the autumn of 2007 Nordman toured in clubs around Sweden. On 24 October 2007 Nordman released a new single "Du Behöver" (You Need).
2008
In early January, Nordman released the radio single "Längtan" (Longing), a duet with Jessica AndersonJessica Anderson
Jessica Margaret Queale Anderson was an Australian novelist and short story writer. She won several awards and has been published in Britain and the United States.-Life:...
from the upcoming album "Djävul eller gud." (Devil or God) Nordman participated in Melodifestivalen with the song "I lågornas sken" (In light of the flames) Written by Lina Eriksson and Mårten Eriksson. In race number four in Karlskrona, March 1, Nordman became eligible to the second chance in Kiruna, which was held the week after. After an exciting game exclusion with Andreas and Carola
Carola Häggkvist
Carola Maria Häggkvist , better known as simply Carola, is a Swedish singer and occasional songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s, and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music...
and then Suzzie Tapper Nordman goes on to the final in Globen. In the finale, Nordman was placed creditable 6th.
Albums
- 1994 – Nordman
- 1995 – Ingenmansland (No Man's Land)
- 1997 – Här och nu (Here and Now)
- 2001 – Nordmans bästa – I vandrarens spår (Best of Nordman – In the Wanderer's Footprints)
- 2004 – Bästa (Best of)
- 2005 – Anno 2005
- 2008 – Pärlor (Pearls (collection))
- 2008 – Djävul eller Gud (Devil or God)
- 2010 – Korsväg (Crossroad)
Singles
- 1994 – Förlist
- 1994 – Vandraren
- 1994 – Laglöst land
- 1995 – Ännu glöder solen
- 1995 – Be mig
- 1996 – På mossen
- 1996 – Det sista du ser
- 1996 – Live-singel
- 1997 – Se dig själv
- 1998 – Hjälp mig att leva
- 2005 – Ödet var min väg
- 2005 – Allt eller ingenting
- 2007 – Livet som en värsting (Rastegar feat. Nordman)
- 2007 – Du behöver
- 2008 – I lågornas sken
- 2008 – Hon är redan här (radio single)
- 2009 – Om Gud var jag