Marion Raven or Cheryl Cole?

Norwegian X-factor is back on! The judges for the 2010 edition include Norwegian pop singer Marion Raven, who was moved to tears by one of the contestants during the first episode. Norwegian newspapers are now referring to Raven as the  new Cheryl Cole of X-factor.


However, while some critics award Raven for her performance as a judge on X-factor, are others left less impressed. Journalist Thomas Talseth recently stated that her new single is a total disaster, and gave it a total 1 of 6 rating.

The single will be released on Norwegian iTunes on Monday. More release dates to come. Check out Marion Ravens myspace for more information.

Numusic Live at Linzfest

The city of Linz, Austria, is the European Capital of Culture 2009. Norwegian artists QRT, King Knut and Numusics Dj Martn Reed (Numusic Soundsystem) will be representing the Norwegian city Stavanger in a very special showcase, presenting unique electronic music from the region. The event, called LinzFest, features more than 200 different projects.

Photo: http://www.myspace.com/qrtb

Stavanger-artist QRT is well known for his hard instrumental hip-hop beats and hard banging electro. He has released two albums, and is currently working on his third release.

King Knut is a producer, musician and DJ, working with a great variety of different genres. His sound is new and fresh, mixing frenetic hip-hop, analog synthesizers and old school electro.

DJ Martyn Reed, director of the Norwegian Numusic festival in Stavanger, is also coming along for the ride. He is know for his weird mix of beats from Detroit, Electro and Punk Funk.

Jeg har forresten presentert bloggen min på Bloggurat.

Live: Casa Murilio and Bård Watn

Last Friday, the Oslo-based band of Casa Murilo had their first official performance. The concert took place at Habibi Cafè in Oslo. A fair amount of people had showed up at the venue for an evening that proved to be very entertaining. Along for the ride the band brought solo-artist Bård Watn, who impressed both audience and headliners with his vocal looping and strong voice.

                                                  Bård Watn. Photo: Thea S. Melberg

Bård Watn combines great songwriting skills with stunning musical creativity. I definitely believe that he is an artist whos contributions will be greatly appreciated in the local music scene. Casa Murilo on the other hand, proved themselves as true entertainers. Their energy and commitment is highly contagious, and the audience seemed to love their down-to-earth approach to entertaining. Some of their songs were familiar material to the audience, so obviously they have a small crowd of dedicated fans already.

Casa Murilo. Photo: Thea S. Melberg

Apparently the band, fronted by songwriters Chris Winfield and Dan Hesketh was formed while the two of them was living and working in Salvador, Brazil. They state that “during their years in Latin America, the two had the good fortune to see, hear and know first hand the kindness, danger, artistry and disorder that are all part of Salvador”. Their experiences in Brazil changed their lives in many ways, and sent them on a journey, leading them to Oslo, Norway.

                                                     Casa Murilo. Photo: Thea S. Melberg

Curious about Casa Murilo and Bård Watn? Make sure you visit theit myspace pages and give them a good listen.
http://www.myspace.com/casamurilo
http://www.myspace.com/isakwatn

A-team of pop music

Norwegian 80-heroes A-ha, is back in the spotlight. The first single from their upcoming album is called “Foot of the mountain”. The album won’t be out until June 2009, but in the meantime you can enjoy the single, which Norwegian tabloid newspapers more or less describe as “epic pop for people in their 40s”. If you haven’t heard the song yet, but find the tune familiar when you do, it’s no big surprise. The band has simply recycled parts of the song «The Longest Night» - from bandmember Magne Furuholmens soloalbum «A Dot of Black In The Blue Of Your Bliss». - It’s no biggie, says A-ha. -It happens all the time in the pop music industry.

Norwegian pop-rock comet at Jay Leno

Dagbladet reports that “Fortress around my heart”, the debut album from the Norwegian rocker Ida Maria, was released in the US today. The rumor says that things are going pretty well for Ida Maria “over there”. Music critics seem to like what they hear, and next Friday (24th), TV-viewers across the nation will get to know Ida Maria even better as she is scheduled to appear at Jay Leno.

Her management and label is excited, and with good reason: Her performance at the talkshow may reach out to as much as 5 million viewers. Let’s hope she’ll put on a good show, without breaking any valuables.

Visit Ida Maria: www.idamaria.co.uk

Oslo goes heavy

If you like your music heavy, Øya in Oslo might be the right festival for you this summer. Several heavy bands have already been confirmed to play at the festival, such as the Norwegian metal band Enslaved, and the noise rockers from Årabrot.

Enslaved is one of those band who seems to have been around forever, and they’ve had huge international success with their experimental progressive metal through the last 18 years. In Norway they have been rewarded with several prizes (Alarmprisen and Spellemannsprisen). If you’re visiting Øya this summer, be sure not to miss out on these metal-legends!

Årebrot is an up-and-coming hard hitting rock band from the western part of Norway. Their music may be characterized as an unique mix of noisy rock and extreme metal. If you don’t mind a solid beating to the brain, check out Årebrot!

Visit Øya: Øyafestivalen

5 reasons to fall in love with Swedish music

Are you looking to fall in love this spring? Well, look no further. I have gathered videos from five great Swedish artists who will make your heart skip a beat.