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REVIEWS
FRIDAY FEB. 18th 2011
Jonas Alaska Ingensteds, 08:00 PM Take the top down on your ‘55 Chevy and head west to California on Route 66. The 22 year old, from nowhere Norway (Åmli), will take you to another time, of pompadours and 4-part harmonies. This gent, who resides in Liverpool and attended LIPA, will give you both laughter and tears (from songs like ‘Oktober’) with his story-telling lyrics, playful guitar riffs, and harmonica talents. His sound reflects the influences of Bob Dylan and Neil Young with Norwegian musicians, Thom Hell (guitar) and Even Ormstad (Jaga Jazzist - drums) at his side. Look for his upcoming album, out in late spring 2011. After just one listen, you will find yourself whistling right along, or having the urge to take your girl and swing her ‘round and ‘round.
Sassybeat Gamla, 09:00 PM Arriving at the fully crowded Gamla, seeing a band that showed confidence and had a great connection with the audience, gave more than value for the money. Sassybeat consists of two girls of a relatively young age joined by a drummer from Asker, outside of Oslo. They’ve already made their mark on the musical scene; impressing on Ungdommenskulturmønstring (a Norwegian artists’ competition for youth) and having a song recommended by Urørt. Recently they’ve been signed to Universal Music, are establishing a relationship with former A-ha manager
PHOTO: adrian bugge
KINEE
Thelma and Clyde
Team Me
Mono, 08:00 PM
Internasjonalen: Urørt-scenen (NRK P3),
Sentrum Scene, 09:00 PM
A singer/song-writer together with a DJ. In the 90´s we called it Trip-Hop. Has it become something else in 2011? Yes, indeed! During the first tune in Kinee’s live set,the audience can clearly hear the influence the duo has from the sadly forgotten genre of the last decade. In song no.2 it shows that the duo, combining DJ’ing and clear female vocal, has evolved. On top of the deep basslines, the DJ throws in beats from many genres. House, disco and samba beats send memories of warm summers together with some show-off scratching sessions. It could work from a boom-box on a beach party in the summer months but it’s difficult to grab the audience when performing this kind of music live. Thursday’s performance shows that Kinee still has some work to do with their live sets. The sporadic dance segments from the singer aren’t continuous enough to let the audience catch the difference between it being a live show, and a DJ playing a record.
Harald Wiik and are touted by Dagbladet as one of their 4 favourite bands to impress during by:Larm. Tonight the band played their hit single “The Bear and the Mouse” which they performed relatively well. Their last song, “Dream On” displayed an impressive vocal harmony between the two girls and the crowd really seemed to enjoy their performance, giving them a great round of well-deserved applause.
By: Kristina Dunn Photo: Helge Brekke
By: Ole Hesselberg
08:30 PM Pop music can be pretty much anything you want it to be. One thing that Thelma and Clyde know about pop music is that it can be sexy. Dead sexy. Deep bass grooves and quirky vocal lines are a huge part of their repertoire and just when you think it’s about to get a little too intense, singer Hanne Kolstø strikes a pose that doesn’t even try to hide that she’s flirting with us. All of us. And there’s more... during the half hour at Internasjonalen there were slow, beautiful electronic trip-hop gems, upbeat pure pop pleasure. All of these sounds were of course covered in the same mirrorball hoodies the entire band wore. Norway has never been dirty enough to get away with the trip-hop thing but Thelma and Clyde have got it all figured out. They aren’t promising, they’re a true treasure for anyone who likes their pop music dark and hot. If you thought their debut, White Line, was the shit, you’ve got something to look forward to. One of this year’s definitive musts.
Team Me recently released their debut EP. They have had quite a bit of success in the past year. Originally Team Me was the solo project of Marius D. Hagen. But when his project qualified for the Urørt finals last year, his solo project turned into a six-piece band for their first live gig. Often associated with acts like Sufjan Stevens, Jónsi and Animal Collective, the band thoroughly moves around the woods of indie/dream/ noisepop. A sonic excursion into ancient fairytale woods where the notes and tunes are painted in a vast range of psychedelic and mind-blowing colours. At Sentrum Scene this was the essence of the performance. Kicking it off with indiepop at it’s best: Animal Collective-esqe happy chanting that makes even the slowest person dance. The concert’s high note was without doubt the tuned down mid-part. The soft and longing melancholy of the radio hit “Fool” was totally mesmerizing - no wonder they are already confirmed to this year’s Øya Festival. By: Isabella Greffel
By: Øystein Rasmussen Photo: Anniken C. Moh
By: Øyvind Rones Photo: Fredrik Klingenberg
Photo: Kristian Sivertsen