 Erik Lunde: vocals, acoustic guitar, harp Hans-Peter Johnsen: electric and acoustic guitars Jon Erling Solheim: bass Thorgrim Stensland: drums "Groovy
rock with lots of energy and Norwegian lyrics" may
be a suitable description of Semi Norvège.
The Band's music has evident references to the late
'60s / early '70s, and varies elegantly between
hard and soft - electric and acoustic. Somtimes the
music is performed precise and right on target,
while at other times it's stretched out into long,
improvised passages which allows plenty of room for
the musicians to unfold and express themselves. The
majority of the band's music is safely based in the
rougher part of the guitar based rock'n'roll
landscape, but if you start searching, you'll find
traces of almost everything from the History of
Rock - and beyond; In the music of Semi
Norvège there are elements as diverse as
heavy metal and folksongs, and you'll find
everything from re-arranged excerpts of works by
classical composers to blues and acid rock.
THE STORY SO FAR IN
THE
BEGINNING
THERE
WAS
ELVIS
... Semi
Norvège is a Rock-band based in Tromso,
Norway. The Band was founded in 1996 as
"Storre Enn Elvis" - "Bigger Than Elvis", but today
only Erik Lunde and Hans-Peter Johnsen remain of
the original line-up (and the band has of course
also changed it's name to Semi Norvège). Jon
Erling Solheim joined in april 1997, and along with
drummer Stein Erik Eilertsen they played their
first concert in june '97. Keyboard player
Henning Oelmann was added to the line-up the
following autumn, and in may 1998 Trond Emil Hansen
became the band's new drummer. Shortly thereafter
Kebba Sosseh was added on african percussion, but
was quickly replaced by ex-Mari Boine percussionist
Pamawdo Saho. At this point in time the band's
music had changed from what had initially been
rather straight acoustic based rock/pop to
considerably more electric based rock with
influences from a variety of sources, incorporated
everything from extended psychedelic jamming to
hints of classical music and african
rhythms. With the
six man line-up of Lunde, Johnsen, Solheim,
Oelmann, Hansen and Saho the band went into the NRK
(Norwegian Broadcasting Corp.) studio in Tromso in
october 1998 to record a Demo-CD. The six tracks
featured on the disc were recorded during two
evenings, and everything but the vocals were done
live. Although the CD - simply titeled "Semi
Norvège: Demo" - never was intended to be a
regular release, over a period of a month or so
more than 250 CDs were distributed due to very
positive reception and unexpected public
demand. In march 1999 both Hansen and Saho left the band, and with the temporary help of former drummer Stein Erik Eilertsen, Semi Norvège in april/may embarked on a semi-acoustic mini-tour. The tour included concerts at schools and performances with the Tromso Dance Theatre at the Tromso Art Museum, and culliminated with no less than three shows at two different locations on may 8th, 1999.
Written about Semi Norvège's contributions on "Yellow Snow Compilation Vol.1":
-- Written about "Tout":
Following the release of "Tout" Semi Norvège played at three of the four largest rock-festivals in Northern Norway during the summer of 2000: Korgen Rock & Reunion Festival III in Korgen, PÂ Karlsoy i Troms-dagene on the Island of Karlsoy, and at Signaldalsdagan 2000: KrÊsj 2000 in Signaldalen.
In november 2000 there was once again time for changes in the band's line-up, and true to the traditions of Semi Norvège, the changes once again concerned the position as drummer. Rune Nylund left the band, and after some auditioning his replacement was found in a young gentleman by the name of Thorgrim Stensland.
A
NEW
MILLENIUM
-
A
NEW
RECORD In june
2001 the new Semi Norvège line-up made their
record-debut with the CD Single "Istid
/ Hud mot hud" ("Ice age
/ Skin to skin"). The two songs featured on the
Single were recorded and mixed over a period of
three months in the spring of 2001, and showed a
considerably more mainstream-oriented side of Sermi
Norvège than their previous releases. Once
again Arne Lund had been co-producer and engeneer,
and once again the band had made use of some
outside help, this time most notably from the lead
singer of the critically acclaimed Tromso-based
band Sister
Sinister - Solveig
Jakobsen.  SEMI NORVÈGE IN STUDIO MARCH 2001: f.l.: Jon Erling Solheim, Arne Lund (co-producer), Erik Lunde og Hans-Peter Johnsen (Photo: Thorgrim Stensland) Also written about Semi Norvège:
THE STORY CONTINUES In the Summer of 2001 Henning Oelmann was granted a one year leave from Semi Norvège. Now temprarily without keyboards, the band naturally started to move in a more guitar-dominated direction, and the more rock-oriented material was drawn into the foreground. The "new" four-piece version of Semi Norvège made their concert debut in September 2001.  SEMI NORV…GE NOV.2001: f.l.: Jon Erling Solheim, Hans-Peter Johnsen, Erik Lunde and Thorgrim Stensland (Photo: Anne Kristin Solheim) As part
of the preparations for the recording of the band's
second album, Semi Norvège made
live-recordings of four tracks in october /
november 2001. Two of these were released on a
Strictly Limited Edition Demo CD titeled "Live Demo
2001", and one of the tracks - "Stesolid Shuffle" -
was also made available for download from the
band's internet site. In january 2002 the band began the recording of their second CD. Once again Arne Lund was chosen as engeneer and co-producer, but unlike before, this time the band decided to go for a rougher sound. The recordings were done live, and overdubs were limited to an absolute minimum. Over a period of four months, five tracks were recorded. As a consequence of factors beyond the band's control - including the fact that the studio was torn down to make room for the construction of Tromsos new City Hall - further rucordings had to be postsponed in may 2002. With no studio activity, the band instead turned to live activity, and among other apperances also made a very well recieved retun to the Karlsøy festival, where they had originally played two years before.
More information about Semi
Norvège:
Please
visit Henning
Oelmanns personal homepage,
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
"The Strength of Semi
Norvège are their melodies, their
arrangements and the instrumental work of the
band-members. Musically the band draws influences
from a variety of styles which are blended together
to an expression with traces of blues and rock as
well as heavy and classical music."
