Susanne Sundfør
Encyclopedia
Susanne Aartun Sundfør is a Norwegian
singer-songwriter
. She is the granddaughter of language researcher Kjell Aartun
. She currently resides in Oslo
.
. In 2006, she rose to national fame performing under the by:Larm
branch festival in Tromsø
, followed by high acclaim and enthusiastic critiques in Norwegian media
. She appeared with Madrugada during their spring 2006 tour as a stand-in
for Ane Brun
. In November 2006, she performed on the God Morgen Norge! Show on National TV 2
. She has also supported Marit Larsen
and Minor Majority
. Susanne Sundfør has also studied English
and Art
at the University of Bergen
.
During winter 2006-2007, Sundfør's single
"Walls" topped every Norwegian radio and iTunes
lists. Being the most anticipated and, eventually, the most acclaimed performance during by:Larm
2007, Susanne established herself in national media
, now backed by a full band
(guitar
, bass
, drums
). Her iTunes-exclusive debut single Walls was released on 29 November 2006. Eventually it was also released in CD format. Her first album was released on her birthday 19 March 2007. She is associated with record producer
and musician Geir Luedy and Your Favourite Music.
In January 2008, Sundfør covered Bob Dylan's
Masters of War
at Store Studio, NRK.
In February 2008, she was awarded Spellemannprisen
for best female performance. She spurred nationwide debate when she, upon receiving the price, stated: "I am first and foremost an artist, and secondly a woman". By this, she was referring to a chauvinist introduction of the 2008 female nominees in the context of an on-going debate whether having a gender-differentiated "artist of the year" prize was archaic or not.
In February 2008, Sundfør appeared with a track on Norwegian
Crown Princess Her Royal Highness Mette Marit's album Sorgen og Gleden (The Sorrow and the Joy). Sundfør's contribution was the Norwegian folktune/psalm "Ingen Vinner Frem til Den Evige Ro" (No One Reaches the Eternal Calm), by Lars Linderot and Gustav Jensen.
In 2010, her third album "The Brothel" was released to great acclaim in Norway, and ended up becoming the second bestselling album of the year. Dagbladet, a daily Norwegian newspaper, wrote that Sundfør was so good that other young Norwegian artists would start crying when hearing her -- both because she is several leagues above them, but also because her music is so moving and beautiful.
and classical music
, Susanne Sundfør has developed a hybrid
, combining elements of both with intimate and powerful lyrics
. She plays the guitar
and the piano
. Although new on the Norwegian
popular music scene, she is already well known and often compared to internationally acclaimed musicians like Joni Mitchell
and Carole King
. Her most prominent inspirators are Radiohead
, Jeff Buckley
, Rufus Wainwright
, Radka Toneff
, Ane Brun
, Fleetwood Mac
, Beyoncé and Thomas Dybdahl
.
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...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. She is the granddaughter of language researcher Kjell Aartun
Kjell Aartun
Kjell Aartun is a Norwegian theologian and linguist. He is considered a leading expert on Semitic languages, particularly the Ugaritic language, but is also known for several controversial theories on runic interpretation and the origin of Minoan civilization...
. She currently resides in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
.
Career
During summer 2005, she supported Tom McRaeTom McRae
Tom McRae is an English singer-songwriter.-Career:The son of two Church of England vicars, McRae sang in the church choir and as a teen experimented with his mother's guitar...
. In 2006, she rose to national fame performing under the by:Larm
By:Larm
by:Larm is a music festival and conference held annually at different locations in Norway since 1998. Since 2008 the festival has been held in Oslo....
branch festival in 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...
, followed by high acclaim and enthusiastic critiques in Norwegian media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
. She appeared with Madrugada during their spring 2006 tour as a stand-in
Stand-in
A stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting.Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of production. Lighting setup can be a slow and tedious process; during this time the actor will often be somewhere else...
for 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...
. In November 2006, she performed on the God Morgen Norge! Show on National TV 2
TV 2 (Norway)
TV 2 is the largest commercial television station in Norway. Over 30% of the time Norwegians spend watching TV is spent watching TV 2. The station has 65% of the market for TV commercials in Norway....
. She has also supported 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...
and 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...
. Susanne Sundfør has also studied English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
at the University of Bergen
University of Bergen
The University of Bergen is located in Bergen, Norway. Although founded as late as 1946, academic activity had taken place at Bergen Museum as far back as 1825. The university today serves more than 14,500 students...
.
During winter 2006-2007, Sundfør's single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Walls" topped every Norwegian radio and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
lists. Being the most anticipated and, eventually, the most acclaimed performance during by:Larm
By:Larm
by:Larm is a music festival and conference held annually at different locations in Norway since 1998. Since 2008 the festival has been held in Oslo....
2007, Susanne established herself in national media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, now backed by a full band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
(guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
). Her iTunes-exclusive debut single Walls was released on 29 November 2006. Eventually it was also released in CD format. Her first album was released on her birthday 19 March 2007. She is associated with record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and musician Geir Luedy and Your Favourite Music.
In January 2008, Sundfør covered Bob Dylan's
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
Masters of War
Masters of War
"Masters of War" is a song by Bob Dylan, written over the winter of 1962-63 and released on the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in the spring of 1963. The song's melody was adapted from the traditional "Nottamun Town"...
at Store Studio, NRK.
In February 2008, she was awarded Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen is an award presented to Norwegian musicians for their contributions.-Operation:The award was established on the initiative of International Federation of the Phonographic Industry , an organization that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide...
for best female performance. She spurred nationwide debate when she, upon receiving the price, stated: "I am first and foremost an artist, and secondly a woman". By this, she was referring to a chauvinist introduction of the 2008 female nominees in the context of an on-going debate whether having a gender-differentiated "artist of the year" prize was archaic or not.
In February 2008, Sundfør appeared with a track on 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...
Crown Princess Her Royal Highness Mette Marit's album Sorgen og Gleden (The Sorrow and the Joy). Sundfør's contribution was the Norwegian folktune/psalm "Ingen Vinner Frem til Den Evige Ro" (No One Reaches the Eternal Calm), by Lars Linderot and Gustav Jensen.
In 2010, her third album "The Brothel" was released to great acclaim in Norway, and ended up becoming the second bestselling album of the year. Dagbladet, a daily Norwegian newspaper, wrote that Sundfør was so good that other young Norwegian artists would start crying when hearing her -- both because she is several leagues above them, but also because her music is so moving and beautiful.
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOR VG-lista VG-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... |
SWE | ||
| 2007 | Susanne Sundfør Susanne Sundfør Susanne Aartun Sundfør is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. She is the granddaughter of language researcher Kjell Aartun. She currently resides in Oslo.-Career:During summer 2005, she supported Tom McRae... |
3 | — |
| 2008 | Take One Take One Take One: Film & Television in Canada Although it shares the name with the original Take One, Take One: Film and Television in Canada was a separate publication with no connection to its predecessor. And unlike the original, its focus was entirely Canadian... |
32 | — |
| 2010 | The Brothel | 1 | — |
| 2011 | A Night At Salle Playel | — | — |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR VG-lista VG-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... |
SWE | DEN Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
|||
| 2007 | "Walls" | 3 | — | — | Susanne Sundfør |
| 2010 | "The Brothel" | 2 | — | — | The Brothel |
| "It's All Gone Tomorrow" | — | — | — | ||
| 2011 | "Turkish Delight" | — | — | — | |
Music
Mastering both 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 classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, Susanne Sundfør has developed a hybrid
Cross-genre
A cross-genre is a genre in fiction that blends themes and elements from two or more different genres.-Examples:*Action comedy *Comedy-drama or dramedy *Comedy-horror...
, combining elements of both with intimate and powerful lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
. She plays the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. Although new on the 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...
popular music scene, she is already well known and often compared to internationally acclaimed musicians like Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
and Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
. Her most prominent inspirators are Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
, Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
, Radka Toneff
Radka Toneff
Ellen Radka Toneff was a Norwegian jazz singer. She is still considered one of Norway's most outstanding jazz singers....
, 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...
, Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
, Beyoncé and 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...
.