One of the stablemates of the early ECM sound, the Jan Garbarek Group incorporated a smooth ethereal jazz sound led by Norwegian tenor and soprano saxaphonist Jan Garbarek. Their sound also uses ambient elements which at the time of his popularity was not even an established genre. He has collaborated with some famous jazz musicians, most notably, Paul Motian, Gary Burton, Keith Jarrett and Ralph Towner.
At least two bands call themselves Mare: one was a progressive sludge band from Oakville/Burlington, Canada, the other is a black metal band from Trondheim, Norway. 1) Mare from Oakville/Burlington was a band orchestrated primarily by frontman Tyler Semrick-Palmateer, previously on vocal duty for tech-metal outfit The End. In a unique mixture of sludge, doom metal and and other textures that defy immediate genres or categorization...
Burzum is the solo project of Varg Vikernes (born Kristian Larsson Vikernes, AKA Greven Grishnackh/Count Grishnackh, currently legally named Varg Qisling Larsson Vikernes). The band was initially known as Uruk-Hai, Varg Vikernes' first band which he formed in 1988-89. He changed the name to Burzum (meaning "darkness" in Black Speech, the language of Mordor in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings) in 1991 after the disbanding of Satanel, a band he founded with Abbath of Immortal.
There are multiple artists with this name:
1) A norwegian progressive metal band.
2) An american 60's psychedelic rock band. 1)
Circus Maximus is a progressive metal band from Oslo, Norway. In 2000 long-time band mates Michael Eriksen (vocals) and brothers Mats (guitar) and Truls Haugen (drums) were joined by keyboard genius Espen Storø and Glen Cato Møllen on bass to form Circus Maximus. Initially being a cover band, they got a lot of positive feedback for their interpretations of technically challenging material like songs of Dream Theater and Symphony X.
Deaf Center are collaborators Erik Skodvin (AKA Svarte Greiner, Xhale, Solitaire Albread) and Otto Totland (AKA Supine, Nest), operating out of Norway since 2003. Old classmates, they finally decided to write music together and ended up creating the Neon City EP, soon followed by the full length album, Pale Ravine. http://www.deafcenter.net
http://myspace.com/deafcenter
Previously known as Silverspoon, having issued the 'Sink Or Swim' demo under their former name, PAGAN'S MIND came into being during mid 2000. Frontman Nils K. Rue had previously sang for Sunset Strip. Guitarist Thorstein Eugen Aaby had previously been employed by acts such as Deadline and Sunset Strip whilst drummer Stian Lindaas Kristoffersen has experience with Woodstone, King's Quest and Sunset Strip.
"Mad and magical and norwegian but also have a grasp of huge pop choons and lovely girly harmonies, and they could be twee if they weren`t so bloody WEIRD in a totally good way, like the dizzying rush of rolling down a snow-covered hill, all pristine and sparkling in the winter sun and waking up in the middle of the night as an owl flies into your room and turns into a magical boy, aching with sex and beauty and breathless, breathless JOY"
Jenny Hval (b. 1980) has in recent years made a name for herself as a writer, journalist, recording artist and sound artist both in Norway and abroad. When her third record Viscera was released in 2011, Italian Vogue described her as:
Terje Isungset is one of Europe’s most accomplished and innovative percussionists. With over two decades experience in jazz and Scandinavian music he is taking these types of music far beyond their traditional boundaries, becoming more like a cross between a sound artist and a shaman. Crafting his own instruments from Norwegian natural elements such as arctic birch, granite, slate, sheep bells and even ice, he is highly recommended to those sensible to the poetry and simplicity of sounds. "Timbres" and "colours" are central in Terje Isungsets music and compositions.