Here are the winners of this year's Spellemannprisen, the Norwegian equivilent to the Grammy:
Female Artist: Noora Noor - Soul Deep ()
Male Artist: Sivert Höyem - Moon Landing ()
Pop Group: Montée - Isle Of Now ()
Electronica: Röyksopp - Junior (/)
Rock: John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen - For Sant Til Å Være Godt ()
Metal: The Cumshots - A Life Less Necessary ()
Hip-hop: Tommy Tee - Studio Time ()
Jazz: Tord Gustavsen Ensemble - Restored, Returned ()
Open Class: Kristin Asbjørnsen - The Night Shines Like The Day (/)
Lyrics: Kjartan Kristiansen/Aslak Dørum - DumDum Boys; Tidsmaskin ()
Best Newcomer: Donkeyboy - Caught in a life (
Music Video: Donkeyboy - "Ambitions"
Hit of the Year: Donkeyboy - "Ambitions"
Spellemann of the Year: Alexander Rybak
The nominees for the 2009 Spellemannprisen (the Norwegian Grammy) have been announced:
Female Artist: Ane Brun - Live At Stockholm Concert Hall (, ) Hanne Hukkelberg - Blood From A Stone () Julie Dahle Aagård - Stompin' Feet () Noora Noor - Soul Deep ()
Male Artist: Alexander Rybak - Fairytales () Martin Hagfors - Men and flies () Sivert Höyem - Moon Landing () Sondre Lerche - Heartbeat Radio (//)
Pop Group: Datarock - Red (/) Donkeyboy - Caught In A Life () Kings Of Convenience - Declaration Of Dependence (/) Kråkesølv - Trådnøsting () Montée - Isle Of Now ()
Electronica: Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas - 2 (/) Mungolian Jetset - We Gave It All Away (/) Röyksopp - Junior (/) Vinter In Hollywood - Outbreak (/)
Rock: DumDum Boys - Tidsmaskin (/) Heroes & Zeros - Simian Vices Modern Devices (//) John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen - For Sant Til Å Være Godt () Motorpsycho - Child Of The Future () Skambankt - Hardt Regn ()
Metal: Code - Resplendent Grotesque () Immortal - All Shall Fall () The Cumshots - A Life Less Necessary () Årabrot - The Brother Seed ()
Hip-hop: Chris Lee - Love Ghost (/) Lars Vaular - D'e Glede () Tommy Tee - Studio Time ()
Jazz: Håvard Stubø Quartet - Way Up () Kim Johannesen/Svein Magnus Furu/Tore Sandbakken - Kayak () Nils-Petter Molvær - Hamada (/) Solveig Slettahjell - Tarpan Seasons (/) Tord Gustavsen Ensemble - Restored, Returned ()
Open Class: Crimetime Orchestra - Atomic Symphony () Kristin Asbjørnsen - The Night Shines Like The Day (/) Knut Reiersrud - Gitar (/) Mari Boine - Sterna Paradisea (/) When - Homage Series Vol.1: Sun Ra ()
Lyrics: Anne Grete Preus - Nesten Alene () Kjartan Kristiansen/Aslak Dørum - DumDum Boys; Tidsmaskin () Stein Torleif Bjella - Heidersmenn () Sverre Knudsen - La Det Brenne () Tønes - Sobihob ()
Best Newcomer: Alexander Rybak Donkeyboy John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen Kråkesølv Vilde Frang
I hate this. I have seen this band live twice and just can't figure out their name. To make the story short, the Montreal International Jazz festival has tons of free outdoor shows and one of the bands that has done such shows in the past is an acoustic house-jazz band that was actually very good at what they do. The combination of house music and jazz isn't such a stretch as house artist have been grabbing samples out of classic jazz albums for years. Well Nils Petter Molvaer does something very similar with some Miles Davis inspired solos backed by house and downbeat rhythms. The result is some very easy listening that would find a place in your favorite $12-martini yuppie place. Nonetheless, the music is intelligently structured and could very well help you succeed with your next schmooze operation. - Simon Thibaudeau