The music duo from Norway known as
Terje Bråtveit and Einar Olsen have released their anxiously awaited
LP blues record, “Blå tonar frå Suldal” (Blue shades from
Suldal). The album contains 11 original tracks and one traditional
tune for an approximate total listening time of 45 minutes. It has
been proudly published on the MolsenHouse Music independent record
label without the support of the corporate music infrastructure.
Rolling with blues, rocking with groove, and narrating the tales of
the Norwegian people in their own native tongue, “Blå tonar frå
Suldal” is perhaps the world's first traditional Norwegian blues
album.
Blues musicians Terje Bråtveit and
Einar Olsen cite as main artistic influences artists such as ABBA,
the Beatles, the early work of Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Johnny
Cash, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Pat Metheny, Miles Davis, Stevie
Ray Vaughan, and the Rolling Stones. Their music on “Blå tonar frå
Suldal” showcases them as belonging to this caliber of artists
themselves, with performances as genuine as that of Davis and
Vaughan, and songwriting as natural and intuitive as that of the
Beatles.
Making excellent blues music is not the
only impetus behind “Blå tonar frå Suldal” by Bråtveit and
Olsen, however.
“Three years ago, a crazy thought hit
me,” writes Einar Olsen. “How to make a blues show in native
Norwegian, based on local stories – trying to make 100 years of
history interesting for common people.”
This noble and fascinating project
obviously had merit, but Olsen soon recognized it wasn't a job for
any single musician.
He writes, “I couldn't make it alone!
I needed someone with a strong voice and native skills of history and
writing – and this 'someone' had to be Terje Bråtveit from Suldal.
The collaboration of 'Blue Shades...' began. He wrote the lyrics and
I wrote the music.”
The language of their “Blue Shades
from Suldal” record is Nynorsk, also called Neo-Norwegian or New
Norwegian. It is an official written standard for the Norwegian
language, alongside Bokmål. It is believed that “Blå tonar...”
by Bråtveit and Olsen is the first blues album specifically written
in the language.
“Blå tonar frå Suldal” by Terje
Bråtveit and Einar Olsen is available online worldwide. Blues fans,
rock fans, and anyone interested in the culture and traditions of
Norway should absolutely get in early. Very early!
-S. McCauley
Lead Press Release Writer
www.MondoTunes.com
“Blå tonar frå Suldal” by
Terje Bråtveit and Einar Olsen –
Website -
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