Ole Paus has been awarded the 2021 EDVARD Prize in the category "Text" for the album "So close, so close". - It is really very touching, really very nice, said Ole Paus, when he was presented with the prize on Tuesday morning.
/ 21/09/2021 / Kristian DugstadOle Paus wrote the very best lyrics of last year. That's according to the EDVARD jury, which has named Paus the winner of the Lyrics category for 2021 for the album "Så nær, så nær".
– For over 40 years, Ole Paus has distinguished himself as a lyricist, and has long since been canonized. On his latest release, So close, so close, he again awakens thoughts with his razor-sharp slant, but here there are no pale copies of previous achievements, writes the EDVARD jury in its justification for why the beloved composer and lyricist receives the EDVARD award in the "Lyrics" category.
Paus was presented with the award live on the radio program "Holm" on NRK P1+ on Tuesday morning by his close friend, colleague and partner Jon Niklas Rønning. The two will premiere the show "Division at Birth" on Latter on Wednesday, September 22.
– Now I'm very touched. I simply don't enjoy this. I won't swear, but damn, that's great. It's really very touching, really very nice. What can I say? Thank you very much, said Paus, who has been a TONO member since 1970.
You can hear the actual segment where Paus received the award here:
https://radio.nrk.no/serie/holm/sesong/202109/DMTO01018721#t=42m45s
The EDVARD Prize has been awarded annually by TONO since 1998, and is awarded in five categories to composers and lyricists who have created musical works of particularly high quality in the previous year. A highly qualified professional jury selects the winners.
– With the EDVARD Prize, we highlight some of the most beautiful music created in the previous year. The purpose is both to honor and thank individual creators, but also to raise awareness about the important work that composers, lyricists and songwriters do, says TONO's communications manager, Willy Martinsen.
"Ole Paus has made his mark as a lyricist for over 40 years, and has long since been canonized. On his latest release, So Close, So Close, he once again awakens thoughts with his razor-sharp slant, but here there are no pale copies of previous achievements. With a rusty and tactile voice that oozes a lifetime of wakeful nights, he performs his song lyrics with great weight. The lyrics are often simple, but telling: "Klaus and his life drift along the street. Klaus knows that he is at home here. And everything Klaus cares about in this world is close, close, so close. Everything is here." The music, with its elements of folk and prog rock, is produced, performed and co-composed by the members of the band Motorpsycho. It functions excellently as a messenger of Paus' poetic claw. He offers generational observations, flashbacks, painful images and a fresh perspective on both the time we came from, the time we live in, and everyday life itself. Paus can be relentlessly disillusioning, but also sorrowfully reconciling, on themes such as the past, love and politics. The lyrics enrich not only the music, but also the listener's perspective.
The jury for the EDVARD Prize 2020 has consisted of Peter Edwards (Norwegian Composers' Association), Kristin Norderval (Norwegian Composers' Association), Torgny Amdam (NOPA), Samsaya Sharma (NOPA), Sten Ove Toft (Independent), Ole Børud (Independent), Thomas Wettergren (Music Publishers) and jury chair Stine Lieng (Music Publishers).
TONO was founded in 1928 and is a non-profit cooperative owned and managed by authors (composers and lyricists) and music publishers, and which manages the economic copyrights in the music they have created on their behalf. TONO grants permission for the use of protected music, for example on radio, TV, the internet, concerts and cinemas for a fee, and transfers its financial results each year to the rights holders in music that has been played publicly. TONO has 37,000 members, but also works for several million authors and music publishers from around the world. TONO collects and simplifies the licensing of protected music and gives music creators an economic basis for creating new musical works. TONO had a turnover of kr 712,4 millions.
For more information:
Willy Martinsen, communications manager at TONO, willy.martinsen@tono.no, mobile 909 65 254.