EDVARD Prize to OnklP

(Oslo, August 23, 2015) OnklP (Pål Tøien) is the winner of the prestigious EDVARD Prize 2015 in the category Lyricist of the Year for his text for "Styggen på ryggen".

Last year's winner of the lyricist category, Stein Torleif Bjella, presented the award to OnklP on behalf of TONO's EDVARD award jury at a free concert in Oslo tonight.

– It is, to put it mildly, a given to have received the Edvard Prize from TONO for Styggen på skort, says OnklP.

The EDVARD Prize is an award that has been presented by Norwegian composers, lyricists and music publishers through the organization TONO since 1998. The winner receives a trophy designed by Bruno Oldani (Edvard Grieg's profile carved in the stone Larvikitt), a diploma, and kr 50,000,-. The OnklP prize is the first to be awarded this year, and four more EDVARD prizes will be awarded throughout the autumn, as well as TONO's Mediator Prize.

The jury's reasoning:
“Pål Tøien, under his stage name OnklP, has long since become an established word artist in the Norwegian rap scene. Tøien has experienced great success with several of his albums and songs, and is well known through his many collaborations with other artists. 

 However, it is rare to experience the average listener openly embracing Norwegian rap lyrics in beautiful association with mayors, public health nurses and psychologists.

In 2014, we witnessed how "The Ugly on the Back" struck a nerve with the public with its brutal honesty and raw description of the innermost, taboo darkness. The text puts into words in a rare open way that is both deeply personal, yet universally valid – while remaining true to the genre and spiced with timely, humorous images. In a society where mental health problems among young people and adults are a growing problem, Tøien tells in simple but intricate terms how we can be our own worst enemy. Perhaps even more importantly, he provides a personification of anxiety, "nerves and drama."  

With OnklP, it got a cool name. And even though it's dark and lonely: There's something extraordinarily liberating and harmless when all of Norway – young and old – agrees that Styggen på røggen has become one of our closest friends.”

The EDVARD Prize
The EDVARD Prize, named after Edvard Grieg, is a prize that TONO has awarded annually since 1998, and which is awarded to authors and composers who have created musical works and lyrics of high artistic quality. With the prize, TONO wants to increase attention to Norwegian composers and lyricists, and to increase Norwegians' understanding of and knowledge of newly written Norwegian music. The winner's music or lyrics must have been premiered or published in the previous year. Emphasis is also placed on the author's other production.

The 2014 EDVARD jury consisted of composers Nils Henrik Asheim (jury chairman), Arvid Wam Solvang, Marte Heggelund, Rita Engedalen, Terese Birkeland Ulvo, and music publisher Jan Stefan Bengtsson.

Media inquiries:
Janne Sievers, communications advisor at TONO, mobile 95760286, email: janne.sievers@tono.no
Willy Martinsen, Communications Manager at TONO, mobile 909 65,254, email: willy.martinsen@tono.no

About TONO:
TONO is a non-profit cooperative, founded in 1928, owned and managed by its members: composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers. TONO manages performance rights for musical works in Norway, and collects remuneration for their public performance. TONO currently represents approximately 26,000 Norwegian composers, lyricists and music publishers. Through mutual representation agreements with similar companies in other countries, TONO practically manages the entire world repertoire. As a non-profit organization, TONO's results are transferred to the rights holders in performed works. TONO thus facilitates the use of music in society, while at the same time providing TONO's members with a basis for constantly creating new musical works.