Winners:

Aurora Aksnes, Matias Tellez, Fredrik Svabø, Vetle Junker Vik and Magnus Åserud Skylstad

The jury's reasoning:

With her fourth studio album, Aurora Aksnes once again confirms why she is one of Norway's greatest export successes in popular music. Aksnes has a special ability to combine captivating melodies with an adventurous and distinctive ability to communicate, which makes her a unique voice on both the Norwegian and international pop scene. On "What Happened To The Heart?" she demonstrates an impressive breadth in her songwriting - she masters both the intimate and the naked, the playful and eccentric, as well as the powerful and the magnificent. The album's sixteen songs are woven together by a consistent lyrical theme about humanity's lost connection to the spiritual, and to each other, in a modern era. The result is an emotionally charged musical journey, and her most personal work to date. She moves effortlessly between different musical expressions and styles, but at the same time manages to gather everything into a solid and well-thought-out work, carried by a clear artistic vision.

The jury's reasoning:

Tine Surel Lange's compositional project is about the relationship between man and nature. "A forest of sound" represents the forest and plays on the way trees communicate through their roots, here with the cello as the centerpiece representing mother earth. The work takes its time and grows slowly; it is a world you want to be in. The music unfolds in a flora of strings that stretch in flux.

The work has a unique ability to move in the sound of the strings and exploits this to the fullest. "A forest of sound" is made for five strings and an electro-acoustic track and is in three parts with a rhythmic start, an elongated middle part and with the main emphasis towards the end where overtones characterize the soundscape. The score is not notated traditionally, but uses elements of graphic notation, which contributes to a separate sound world and creates a unique soundscape. Tine Surel Lange manages to create a reflective and completely unique expression with this.

She won the Norwegian Composers' Association's Work of the Year award in 2023 with the work "Two Sides of the River" and by winning the Edvard Prize now, Tine Surel Lange confirms that she is a voice to be reckoned with.

Winners:

Une Lorentze Onarheim, Lucia Andreadatter Utnem and Dagny Braanen Lindgren

The jury's reasoning:

ULD, consisting of Une Lorentze Onarheim on vocals, Lucia Andreadatter Utnem on piano and Dagny Braanen Lindgren on accordion, has during its first year as a trio completed a musical journey that has fascinated both audiences and critics. The unusual instrumental lineup gives the band a completely unique expression that cannot be easily categorized within traditional genres. The trio's experimental approach to improvised music, combined with inspiration from folk, indie, jazz, folk and traditional music, creates a sound that is both intriguing and recognizable.
Their ability to weave together these different musical threads shows a musical maturity that is remarkable for such a young band. Particularly impressive is ULD's dedication to the lyrical work. Through honest and thoughtful lyrics, complimented by well-crafted musical arrangements, they create a whole that touches deeply. The band's respect for Norwegian poetry shows both cultural awareness and artistic ambition. With the release of "fra en andren verkylket" in 2024, ULD demonstrated their potential as one of the most exciting new voices in Norwegian music. With the unique blend of tradition and renewal, ULD is poised to make a lasting impression on the Norwegian music scene for years to come.

The jury's reasoning:

With the album "Rájás" Kajsa Balto writes with power and passion one of the darkest chapters in Norwegian history. Just a few generations ago, the Sami language and culture were about to be erased, and Sami children were sent to boarding schools far from home. One of these was Balto's father. In her poetic texts, Balto processes her own, her father's, the Sami's, and also the entire country's grief over this dark history.

The titles themselves alone stand as clear descriptions of everything the Sámi people have been through. Jeđđeluohti or Trøstejoik is a beautiful personification of comfort, which returns through every season, to warm your heart, calm your breath, cover your wounds and wake you up from sleep. Kajsa Balto's lyrics depict great emotions such as anger and sorrow with a concrete and natural language, where comparisons are often used. As in the text Ráfáiduvvat, Å falle til ro, where a leaf's journey down the river, where it must give way to the current, is transferred to how the I-person acknowledges and accepts, and finally falls asleep. Kajsa Balto gives a voice to the generations that could not express themselves and has brought out the power they have handed down to those who came after.

Winners:

Johanna Holt Kleive, Victoria Røising and Nikoline Spjelkavik

The jury's reasoning:

Witch Club Satan has turned several conventions upside down since their first performance at the Northern Norway Festival in 2022. The black metal trio, consisting of Johanna Holt Kleive, Victoria Røising and Nikoline Spjelkavik, has in a short time managed to breathe new life into their genre, and created a furor and debate both nationally and internationally. In 2024, we finally got the opportunity to hear Witch Club Satan on record, when the band released their self-titled debut album on Women's Day on March 8. The trio has received a lot of attention for their spectacular and groundbreaking concerts, but the music also makes an indelible impression on its own. The listener is encapsulated in a cool and barren musical landscape filled with sharp guitars, brutal drums and intense vocals that go straight to the spine. Song titles like "Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy", "I Was Made by Fire" and "Black Metal Is War" testify to a band that manages its musical heritage with sensitivity, while also pointing a blunt and disrespectful middle finger at the established.

The jury's reasoning:

The Anne Grete Preus Award 2025 goes to one of the clearest voices in the country, both on and off stage. With a rich and varied career behind her, Susanne Sundfør has distinguished herself as both an artist, musician, composer, lyricist and producer on her own and others' albums.

Her work has a rare combination of strength and tenderness, which encompasses both the powerful and orchestral and the intimate and vulnerable. Sundfør has solid craftsmanship in all her roles and masters strong melodies with innovative chord progressions and soundscapes.

Her conceptual approach follows the development from album to album, with clear messages that challenge and engage the listener. Since her debut in 2007, originality and uncompromisingness have been a common thread in her artistry. She has continuously pushed boundaries and contributed to lasting change in Norwegian music, including through her commitment to equality and artistic freedom.

Sundfør is a guiding star for an entire generation of artists and has shown how pop music can be art.

Susanne Sundfør said this when she received the award:

I am incredibly grateful for the award, and recognize how important it is to highlight female musicians, even though equality has come a long way and the public conversation is starting to tire of gender debate.

It is still difficult for many women to get booked at festivals, and it can be challenging to find your own voice in a male-dominated production and songwriting industry. In addition, we are drowning in superficiality and sky-high expectations of appearance, and a pornification and objectification of women in the media, especially for the younger generation.

Even though this award is for me, I want to dedicate it to all the new, young women who want to write, compose, produce, sing and be creative musicians, and who are afraid that they have to be something they don't feel like they are. Something that feels wrong or borderline. You don't need that. There is room for the quirky, weird, imperfect, beautiful you, you are actually needed. Thank you so much

The jury's reasoning:

Erik Hillestad, founder and leader of Kirkelig Kulturverksted (KKV) from 1974 to 2024, has been a central figure in Norwegian music life for half a century. He is behind the release of over 500 records, has disseminated Norwegian music far beyond Norway's borders, and at the same time has given a voice to artists from oppressed ethnic groups.

Hillestad and KKV took a clear political stance with the release of Lullabies from the Axis of Evil 20 years ago – a direct reaction to George Bush's rhetoric about the Middle East as the "axis of evil".

Through his work, Hillestad and KKV have not only disseminated Norwegian music, but also highlighted the oppressed, marginalized, and conflict refugees. He has built bridges between cultures, and promoted art, culture, and human dignity in a time when political systems create fertile ground for xenophobia and hatred.

In a time of turmoil, Hillestad has stood as an ethical and moral compass for Norwegian music life. For 50 years, he has shown the power of the musical world language – and it is therefore particularly deserving that he be awarded the TONO Mediator Award 2025.

The jury's reasoning:

In about a year, Undergrunn went from being an Oslo phenomenon to becoming one of Norway's most popular groups. Marstein, Fretex, Plaza, Loverboy, Rikpappa and Pus delivered the album Egoland in 2023 with raw energy and club-friendly hooks. Egoland shows a group in constant evolution with compositional depth and thought-provoking songs that provide insight into reflections on success and identity. The album has set a new standard for Norwegian pop music and will stand as an important chapter in the group's musical journey.

The jury's reasoning:

Kristine Tjøgersen has a fantastic ability to utilize the orchestral apparatus to create new sounds and exciting expressions. With her masterful grasp of orchestration and her understanding of the unique characteristics of the various instruments, she creates a new and immersive soundscape that truly takes us out onto the open sea. The work has an extensive and well-crafted form. Fantastic cascades that propagate through the orchestra help the audience join the journey through the billowing and roaring sea. It is innovative and original, and shows that there are still unexplored ways to use the orchestra.

The jury's reasoning:

In Brigde, Hardanger fiddle player and composer Anne Hytta gathers threads from her musical contemporaries and weaves them together into breathtaking soundscapes. The strings of the Telemark Chamber Orchestra, expanded for the occasion with Amund Sjølie Sveen's vibraphone and glass tones, form a perfect playing partner for Anne Hytta's Hardanger fiddle. The half-hour-long work appears well-composed and holistic, and although it undoubtedly has its roots in folk music, Brigde is first and foremost an unsurpassedly beautiful and deeply personal journey through a diverse soundscape. This music cannot be captured in a specific box and is therefore a natural winner of the EDVARD Prize 2024 in the Open Class category.

The jury's reasoning:

Frida Ånnevik has for many years distinguished herself with a strong pen and a good flair for writing about big and small things in a down-to-earth way. With "Dance and Laugh" she depicts the contrasts that tear at us humans in a subtle way. "I am what I dreamed of, and what will never come to be. I am a dance floor and a trench" is an example of how she plays with expressions you rarely hear in the same sentence. But with Ånnevik's way of putting these together, it comes across both naturally and not least tastefully. The lyrics let the listener understand that things don't have to be either or. You can want to dance and laugh, and you can be both scared and light. That in itself is perhaps a reminder we all need from time to time.

The jury's reasoning:

Hans Hulbækmo is perhaps primarily (recognized) as a drummer and percussionist, but on "Tilfeldig Næpe" we have been invited into his expanded compositional universe. On the album we experience a playfulness that is difficult to compare to anything else. It simmers and crackles, fiddles and fumbles. And in the absence of innovative fresh product concepts: pings and plongs. Whether it primarily challenges or simply fascinates we are unsure, but Hans Hulbækmo has masterfully led us into temptation. As soon as you press the play button it feels as if you are transported and suddenly sitting at home in Hans Hulbækmo's mountain cabin. With coffee, pretzels, wool socks and a fireplace. Coincidentally? Turnip.

Fay Wildhagen said this when she received the award:

Life should have a golden frame, it is so unlikely, so unusual and so solemn.

It starts, ends and doesn't come back.
That's the only thing we can be sure of.

There is a golden frame around the time we have and our task is to paint as good a picture as possible for the "big exhibition".

It's easy to start with a different motive than what life gives us, which quickly becomes only half-good.

Anne Grete told me this a few years ago.

For both of us, it was about writing truthfully, staying true to our motives, and challenging what popular music could be.

It's not always easy and can feel both tedious and lonely, so to receive recognition from someone I held in such high regard, both as an artist and a person, is huge and deeply moving.

I am honored and grateful.
Thank you very much, Anne Grete!

The jury's reasoning:

It is time to strike a blow for what is happening in Gáivuotna, or Kåfjord municipality in Nord-Troms.

When it was first established in 1991, few would have thought that this place would become a powerhouse for the promotion and dissemination of indigenous musical traditions in general and Sami music in particular. It has become so, thanks to the now 33-year-old Riddu Riđđu festival.

Riddu Riđđu began as a party, visibility, liberation and celebration of Sea Sami culture in the early 90s. With stoic and hardworking calm, the festival has built up, and today it attracts approximately 7000 guests annually from near and far.

Riddu Riđđu has distinguished itself as an international spearhead within its segment, which is why the jury is pleased and proud to nominate the festival as the recipient of TONO's Mediator Award 2024.

The jury's reasoning:

Musica liquida is the first sonic documentation of Ingar Zach's artistic research project "The Vibrating Drum". Through his innovative approach to drums, Zach seeks to explore the potential of the instruments and develop a new musical practice for percussionists. Vibrating microphones in contact with the drumhead capture the sound at close range when the skins are set in motion. The recording location – the Edvard Vigeland Mausoleum with its almost apocalyptic reverberation – together with Zach's compositional skill, has resulted in a recording that offers a breathtaking, fascinating sound world. Zach builds the compositions in long waves that are layered, repeated, and replace each other. Only in exceptional cases do we hear a sound that reminds us that these are instruments we have heard before, but played in a more conventional way. Zach succeeds in creating a holistic and original musical world where the individual movements have a clear compositional form and no elements are superfluous. Musica liquida is therefore a worthy winner of the 2023 Edvard Prize in the Contemporary category.

The jury's reasoning:

Anja Lauvdal's album consists of a playful composition that brings out the magic in the seemingly simple, grey everyday life. We can see the steam rising from the kettle and almost hear the water boiling and bubbling up where the lid has moved in the work "Tehanu". This is how she moves us with her play of steaming sounds. It is perhaps the symphony of an imaginary everyday kitchen that leads us straight into the deep forest in "The Dreamer". Here there are birds and sunbeams through thick leafy branches, but also shadows that follow us and want to tell those who really listen about what is coming. Lauvdal dances with our senses and breathes us in and out like warm steam in the cold air. From a Story Now Lost is a reminder of our seamlessness in encountering nature, and perhaps also a recognition of our species' amnesia.

The jury's reasoning:

The lyricists of these works, which are compiled in Ævestaden and Benedikt's publication Jag är sen igen, touch us in a completely unique way. They are written in different languages, where we are served a mix of Norwegian dialects and Swedish. The themes are existential, but beautifully wrapped in everyday realism that makes the whole thing a beautiful and strong linguistic melting pot. We congratulate Levina Storåkern, Hans Olav Settem, Emilie Catrin Korsvold, Marit Othilie Thorvik and Eir Vatn Strøm on the prize for the text of the year.

The jury's reasoning:

Twelve years after their debut, Honningbarna once again defends their position as the reigning rulers of Norwegian-language punk. With the critically acclaimed album Animorphs, the band has captivated critics and audiences at the country's biggest stages, and proven themselves as a unique communicator of innovative, unpredictable punk. On Animorphs, the band demonstrates that they have mastered the art of reinventing themselves time and time again, while at the same time maintaining their uncompromising identity. Together with producer Erlend Mokkelbost, Honningbarna has delivered twelve works that surprise, impress, and explore existential as well as everyday questions and the emotions that follow. The band's honest lyrics hit a broad chord without being condescending, and the arrangements, melodies and productions offer new discoveries with every listen.

A united Norwegian press cheered the album to the skies with praise as “one of the best punk albums in Norway ever” (Klassekampen) resulting in “a masterpiece” (NRK). A unanimous EDVARD jury bows in the dust, hailing Honningbarna as winners of the Pop of the Year category.

The jury's reasoning:

This year's challenger shows us what music is at its core — something that doesn't necessarily have to be understood to touch and do something with us. It is an artist collective consisting of professional and experimental musicians with different numbers of chromosomes. They make music in a way we don't learn about in school. Together they create strong experiences for the audience and change our understanding of music and quality. They have left their mark inside and outside Norway's borders and we hope they will continue to do so for a long time to come. Thank you for doing what you do and congratulations to DNA?AND? with the EDVARD award for Challenger of the Year!

The jury's reasoning:

Rune Kristoffersen established Rune Grammofon in 1998, and since its inception, the record label has been synonymous with quality. Kristoffersen has chosen the narrow path by prioritizing various experimental expressions with limited commercial potential, but Rune Grammofon has, during its 25 years, helped spread Norwegian music far beyond genre and country borders. Many Norwegian artists today benefit from the attention and reputation that Rune Grammofon and other players have created for Norwegian experimental music abroad.

The jury's reasoning:

With the release Heart ego Sunniva Lindgård, known by the stage name Sassy 009, and producer Andrew Murray take us on a journey through a dreamy and updated electro landscape. An analog and slightly overdriven atmosphere is balanced with sharp details and surprises such as a guitar solo à la Van Halen. The release grows larger and more complex with each listen. Each song has its own mood and presence. The distinct production, often with raw bass lines, suits Lindgård's voice. The vocals are airy, but still clear. The songs testify to deep longing and searching - often for a love object. Heart ego is a unique, forward-thinking and genuinely cool pop odyssey, a rare commodity in Norway.

Photo: Jacqueline_Landvik // Amin Musa

The jury's reasoning:

With the works on the release Sture Dagsland, Sjur Dagsland and Sturle Dagsland have together created something as rare as a unique world beyond the one we normally live in. The vision seems strong and uncompromising. This album is neither an exercise in genre nor a schoolboy genre transgression, – no – this is the lost adopted child of Björk on LSD, it is Aurora on nightmares and abstracted Korn. This is gnarled folk music with stadium rock potential and a seventh father in the house on the horn on the wall. This is the anger of a thousand young people in a singer's vocal cords and it is beautiful, scary, big and aggressive! But then suddenly also cold, delicate, painful, close. It sounds timeless, but modern. And all the way the listener encounters a wild, heartfelt and honest voice that seeks the breadth of human experience through the extremes. The truth lies in the marginal zone.

Photo: Tim Harris

The jury's reasoning:

On Skarbø Skulekorps' latest release, Dugnad, the musicians have recorded their contributions on different sides of the country. The brains behind it are composer and producer Øyvind Skarbø. The result is a multifaceted mixtape full of musical whims and expressions. On the one hand, it is seemingly random and restless, with moments of surprise and recognition that replace each other. On the other, it is all masterfully united through Øyvind Skarbø's impressive creative and compositional flair. The music charms and moves with its playfulness and its references. It moves between contemporary music, jazz, old TV games, funk and May 17th, among other things. This release is liberatingly impossible to put into a box, and is a worthy winner of this year's Edvard in the Open Class.

The jury's reasoning:

Shrinking globe is a very successful album that fills contemporary musical buzzwords such as "playful" and "genre-transcending" with content. Træen's sound world has clear references to the early days of electronic music, and Urheim's string instruments are taken from musical cultures all over the world, but in strong compositions, where recordings of animals and people also sound. These sound worlds are illuminated in new ways and the result appears as something completely new and unique. It's fun, it's beautiful and it's thought-provoking.

The jury's reasoning:

The lyrics on Thilda Bøe's legacy range widely. They can be angry, hurtful, caring and not least funny, both about each other and at the same time. The songs are lifted by sharp and original observations about what it means to be what one might call "in the middle of life, in the middle of the country". The lyrics to the work Treskærjenjing convey both heartwarming and sadness, with lines like: "He has started collecting beers/lined up bottles and cans on a damn long shelf/Now people have to come down and watch/Life is in a good phase". Spleselag/Waldorf salad carries a great irritation about something as strange as Waldorf salad at bring-a-dish gatherings. Thus, we are suddenly in the midst of clammy relationships and small-town claustrophobia. Lyricist Frank Tønnesen, known as Tønes, is a master at taking the everyday, close and recognizable as a starting point, and through this, bringing out something deeper and greater in people's lives.

The jury's reasoning:

After 30 years as a music journalist at NRK, Bodil Maroni Jensen made a brave and risky decision. She ventured out as a freelance music journalist, specializing in classical music, new music and music drama. The risk paid off, and we are all richer as a result of the choice. Jensen has the freedom to choose who and what she gives column space to. Her articles, reviews and podcasts are in-depth, nuanced studies of the people and topics she investigates. Most of them would not have received coverage otherwise. In a time when there is little or no coverage of classical music in the daily press, Bodil Maroni Jensen's work is a lifeline.

The jury's reasoning:

Agnes Ida Pettersen's works To be in life is a setting of a poem by poet Halldis Moren Vesaas (1907–1995). The text is a tribute to mother and an embrace of life and the presence, space and security it offers. This is reflected by Pettersen, who sets the text to music in its full depth. The many layers of meaning are conveyed in the music with a rich palette of means. The work's expressive contrasts and diverse associations embrace everything from folk tunes to the Baroque, with an exploratory and shining sonorous surface. There is a great breadth of inspiration and a range of technical details in the work, all seamlessly joined into a musical whole. The work radiates both security and playfulness. The tonal complexity is experienced easily and enrichingly at the same time.

The jury's reasoning:

Stephan Meidell and Øyvind Hegg-Lunde have a rich reference palette and a colorful and distinctive creativity. The jury was moved by the album's complete vision and atmosphere, where the listener is invited into a holistic work of art in just under 40 minutes. The works have an introspective seriousness in them, but are also experienced as generous and approachable. The title of the album, Voice & Strings & Timpani, says something about the content, but the album is so much more than the sum of these elements. With quirky rhythms, delicate flutes and captivating vocals, it nods towards electronica, hip-hop and contemporary. It is as if the listener is lured on a journey into an existential misty landscape, where the nine tracks lead the way and hold our hand.

Øyvind Hegg-Lunde and Stephan Meidell won the 2021 EDVARD Prize in the Open Class. © Kristian Dugstad/TONO

Brothers Mugisho and Willy Nhonzi have included the song Marginal demonstrated an impressive ability to transform personal, painful experiences into powerful, relevant and universally valid storytelling. Marginal is an important artistic contribution to the public conversation that followed Black Lives Matter. It is a strong political work and a great artistic achievement. One almost has to be numb not to be moved when the work's title is proclaimed as a battle cry in the chorus. A strong music video has created an extra dimension in the communication of the song. Together with director Kristoffer Nylund Grindheim and video producer Andreas Trøften Lie, Mugisho and Willy have combined text, music and moving images that fearlessly and effectively address a major problem in the world and Norway. Marginal hits hard, straight from the inside, challenging us to stop, wake up, feel and sense our breath. The direct, emotional and vulnerable become part of the achievement of this powerful salve.

Photos: © Kristian Dugstad / TONO

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 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 considerations, 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 topics such as the past, love and politics. The lyrics enrich not only the music, but also the listener's perspective.

Photos: © Kristian Dugstad/TONO

The jury's reasoning:
Iselin Børve Toft, Njål Paulsberg and Mathilde Saunes-Skarsgaard

With clear moods, the songwriters in the band Evigheten paint an alternative picture of what pop music can be. With the EP Heten, Toft, Saunes-Skarsgaard and Paulsberg present four melodic works, filled with unexpected harmonic twists. The sparse and uncluttered instrumentation creates space for a strong listening experience. Thoughts go to the synth escapades of the 70s and mystical folk pop, and the music often has a baroque feel. Warm analog arpeggios and punchy drums build under crystal clear vocals. This is effective and powerful pop music. At the same time, there is something more, something different and unique that makes itself felt outside of our zeitgeist.

Photos: © Kristian Dugstad/TONO

Marius Solberg has dedicated his entire life to a genre that has historically been crucial for many underground communities and their members. With YLTV, Solberg has elevated, challenged and enriched the hip-hop and rap scene for a number of years. Through high-quality multimedia journalism and dedication to established, as well as new, talents, Solberg has created attention for the genre in an impressive way. YLTV exudes the joy of communicating and takes the pulse of the streets, 24/7, all year round. In this way, Solberg contributes to challenging the popular field with new voices and perspectives that otherwise rarely get into the spotlight of mainstream society.

Regina Tucker, known as Myra, is a lyricist of overwhelming breadth. She exudes hip-hop's fearless self-assurance while also managing to be uniquely vulnerable. The lyrics "Homeless in My Own City" fall into the latter category. Tucker puts into words thoughts and feelings that are both deeply personal and relatable. The lyrics provide an intimate insight into personal outsideness without the listener feeling like an intruder. In 2020, it is precisely this courage that we need more of: Lyrics that neither marginalize nor stigmatize, but that even when written in the dark have the heartfelt ability to enlighten us.

Photo: Kristian Dugstad / TONO

Hanne Hukkelberg is an uncompromising artist who is always true to herself. This has resulted in a career full of varied and genre-crossing music. Her sixth album "Birthmark" is seething with almost uncontrollable creativity, which nevertheless feels like it has a crystal-clear direction and coherence. This is a solid collection of compositions that clearly bear the mark of Hukkelberg's strong artistic vision - as a composer, lyricist, performer and producer. The listener is invited into an eccentric soundscape constructed from electronic and acoustic instruments, flanked by everyday sounds such as the ping of the microwave and the clink of glass. It is impossible not to be drawn into the playful and airy universe. Hanne Hukkelberg pushes the boundaries of pop music and hits the listener with both lightness and heaviness.

Photo: Kristian Dugstad / TONO

“In the Cage” is part of Therese Birkelund Ulvo’s speaker work “13 Ways to Tame a Beast.” The work is an installation and is performed in the form of six sound stations, or “worlds within the universe,” as Ulvo describes it herself.

The movement, the station, the work or the world “In the Cage” is a nuanced, slowly building tone poem, which explores the orchestra’s sonic potential in time and space. Ulvo has literally torn apart the orchestral ensemble and has created a 32-channel sound installation with “13 Ways to Tame a Beast”. In “In the Cage” she carefully rebuilds the orchestra in a concentrated and condensed form. Using sonic building blocks she creates a tension and a pause in time and space.

Photo: Kristian Dugstad / TONO

Songwriter Mira Thiruchelvam from 9 Grader Nord will challenge many listeners' understanding of their own musical taste with her debut album "Jaffna". The band themselves have chosen to describe their genre as progressive ethnic, but more words are needed to describe the emotional range and sometimes uncontrollable energy conveyed in the music. Thiruchelvam's compositions are fearless and liberating, the music a fusion of different genres, with clear ties to South Indian musical tradition and Thiruchelvam's family roots in Sri Lanka. The lyrics are performed in confident Tamil with a rare presence. It doesn't matter that we don't understand the words, we understand the emotions conveyed. The music reminds us that genres and languages ​​are man-made and can be as limiting as borders on a map.

Photo: Own Company / EDDA Music

"Ekhidna" is a sonic journey you won't want to miss. The accomplished composer and jazz guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen has created a daring, hard, exploratory, and innovative masterpiece. The Greek monster Ekhidna, half woman and half snake, is personified through the music. It is virtuosic and rough. The transitions from free to unison, with odd time signatures driven forward by magnificent drumming, contribute to a genre-crossing and contrasting grand form. It is easy to get absorbed in the dynamic progress. The orchestration is correspondingly raw and refined with magnificent sonic contrasts, but which nevertheless flow together into a musical whole.

Photo: Kristian Dugstad / TONO

No one hidden and absolutely no one forgotten seems to be the mantra of "Now's the time". Jazznytt's blog celebrates the greats and highlights the small in in-depth interviews free from editorial restrictions. It is liberating to read music journalism that is not governed by commercialism and click-friendliness. Social media and self-promotion are no substitute for good journalism, and musicians in all genres are dependent on the right media attention. With a knowledgeable pen and playful vocabulary, Audun Vinger and Filip Roshauw lead us weekly through the landscape within the field of "jazz and its surroundings" in the Norwegian music flora. The joy of writing lights up the screen as you scroll through countless columns.

Lyricist Robert Eidevik has proven himself through several Hjerteslag albums as a distinctive and drivingly skilled lyricist. He has a very good eye for young longing, romance and desire, without it ever becoming banal or tacky. With precision and originality, he often points towards something universally valid that can touch listeners of all ages. On Nattseileren we enter a dark Bergen universe after midnight. We are guided into something lost and strong-willed. Eidevik describes the depths, but often with a loving sidelong glance, and thus we never completely lose hope. He is unique in his descriptions of situations and feelings. A line like "I am the echo of your ascent" is one such, and it clearly shows how heartbreaking the lyrics can be.

"Waterworks" is a piece with nerve and energy, which springs from a clear and distinct idea. It sounds transparent and has a clarity that is both exciting and risky. Ore challenges the ensemble and demands a lot from it. This will become part of the string quartet canon. The work maintains a sky-high level, in that it uses all the virtuoso elements of a string quartet. You have to be a particularly good string player to be able to play this. However, it is not virtuoso just for the sake of being so. It is musically coherent. The work is beautiful, it has good energy, and it holds the listener's attention from beginning to end, throughout 20 minutes.

Photo: Kristian Dugstad / TONO

The double album "The Road Is Just a Surface" stems from a play created in collaboration with choreographer Jo Strømgren. It stands on its own two feet as a musical experience. With the album, Garbarek has created a unique, holistic and intricate universe, and the listener gets to dive deeper and deeper with each listen. The wealth of detail constantly provides new discoveries and creates new connections, without the album feeling overloaded or diffuse. "The Road Is Just a Surface" is a work to sink into, which grows and expands. Anja Garbarek is not afraid of the musically unexpected or unfamiliar, and weaves in sounds from everyday life: An alarm clock. A spinning bass. A piece of tape. The listener gets to take part in an expanded soundscape, one that is always rhythmically based. It has a pulse, but is at the same time melodically beautiful and melancholic, with lyrics that revolve around existential themes such as belonging and mental illness.

With an uncompromising approach to extended voice use, Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer directs attention to original and demanding themes, without alienating listeners. We are drawn into the work and the music in an intimate and loving way. It is rare that one can say that “I have not heard this before”, but one can here. We hear the sonorous biotopes in the references to nature. One encounters animal sounds and the song and sound of nature. The title of this EDVARD category – Challenger – is the very title of what Meyer does. She challenges us to listen and to think differently. “Sonorous biotopes” are genre-defining and unique. There is contemporary music, world music and jazz, but first and foremost it is unique, challenging and strong music.

"Døden lever lengst" is an energetic, lively and aggressive album. It bubbles with creativity and musical ideas, but at the same time stands firm with a clear and unified identity. In an era where the pop industry is characterized by single songs, streamlining and songwriting camps, it is refreshing to hear a band that thinks holistically and in album format. Without focusing on singles or radio, they manage to reach a wide audience and sell out Rockefeller. Sushi x Kobe proves that you can still go far with a clear vision and a good idea. Musically, the album has a clear hip-hop anchor, but at the same time explores the moods and soundscape of the techno club. The result stands on its own two feet, and has personality beyond traditional genre conventions. It sounds dark and dangerous. The listener is not stroked by the hair, but is still drawn in.

Norway enjoys great recognition among international jazz enthusiasts. We have many strong composers and performers within the genre. Many listeners have probably looked at the album covers of these composers and performers and discovered a common thread: “Recorded at Rainbow Studio, Oslo. Engineer: Jan Erik Kongshaug”. This can be read on more than 4000 albums. And the “Kongshaug sound” has become a term.

A musical work is intangible. It belongs to the world of ideas, emotions and creativity. With sound recording, an image is taken. Magic is to be created, and sound is to be conveyed and captured. For Jan Erik Kongshaug, sound recording is about more than microphone selection, compression, EQ and timbre. Musicians who have worked with him emphasize the calm. The security he creates. He makes musicians perform better.

TONO's Mediator Award is awarded to individuals or organizations that have made a special contribution to the dissemination of Norwegian music. Jan Erik Kongshaug's work as a sound engineer, as a producer, as a seal of quality and as a mediator is a unique contribution to, and for, Norwegian music.

It is a pleasure to be able to award TONO's Mediator Award 2019 to Jan Erik Kongshaug.

Photo: Roar Vestad

"I throw myself from heights that used to scare me," sings Sigrid Solbakk Raabe in "Don't Kill My Vibe," which she co-wrote with Martin Sjølie. This fundamental, newfound self-confidence and an experience of one's own maturation and vital identity form the core of the work. The narrator's voice no longer allows itself to be limited by its surroundings. It is a strong and personal cry in the form of "I" that draws the listener in, and which we believe finds deep resonance perhaps especially with young listeners. Here they encounter a voice that reflects their own need to make their own experiences and to be allowed to search for, find, and defend being themselves.

Both the melody, the arrangement and the production take the core of the text into their structure. The frugal and waiting in the verses are combined with exploding and almost ruthless choruses. Here the boundaries are to be broken, the independent is to be broken free! And there is no doubt that Raabe has mastered the modern pop format to the fullest when the song's theme is to be given full force. The pitch is raised, the harmonic activity increases, rhythmic elements are put into serious play and the two-part structure of the chorus is sewn together exceptionally elegantly into an insistent and unstoppable whole. Moreover, a large part of these elements are not inextricably linked to a magnificent studio production. This song effortlessly retains its integrity and relevance in a subdued acoustic setting. "Don't Kill My Vibe" is simply an example of how fantastic a pop song can be.

Photo: Jeton Kacaniku / Francesca Allen

Ola Kvernberg is much more than a fiddler, although the general public may primarily associate him with that. But Kvernberg is just as much an outstanding composer. He has written music for both his own solo releases and film productions, and he can also point to both Spellemann Prizes and Amanda Prizes for his compositions.

The solo album Steamdome, which was released at the very end of 2017, is an impressive work. It oozes energy and compositional knowledge. It pulsates, breathes, rages and rejoices. It is rhythmic, violent, dynamic, open and ecstatic. There are great forces in motion, as if all of life, the whole world, were squeezed into nine compositions. The musical landscape is boundless! We encounter jazz, classical music, funk and folk music – all fused into one large and natural whole. It is an achievement. And what about the lyrics? There are no lyrics here, and they are not needed. Not at one point in the composition does one miss it. The composer speaks clearly enough through the musical.

Ola Kvernberg is a brave composer. We find no easy solutions. Only beautiful, great, life-affirming and well-composed music.

Eivind Øygarden, better known as Ivan Ave, has become a recognized name among Norwegian hip hop connoisseurs, even though he debuted under his own name as recently as 2016. With his 2017 album Every Eye, he proves once again that he is stylish and steady. Here he combines American West Coast harmonica and smooth jazz on the one hand with a clear hip hop attitude on the other, and with great elegance. The production borrows heavily from the sound aesthetics of the 1970s and 80s, with "vintage" electric pianos, synths and drum machines. In that, we hear a statement, which the jury wholeheartedly supports: Eivind makes timeless hip hop - with a long shelf life. The instrumentation is sparse and open, without elements that argue with each other. Overall, it sounds solid and holistic. This is not just a collection of individual songs, they are a collective work.

Lyrically, we hear a poet who has created a text universe that is his own. He has chosen English. It is bold for a Norwegian, as even good English skills are often not good enough to create credible lyrics based on American street slang. We think he does it brilliantly. His vocal performance has great authority, it is self-confident and beautifully laid-back. Ivan Ave is making his mark in a hip hop market with great competition. Every Eye is rock solid. We feel confident that the audience can expect further greatness from Eivind Øygarden in the future.

"To you who don't hope anymore/You who need a glimmer of hope and need it now," sings Marthe Wang on the album Ut og se noe andt, released in 2017. These lines seem to sum up the driving force behind Marthe Wang's creative musical work. She is a brilliant exponent of modern Norwegian folk pop art. The album oozes quality, but it is not primarily "flick". It is primarily warm and personal. Here we meet a poet who is able to describe feelings and experiences that we all recognize in. The lyrics seem to be written straight from Marthe's heart. Whether they are self-experienced or not is not so important. The lyrics describe universal feelings so down-to-earth, precise, good and beautiful that no matter what, they touch the heart in such a way that it makes both good and a little bit painful. We feel seen, understood, comforted and encouraged.

The arrangements and music are warm, genuine, playful and sophisticated. The lyrics are extended, amplified and bring out interpretive depths that weaker arrangements would not have been able to convey. And the way you sing, Marthe! You are a technically skilled singer, but first and foremost you are a communicator who is able to bring out the depth in what you have written with great compositional weight of music and lyrics.

This year's winning work in the EDVARD Prize's contemporary category clearly guides the ear towards which sound and musical ideas are to play out. The composer has an exceptionally good grasp of the framework within which these ideas should operate. The work both establishes itself and develops carefully in its beginning with an effortless ease. When this music takes its time, it does so with eloquent sonic patience. The selected means of action build up a natural authority over time. The work's uniqueness is formed with great certainty. Many good works are content with creating such integrity, but in this work this is a musical situation that must be developed further. The outer edges of the framework are explored and the music takes some astonishing turns. Some connections or insights are almost impossible to imagine or discover for oneself, but they will still excite when they are presented or explained. Without threatening the identity of this work, the composer brings out these types of connections and allows some almost inadvertently redeeming moments to arise. When these moments also shape the work's further musical life, the listening experience is lifted to a new level. Jonas Skaarud has, to put it with Hamsun, "... a little ability to look inward, to look far." This work undoubtedly looks inward into its well-chosen universe of sound compositions, but it also reaches out to something far beyond.

Norwegian composers, lyricists and music publishers in the field of art music have much to thank Grete Pedersen for. As a choir conductor from the early 1980s, and as artistic director of the Norwegian Soloists Choir from 1990, more than one generation of Norwegian composers has had a co-conspirator in her. Newly written Norwegian music has been brought to the fore through countless commissions and premieres with Grete Pedersen as artistic director. Over several decades, she has been at the forefront of creating an understanding of the importance of living composers being allowed to work on their artistry, and that this must be a continuous process. This commitment makes her a representative of a culture and an insight that is absolutely crucial for a Norwegian, creative art music tradition to be and to be allowed to live, both in the present and into the future.

Photo: Bård Gundersen

Hello EDVARD Prize!

Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid and Chirag Rashmikant Patel have had enormous success with the album "Heisann Montebello". They have convinced music critics, they have had enormous amounts of media coverage, and not least they have really reached out to the people. Three sold-out nights in Oslo Spektrum are testament to that.

The foundation of success is the songs – and the lyrics. In Karpe Diem's ​​text universe we find politics, religion, metropolitan dynamics, inequalities, integration and comment fields. They provoke, chastise and irritate, while also possessing an incredible playfulness with words and sentences. They have an enormous flair for phonetics, groove, sound, and everything that must "work" in a popular musical universe. The result is a modern, musical poetry, which both has high-value qualities in isolation, and which stands in a legacy from poets like Jan Erik Vold, but which also appeals to 5-year-olds. They sing along to "Nav'er, Nav'er, Nav'er" and "Mullah, Mullah, Mullah", probably without fully understanding the content. To them, this just sounds "cool".

And therein lies much of the power and art behind Karpe Diem's ​​success: Heavy artillery is fired with such great energy that it works for a large audience that does not necessarily have experienced the same thing as the creators, but who still find that it concerns them.

For many, the first encounter with Susanna Wallumrød was in her unique reinterpretations of famous songs in the early 2000s. Since then, Wallumrød has impressed her audience time and time again. And far from just as a singer and artist. Wallumrød is a world-class composer and lyricist. Her music transcends genres and is unpredictable. It is playful and serious at the same time. Whether she is making new versions of well-known works, setting music to poems by Gunvor Hofmo, or writing both lyrics and music herself, there is an unmistakable identity of Susanna in everything. Call it integrity. We believe that integrity is part of the reason why she also attracts such a wide audience from such different scenes, be it jazz, contemporary or pop.

The album "Triangle" was released in 2016. Over no less than 22 tracks, we are taken on a journey through an original and diverse musical universe. The lyrics go to the depths of what it is to be a wondering human being. She has composed all the tracks on the album herself, and appears as a solid and mature composer and lyricist. She moves from the captivating simplicity of pop music to the complex surprises of the exploratory field with the greatest naturalness. "Triangle" has received strong reviews, both internationally and domestically. She won the Spellemannprisen for the album earlier this year. She has also impressed the EDVARD prize jury. We congratulate Susanna on an impactful album, and look forward to the continuation of an already brilliant career.

PHOTO: Jonathan Vivaas Kise/Oslo World

"Sweet Pieces" is constructed as an unheard-of fusion of two archetypes – a tonally languishing orchestra and a monophonic analog synthesizer. The work has thrilled both the audience and the press, and communicates well far beyond the initiated company. The work occasionally has an almost romantic expression, but at the same time one has never heard anything like it. This is a piece of music that fascinates and surprises.

Torvund offers lush string chords, and is virtuoso in his use of broken expectations. The composer revels in the orchestra's toolbox without losing his tight grip. The synth soloist adds an extra layer of color to the orchestral palette, and the combination of Moog solos dancing on top of the orchestra's effervescence is very elegantly crafted. The work is both humorous and seductive in its lush orchestration.

"Sweet Pieces" is repetitive and episodic, and in its formal structure the work has no intention of getting anywhere. In other words: To start in one place and move towards another. This work is just meant to be, and this very conscious compositional choice means that the experience of the work is turned away from what you actually hear. Instead, you start to think: "What is this work trying to show me?" We don't need to know - the wonder is often the whole point. We congratulate Øyvind Torvund on a well-deserved EDVARD prize!

The album "Joni was right I & II", initially consisting of two separate EPs, is a brave pop project with a jewelry box of songs in the rearview mirror. Exposing yourself to a direct comparison with previous masterpieces is not only a great fall, it can also quickly become an insurmountable obstacle. The stumbling blocks are many, and the road down into the ditch of half-baked copies is dangerously short. Not so with Marit Larsen. Instead, she shows us new paths and new perspectives in a well-known and iconic musical terrain. In "Joni was right I & II", Larsen shines as an exceptionally reflective songwriter with a hard-won uniqueness.

Larsen has a rock-solid understanding of the musical heritage she manages as a composer, and can therefore take measured and elegant steps. Examples are the seamless and well-placed time change in the song "Bluebelle Mountain" and the rhythmically delayed melody shifts in the verse of the song "Shelby Avenue". The album is a rare well-balanced mix of musical reference clarity and a delicately restrained identity.

This album dares, and wants, to go against the flow of the present and the celebration of the moment. Larsen emphasizes life's maturation, its realizations and perhaps most importantly: The continuation. When the song "A stranger song" becomes suspended in midair, and when the lyrics "Broken hearts can keep on beating" stop the progress of the song "Winter never lasts forever", then we must move on - towards what we do not know. Exploring the strange as a source of development is not the main track of popular music, but this is where Larsen emerges as a solid pop artist. TONO's EDVARD Prize in the Popular Music category 2017 is awarded to Marit Larsen for the album "Joni was right I & II".

Photo: Sarah Winona Sortland

This year's challenger may thrive best in the shadows, hidden behind his bangs, but his distinct sound has made him a favorite among the world's biggest artists. Composer and producer Magnus August Høiberg from Halden is an innovator in his field. From being an award-winning DJ back home in Norway, he has become an international standard-bearer for the intersection between club and urban music.

According to himself, Høiberg stumbled upon his own sound after getting tired of copying his heroes. What was initially an attempt to parody contemporary pop music turned out to be his strength and hallmark. A cheerful mix of sensual R'n'B and danceable EDM, combined with an ear for clever details, would become his unique signature. You can recognize a Cashmere Cat production within the first four bars of the song, and they can move from cheerful to painful, then from quiet to grandiose in an instant. In this way, he challenges the dynamic spectrum of today's pop landscape.

2016 has been the year of the cat. The portfolio of artists who have benefited from Magnus Høiberg's talent for composition and production includes names such as Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Britney Spears and Ty Dolla Sign. One of 2016's most impactful album releases, "Starboy" by The Weeknd, has Høiberg's signature on four songs. He also released his critically acclaimed debut album, and also worked with Kanye West, which he himself has said was the fulfillment of his biggest dream.

Cashmere Cat lets the music speak for itself. He is proof that you don't have to be in the spotlight to become a star. Congratulations on a very well-deserved EDVARD award.

Photo: Willy Martinsen/TONO

Grappa Musikkforlag was founded in 1983 by Helge Westbye, and is one of Norway's oldest and largest independent record labels. Through a number of sub-labels, the company releases music in genres such as jazz, folk, classical, contemporary music, pop, rock and blues. Many artists and composers who are today considered among the truly great and established in Norway first got their chance through Grappa. Many have also chosen to stay there, despite offers from larger companies. Among the artists and composers published by Grappa are Lillebjørn Nilsen, Jan Eggum, Annbjørg Lien, Bendik Hofseth and Arve Tellefsen, to name a few.

It is difficult to know how much of the TONO repertoire would never have seen the light of day without Grappa's existence. The number of Spellemann awards and nominations testify to an enormous production, both in quantity and quality. In the shadow of the international record companies, Grappa has constantly released music that has received good reviews and has been appreciated by a wide audience.

Through Grappa's debutant prize, artists such as Valkyrien Allstars, Gjermund Larsen, Siri Nilsen, Frida Ånnevik and others have received good help with their breakthroughs. As early as 1997, Grappa received FONO's Bjellesau Prize for "a lifetime achievement". The lifetime achievement is by no means finished, and we look forward to the continuation.

With the award of TONO's Media Prize 2017, TONO wishes to honor Grappa for their tireless efforts for Norwegian music.

Photo: Cathrine Heeh/Grappa

The jury's reasoning:

In June 2015, the young Bærum artist and songwriter Fay Hau Wildhagen released her debut album "Snow", and there is something incredibly solid about the album. Her voice is full of emotion, her guitar playing is impressive and imaginative, and the composer in her shows clear ambitions. Despite her young age, she has a personal and solid expression.

"Into the woods" is delicate, vulnerable and poetic in its expression. In the text, Fay Wildhagen describes the chase and the effort ("Don't worry about the wind chasing the sea"), and urges to take it easy ("Breath out breath in… listen to the trees caught by the wind"), and at the same time extends a helping hand ("take my hand.. and I'll take you home"). She conveys the text with an intense presence that makes you believe every word she utters.

The melody is simple and melancholic, and increases in intensity with instruments and choir, never boring in its simplicity. The last verse begins with the words "So, scream" and passes into total silence. Then only the voice continues - a simple means, and at the same time incredibly effective. It feels personal, strong and courageous.

Fay Wildhagen writes on her website: “My desire when I made this record was for it to be honest, human and deeply intimate, but also heavy and distant. It has been important to me that it is organic and breathing and that all the elements, every beat and every note, support the stories that are told and the pictures that I am trying to paint.”

The EDVARD jury concludes: "Mission accomplished".

The jury's reasoning:

We've all heard the music, but few know the man behind the lyrics to some of Norway's most famous songs. From "Everyone Needs A Friend", "Tell Me Where You're Going" to "Moving Time" and many more.

Jeff Wasserman came to Norway in the 80s from Oyster Bay outside New York, and has made a career as both a lyricist and performer. He has lyrics and works on over 75 albums and over 300 works in TONO. In 2009 he was also nominated for Spellemann with the text "Keep Her from Going to You".

Through his wordplay, Wasserman has shown that he can write about different topics and with a varied language. He writes from the heart, poetically, soulfully and with humor, and can also spice it up with authentic slang.

In 2015, he wrote three lyrics for the album that also received the Spellemannprisen in the blues category: "Tears of The World" with Knut Reiersrud and Mighty Sam McClain. In the lyrics "Promised Land", Wasserman describes the longing, dreams and disappointments of a life, and the realization of having discovered the perfect in the imperfect. The promised land is not a place you are looking for, it is where you are, and it can take a long life before you realize it.

“Promised Land” tells of a life lived, of humanity and hope, and strikes a universal nerve we can all recognize.

The jury's reasoning:

In this work, the composer does not hide behind clever artifices and impressive staging. From beginning to end, Olav Berg's concerto for viola and orchestra is an honest and sober account. In many ways, it is about the solo instrument as an individual. With a searching, careful hand, the viola draws out expressive, lyrical phrases. Everything that happens in the orchestra seems to be derived from this process.

To begin with, and many times Later in the piece, the orchestra forms only a gentle veil of sound around the solo instrument. Subtle effects of light and shadow frame the viola's journey of discovery.

Then at times the orchestral part grows in intensity, either against a bright light or a cutting rhythm, so that it takes over the stage completely, but always with an organic connection to the material that the solo instrument has developed.

There is a perfect match between the character of this work and the character of the viola as a solo instrument in general. The composer also shows a very precise hand with instrumentation. Here, not a note is too little or too much, and even when the whole orchestra is in motion, it never sounds massive, but expressive and poetic.

Olav Berg is not the composer who has stood out the most in Norwegian contemporary music. It is all the more pleasant to give him an EDVARD prize for a work that is so personal and perfect in form, and which we believe will defend its place in the repertoire.

The jury's reasoning:

Amund Maarud's latest release "Volt" is the conclusion of his album trilogy that began with "Electric" in 2011, and continued with "Dirt" the following year. All the songs, both lyrics and melody, are signed by Amund Maarud. He has produced, plays many of the instruments, and sings himself. The album is released on the record label Snaxville Recordings, which he also owns and runs. This is evidence of an excess that can be found in everything this man does.

Amund Maarud is a master at knowing history, while easily challenging traditions. He does one of the most difficult things in the genre, namely being modern and innovative, while not trampling on strong traditions. Here we are talking about standing safely on the shoulders of others, and looking around for new opportunities.

With Amund Maarud as a performer this has always been very clear, and we experience exactly the same with him as a composer. Here he takes fresh approaches in a double sense. When you think you have understood the song, he suddenly goes somewhere else, without it feeling forced.

It is raw, energetic, delicate, rocking, genuine, tough, fresh, traditional, steady and loose – with a solid, holistic quality. May he forever continue to travel the way he does, both backwards in history, and forwards towards the future. That makes him own the present!

The jury's reasoning:

With the album Personal Piano, the concept of personal expression becomes inadequate. This is like musical DNA in album form. Personal Piano is the destruction of known genre barriers. Here, jazz, noise music, art music, electronica, pop, folk songs and indie rock are mixed in a unique way. What should a piano be in 2015? Or what can it be, for me? That train of thought, that challenge, Qvenild has dedicated his last years to. The album is the result of three years as an art fellow at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Morten Qvenild has explored the expanded sound possibilities of the grand piano through the use of various forms of electronic manipulation, and has ended up with a “relaunch” of the instrument – ​​where all the possibilities of the recording studio are available live.

The music is intensely personal. Electronics, samples, drum machines, synths and vocals create distorted landscapes. When virtuoso improvisations on acoustic piano are also allowed to take place, the spectrum is complete. Qvenild does something with us. It is deeply human and poignant. The distilled, deconstructed, intensely low-key and insistent expression is definitely original even though the references go in all directions. As a composer and musician, Morten Qvenild has a good ear for melodic music making and an ever-present melancholy. He masters the balance between strange and listener-friendly, with songs that speak to both the heart and the brain. The music is brewed on curiosity and creative urge in combination with a solid nerd gene. The album is disturbed and restless but suddenly loose and wind-skewed. There is a unrest, but still no panic to be detected. The highlights come close, and it is a great experience to take part in Qvenild's musical diary.

The jury's reasoning:

This year, the jury has gathered around a person who has been a tireless stimulus for Norwegian composers and musicians since the 1980s. Geir Johnson is a cultural entrepreneur who has been involved on many fronts. Not least, he has seen the need for new music to have someone clear a place for it in the established cultural life. His activity can be traced back to the student community in Bergen. In this city, he started the Music Factory festival in the early 80s, and later participated in the establishment of the BIT20 Ensemble and Opera Vest. He has also been music coordinator at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, president of the National Association of New Music, initiator behind the ensemble Cikada and the establishment of new contemporary music festivals in Trondheim, Harstad and Stavanger. Not least, he was one of the founders of the Ultima festival, as well as its director for ten years.

Johnson's dissemination of Norwegian music has also manifested itself through articles and lectures nationally and internationally. He has been editor of the magazine Ballade and a regular writer and columnist in Bergens Tidende, NRK P2, Klassekampen, Dagens Næringsliv and Aftenposten. He has published books, and in addition he has his own business as a composer. Johnson has also helped establish Parkteatret Scene in Oslo, an important arena for the creative music community in the city. In recent years he has been involved as the initiator and artistic director of Transposition, a Norwegian-Vietnamese music collaboration. Trying to list all the board positions he has held in cultural institutions, as well as all the times he has been used as an advisor where institutions were to be built up, would be going too far.

The jury believes that Geir Johnson's work has led to a large amount of Norwegian music being given the conditions to grow, has been realized and has reached a large audience. He is a natural recipient of TONO's Mediator Award.

The jury's reasoning:

Jarle Bernhoft already has a long recording career behind him, and in this a breadth of genres that most people can only dream of. This is particularly evident in “Islander”. Here we experience a songwriter who puts the idea and message uncompromisingly at the center, and who recreates his expression from song to song. At the same time, the release bears the mark of an author with solid musical security, which is reflected in an indisputable steadiness – both in the individual songs and in the release as a whole. Although nothing is left to chance, the listener is constantly surprised by a sea of ​​delightful musical antics and genre variations. And through this sea, Bernhoft navigates the listener effortlessly and naturally with his powerful but playful vocals. His virtuosity as a performer gives him extra possibilities in composition, which he uses to the fullest.

Despite its intricate and varied expression, "Islander" is nevertheless characterized by being accessible and immediately tasty. Bernhoft stands with "Islander" for last year's best party. A party that extends far beyond 2014 and Norway's borders.

The jury's reasoning:
Tuva Livsdatter Syvertsen and Erik Sollid (Valkyrien Allstars) have shown with the album "Farewell, Family and Friends" that they are one of the best folk music has to offer. They serve up an extremely successful symbiosis of folk music, songs and rock, always with the Hardanger fiddle central to the soundscape. The band maintains a distinctive character while breaking new ground. 

Syversten and Sollid lead the way, and are the bellwethers of folk music. They are a great inspiration to many young people both within and outside the folk music community, and also abroad they promote and arouse interest in Norwegian folk music. The band's mission here in the world seems to be to unite Norwegian traditional music with elements from pop, blues and rock.

The song material on "Farewell, Family and Friends" is to a greater extent than before self-composed. There are still elements of traditional Hardanger fiddle songs and old folk songs, but it is the band's own lyrics and melodies that dominate the release. It is raw and real both lyrically, musically and vocally. The album is solid, exciting and challenging, and wants something far more than just to please. The expression is gloomy, but as always with Valkyrien it has an intense nerve and presence. Deep roots are highlighted. "Farewell, Family and Friends" is modern music in an old spirit. In short, a remarkable release.

the reason for the dispute
With her second solo album, Thea Hjelmeland establishes herself as one of the country's most exciting songwriters.
It's been a long time since we've seen such a tasteful and competent mix of genres and languages ​​as we experience on Solar Plexus.
The songs are individually strong and informative, but it is in the common thread and the whole that this release really shines.
The main themes of the release are grief and loss, and through the lyrics, Hjelmeland provides caring, painful, warm and violent perspectives on how a personal tragedy can unfold.

Musically, the pop genre is continually challenged by electronic elements, folk, rock, world music, and more.

The strength of the album lies in how the lyrics and music complement each other. Through the sometimes hopelessly dark and emotionally chaotic, there is an impressive control and playfulness in the songs and the album as a whole. It never becomes predictable and obvious, but remains in an intricate but restrained mix of rough elegance and sophisticated unruliness. This is further enhanced by Hjelmeland's vocals that tastefully move between the soft and careful to the powerful and insistent.

The jury's reasoning:
Since he took his place in Norwegian contemporary music as a young man with the greatest ease, Eivind Buene has impressed with a rare writing ability and stylistic certainty. This enables him to take great artistic risks in his projects, and land on his feet. From his non-classical background, he has also retained a playful attitude to what is and is not allowed within musical genres.

To top it all off, the composer has also managed to establish himself as a writer. And in the work "Blue Mountain" he gets a rare opportunity to show himself from both sides, as he is behind both the text and the music. These two elements are conceived as one concept, tailored to each other in a form that could almost only have been conceived in one and the same mind. This is what makes the work something completely unique.

The dialogue between the two actors is discreet and everyday, but comes step by step closer to the listener. We are seated as spectators at a concert within a concert, where the orchestra's presence on stage also becomes a double reality. The quotes by Gustav Mahler and other classical composers fall naturally into an orchestral movement that is not overplayed, but kept in an almost sketchy tone. A strong piece that says something about the power of music to carry memories.

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 jury's reasoning:
Kai Robøle is a "backman" in the truest sense of the word. He runs a studio, record label, management and music publishing. For over 25 years, Kai Robøle has worked to develop music, artists, songwriters and producers for the international market. His method has been to raise the quality in absolutely every aspect, both in the industry and in the music itself. Since he, as a producer and studio owner, had his first big hit with DiDerre's "Jenter og sånn" in 1994, he has worked with an impressive number of Norwegian songwriters and artists: M2M, Ina Wroldsen, Babel Fish, Gisli, Alfred Hall, Karin Park, Ida Jenshus, Ida Marie, Ingrid Olava, Susanne Sundfør, Sissy Wish, Raga Rockers and Span, to name just a few.

With the help of a network of contacts that few Norwegians are blessed with, Kai Robøle has contributed greatly to Norwegian artists and songwriters getting out into the world and trying their hand at the major music markets. In recent years, the focus has been on publishing. Robøle is one of those who manages to place so-called syncs on a large scale, which gets Norwegian music out to large groups internationally. Robøle holds several key positions of trust, and with his enormous knowledge of the international music industry, he is a highly valued resource person in various forums in the music world. He is also an active speaker in many areas. In short, there are few who have communicated so much Norwegian repertoire to so many audiences.

TONO is proud to be able to award TONO's Mediator Award to Kai Robøle.

Gabrielle Leithaug is the winner of TONO's composer award, the EDVARD prize, in the popular music category. (photo: Hermann Stenerud)

The jury's reasoning:

Gabrielle Leithaug has delivered an impressive string of hits since her debut album "Mildt Sagt" in 2011. On the album "Nattergal" she continues her work within the genre she herself describes as "Explosive pop" and solidifies her position as a prominent songwriter.

Gabrielle sings in dialect, and the interplay between bombastic lyrics and catchy melodies works very well. Repetitions and rhymes give the impression that the lyrics belong in the rap genre, but here it is done consistently over infectious and good melodies. Everywhere you find intelligent, rhythmic emphases and shifts, without it feeling intrusive. Direct, honest, passionate, and always with enormous energy. Heartbreak, hopeless relationships and other themes, which preferably appear late in the lonely hours of the night, are conveyed over hard-hitting productions with roots in electronica and rock.

The album "Nattergal" is the result of a fruitful collaboration with songwriters Lars Kåre Hustoft, Thomas Bratfoss Eriksen and Joachim Alte, and the jury therefore wishes to highlight them as part of Gabrielle's creative team. Nevertheless; Gabrielle's musical expression and vision come through so crystal clear and unified that there is no doubt who is the boss.

When the jury "#sitterher" and is about to choose the popular composer of the year in 2014 – Gabrielle – "Then it's easy to think of you".

The jury's reasoning:
This year's winner both embraces and expands the concept of composer. Christian Blom is awarded the Edvard Prize 2014 in the Open Class category for the work Trio for Dancing Thread, Lightbulb and Bell With Damper.

In the award-winner's fascinating universe, there is no distinction between musical and physical craftsmanship. A welding certificate and counterpoint training have been equally important premises for developing a deeply personal and original artistic language of handmade fragile structures that combine sound, light, shadow play, movement and subtle use of technology.

The award-winning work gives a feeling of approaching music anew, through other dimensions. Looking at the work is like taking part in a close reading of something you only almost know what it is. Something that can collapse at any time – or just simply stop. You hold your breath while you see and hear a musical composition, but also sculpture and ballet in micro format. Tiny events organized in time and space that merge together. Material, technique, media become impossible to distinguish from each other and constitute a poetic work that is minimal and modest in expression, but which leaves an all the stronger impression.

The jury's reasoning:

Magnar Åm has been a prominent presence in Norwegian music since the early 1970s with his low-pitched voice. He cultivates transparency and simplicity, and wants to strip music down to its core. In an interview he says: "I cannot hide my own starting point, the fragile, childish. It is the entrance to life."

Where such a project could easily end in simple naïveté, Åm manages with his integrity and originality to convey depth. "Input, Present, Output" is a great example of this. The work was premiered during the Hardanger Music Festival in June 2013, and is shaped like a viola concerto with string quartet. It has three movements, slow-fast-slow, which represent a development in cognition.

The work is gripping from the start, and speaks strongly with simple means. Listening to this music gives the impression of following a person through a thought process. Expressive themes arise from nothing, the music retreats, and the rest is up to the listener. Through an unpretentious medium, the composer manages to create a story that touches.

Stein Torleif Bjella with award presenter Arne Moslåtten, lyricist for Hellbillies and himself a former Edvard Prize winner for lyrics (2008).

The jury's reasoning:

With the release "Heim for å døy", Stein Torleif Bjella has solidified his position as a prominent songwriter. With his clear expression and bittersweet text universe, he has largely created his own genre. Bjella's simple and minor-keyed melodies carry the lyrics forward. The soundscape of seasick, gliding string instruments emphasizes what he himself calls "sailing on the sea of ​​love".

It's about monotony, slaving away at one's own thing, about ruined plans and unused lives. With this album, Bjella describes an entire rural community, and he does so in a close and believable way. We recognize the characters; a neighbor, a bachelor or a junkyard man. We can still, with a little goodwill, detect an extremely cautious optimism in the songs, especially when "another feathered girl" appears.

Bjella is more than a lyricist and songwriter. He is a poet. If the goal of art is to say something important about being human today, Stein Torleif Bjella is someone who manages to do just that. For this effort, he receives the Edvard Prize 2014.

The jury's reasoning:

Since releasing her first album under her own name in 2008, Hilde Marie Kjersem has been continuously and consciously exploring different musical style elements. She has taken clear musical steps from jazz in the direction of pop, but has always managed to integrate different sources of inspiration into her own personal musical expression.

Kjersem's works are naturally melodious, while also containing subtle aspects. Each individual composition is based on clearly chosen moves and gives a clear and strong expression, but which is never predictable.

On the album "If we make it to the future" from 2013, she moves further into the pop genre and adds something to it that is both experienced as new and very personal. The soundscape is characterized by accurate, minimalist electronica elements and opens up through the use of surprising, often grandiose harmonic turns. With Kjersem's voice at the center of it all, the music constantly creates new connections between the familiar and the grand.

The jury's reasoning:

The TONO award goes to an exceptional communicator in the music world. Tommy Tee started Norway's first hip hop magazine, Fat Cap, in 1989. Shortly afterwards, he took the initiative for the National Rap Show, which has been on NRK P3 continuously since 1993 and is thus Norway's longest-running radio program. And when no one else thought of bringing Ice Cube, Run DMC, The Fugees or 50 Cent to Oslo, Tommy Tee did it. And then you understand that if no one else does it, Tommy Tee does it. As a midwife for other Norwegian rappers, he is unique. Tee Productions has given us Diaz, Warlocks, Gatas Parlament and many more. He has produced Joddski, Lars Vaular, Don Martin, Son of Light, Helen Eriksen. Regardless of whether it is youth graffiti or DJing, radio, magazines, productions for others - or own releases in his own name, it is all about communication.

Tommy Tee has been awarded TONO's Intermediary Award 2014.

Tommy Tee has lifted hip hop out of subway platforms and leisure clubs, out across the cities and out to the countryside. Into our shared Norwegian cultural consciousness. He has smuggled it into us. Slowly but surely. The fat beats. The heavy bass drums. Staccato bass passages. Rhythm sections that smell of freshly laid asphalt, combined with clean and pure harmonics from the angelic realms. Rappers who have been allowed to shine and who have tagged their rhymes down on Tommy Tee-signed soundtracks. He has translated the American musical language into Norwegian in a way that makes Oslo feel a bit like the Bronx. Just as exciting. Just as urban. We recognize a heavy beat now. We recognize the rhymes. Lars Vaular speaks our language. We understand Don Martin. "I am so Oslo you can call me Nilsen". And when Tommy Tee himself releases the album "Music is Important" in 2013, rap has officially become Norwegian.
All that was missing was: Tommy Tee is Mediator of the Year.

The jury's reasoning

One of the things that strikes one about Jan Erik Mikalsen's orchestral music is its unpredictable lushness. "Parts II" is written in a way that shows both a strong grasp of the orchestral medium and at the same time an urge to dissolve it into its connections and look for new possibilities. In this way, a multifaceted whole emerges. In a breathtaking way, Mikalsen manages to conjure up a deep breath from the great orchestral beast. The sound unfolds, colors spread out like a rainbow, the light shimmers and constantly changes. Through what is apparently a complex mass of sound in motion, flashes of melodic poetry arise. "Parts II" has a great emotional and dynamic range, and builds to a frenetic climax before dissolving again. There is no simple conclusion: the work is at the same time both refined and raw, polished and unfinished.

Ragnar Olsen is a lyricist with the gift of simplicity. He believes in the power of a sacred, ordinary language. He believes in the music of everyday language, and he knows how to bring it out. The story he tells in “Querini” is not only fantastic and incredible, but also true. An Italian merchant ship really sank off Røst in Lofoten in 1421. The survivors were really taken care of by the local people for months before they could return home. Pietro Querini from Venice really wrote a book about the experience, published and translated into several languages. Almost unbelievable. Or to tell in a credible way, especially not through a libretto, in impeccable rhymes. It takes a Ragnar Olsen. The fact that he is also a musician and songwriter means that he has expertise from both sides in how text and music can play together. The story becomes musical, oral and alive. The prize winner has a long experience in writing, he is productive and he is picky. He has also recently written the powerful libretto for Heksehammeren, an opera about witch burning in Finnmark. He has written for Hålogaland Teater, he writes the finest song lyrics and is a significant rewriter, including of Jacques Brel and Bertolt Brecht.

The jury's reasoning

At the age of 19, songwriter Peder Losnegård has delivered a debut album that commands respect. On "Pretty Girls & Grey Sweaters" he shows an abundance of ideas and a musical audacity that few are blessed with. Here, music is stolen, borrowed, discovered and created in a blissful mix. Elements of classic West Coast music, solid gospel tradition and hip hop naturally blend into a solid Norwegian pop album. He is a bridge builder between genres, and the contributions from profiled guest artists such as Timbuktu, Jarle Berhoft, Yosef and Ole Edvard Antonsen support this. It is particularly demanding to be a composer, lyricist, artist, musician and producer on a debut album. But Peder Losnegård is brave and has a lot of music in his heart. He appears with a clear understanding of style, playfulness and execution. He describes it all nicely in one of his text fragments: "I just sound good doing this".

The jury could not have said it better themselves.

The jury's reasoning

This year's TONO Prize is awarded to Leif A. Dramstad for his significant contribution to the dissemination of Norwegian musical works. Through his tireless work in publishing contemporary music in all genres, he has spread Norwegian works not only to all corners of Norway, but to large parts of the world. Leif A. Dramstad is a towering figure in the music publishing industry. Throughout his 50 years at Norsk Musikforlag A/S, with the last 30 years as publishing director, he has ensured that around 200 works are published each year. His publishing work can be called a formidable life's work, as he stands as a mediator of the foremost works created by our Norwegian composers and lyricists. These represent examples of major works that are unlikely to achieve "break even" for many years to come. Despite the economic downturn in the music publishing industry in general, Leif A. Dramstad has chosen to keep his guns pointed and trust in the intrinsic value of music, above short-term gain. With the greatest respect for his lifelong commitment to Norwegian music and lyrics, we would like to honor Leif A. Dramstad with TONO's Media Prize.

The jury's reasoning

Questioning, repetitive, annoying and insistent. This describes the song “Call me” – from the debut album of the band Pixel with songwriter Ellen Andrea Wang at the helm. A small everyday drama is the theme of the song that challenges our ear canals. Right from the start, Ellen Andrea Wang piques our curiosity. What is this? Solo double bass intro, the pulse bumps over a few beats, illogical melody lines, dissonant wind riffs. The ensemble is without chord instruments, the musical result is transparent and naked. The rising temperature of the song emphasizes the frustration in the simple text. Surprising melodic leaps and increasing use of chromaticism guide us through the small, but strongly escalating everyday drama. Like ripples in water, the unrest spreads – you go through all conceivable questions and answers, they range from rational to irrational, and eventually deeply personal analysis. We have all been there; “CALL ME, – why don't you call me?” You find yourself humming completely illogical melody lines. Again and again. It's incredibly annoying. Ellen Andrea Wang won't let go, she bites her ear, she's an exciting challenger!

The jury's reasoning

Kjell Samkopf is unlike anyone else in Norwegian music. The man who has recorded hikes in the mountains and released them on record is not one to follow trends. The release Burragorangian Stones naturally fits into Samkopf's life project, where listening as an active action is central. Man is actively in interaction with nature's own "random", inevitable impulses and the result is refined in respect for this interaction - an exquisite balance is maintained. A 79-minute audio file with recordings from the Australian wilderness invites us on a performance-free journey of experience accompanied by a cover with carefully selected illustrations, small instructions and something reminiscent of a score. The work must be understood as a whole of all this. In a personal, balanced and sympathetic way, the composer encourages us to just be, or to let what happens happen, but a deeper experience awaits those who actively listen. With an agenda that makes little noise in the public sphere, it is all the more a pleasure for us to award TONO's Edvard Prize in the Open Class to Kjell Samkopf.

The jury's reasoning

Vaular writes rap/hip-hop. He doesn't like easy rhymes. A true poet in a genre where the framework is tight and the rhymes come faster than in baroque hymn verse. It's easy to slip away, lean on the rhythms, riffs and rhyme dictionary. He doesn't do that. Vaular uses all his strong musicality to say something that is experienced as important, something that burns, dances, breathes. He challenges himself, us, and the genre itself. He pushes the boundaries. Like the beat poets. Like the lyricist Edvard Munch. He doesn't make it easy for himself. That may be exactly what makes it easy for the EDVARD jury to give the Text Prize for 2012 to Lars Vaular.

The jury's reasoning

Ørjan Matre is one of our most successful young composers, and from the very beginning has claimed the large format; the symphony orchestra. His clarinet concerto, written for Rolf Borch and premiered with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011, clearly shows a composer who handles the large orchestral apparatus with striking naturalness. The work is “irritatingly well written”, as a member of the Edvard jury humorously put it. From the first, shimmering opening notes we hear a composer who knows how to maintain the tension and let the sound unfold in its own time; there is no rush here. On the other hand, an ability to hold on to secrets a little, and let the work play out in a dynamic span with large, and occasionally undisguised dramatic contrasts. The Edvard jury believes that we are dealing with a work here that will remain in the orchestras’ repertoire.

Maria Mena has developed into a songwriter with a signature of her own. The melodies have taken the form of beautiful ballads and catchy pop songs, with a power that reaches an audience far beyond Norway's borders. Her fifth album "Viktoria" brings together her ability to communicate on many levels. There is a consistently dark and melancholic undertone in Mena's melodies. At the same time, they are distinctly beautiful. We hum along to the repeated phrases - melodious note sequences that stick in the ear upon first listening. Her lyrics, on the other hand, touch the pain threshold, are experienced as very personal, and go far beyond a conventional pop comfort zone. In this nervous balance of terror between music and lyrics, dangerous and alluring, burst or bear, Maria Mena shows her dimension and originality as a songwriter. She keeps her textual darkness in check with the warm accessibility of the melodies. Sophisticated arrangements preserve the simplicity of the melodies, but at the same time add an unpredictable and playful lightness to them. "Viktoria" is about the human struggle to reconcile with oneself. With this album, Maria Mena emerges as a mature, prominent figure in Norwegian music life.

The jury's reasoning

Jenny Hval is no newcomer, but in every way a steady challenger in Norwegian music life: Where does she belong? She herself says: In music. At the same time, text seems to be the springboard for everything she does, and she creates tactile texts that are not much like other texts in Norwegian music. Another springboard is improvisation. A third is voice; not the schooled voice, but the voice as the embodiment of sensual experience, through singing styles that not least challenge the expectations of popular music. "Viscera" ("the internal organs") is a concept album that both directly and subtly explores a kind of "body's being in the world", without this appearing pompous or distant. The album is a liberatingly different, and seductively eccentric element in Norwegian music, which with a small group of alert musicians and a co-creative producer, creates expectations for new, unprecedented music.

The jury's reasoning

TONO's 2012 Mediation Award goes to German record producer Manfred Eicher. His musical expertise, position and burning commitment have contributed to developing, elevating and presenting a wide range of Norwegian composers, lyricists and performers. From having contributed significantly to putting the concept of "Nordic jazz" on the international music map, Eicher has in recent years become involved with high-profile releases also within classical, experimental contemporary music. Eicher thus appears today as a courageous, independent mediator in a broad field of contemporary expression.

Most often in collaboration with Jan Erik Kongshaug, he has initiated more than a thousand recordings, and thus also contributed to an invaluable enrichment of the Norwegian studio environment.

From the first second, Johan Sara jr piques our curiosity. Soundscapes with natural sounds, voices, breath and occasional heavy rhythm links merge into exciting music. It is unpredictable, Johan Sara jr invites us on a journey, and we are happy to follow. From the minimalist to the great epic, all rooted in something we can all recognize in – namely our roots.

Johan Sara jr has taken his Sami roots as a starting point, the sounds of the plateau, joik, reindeer, dogs and water form the instrumentation in the music. It is nuanced, details are processed beyond recognition and placed creatively in the soundscape. Here we find vocal cluster chords and sophisticated electronic processing of organic sound sources where the contrasts are great. The music makes us think about the seasons, fragments of what is to come are used in an effective musical context.

Johan Sara Jr. dares to dwell on the moods without it becoming boring and with this album creates music that abolishes genre-based divisions in contemporary music.

The jury's reasoning

Susanne Sundfør is still a young artist, but she has created an album that is as heavy and delicate as only a very mature and experienced artist can at best commit. Critics have already pointed out that she is a skilled singer with an almost otherworldly voice, but it is as a composer that Susanne Sundfør receives the Edvard Prize. With her album The Brothel, Susanne Sundfør has impressed and moved not only the Edvard Prize jury, but a whole corps of critics and music buyers in Norway and abroad. Although it is natural to pay tribute to the epic title track "The Brothel", the jury has chosen to give her the prize for the entire album. The compositions complement each other and show her talent in a wide range, but the album is experienced as a necessary whole. Here, both the dark, adventurous and the painful, bright are present. The compositions are both dramatic and beautiful, they create a kind of hypermodern seriousness.

The jury will also praise how the music supports the lyrics, giving them greater depth and nuance. It is the jury's view that we are dealing with an exceptionally gifted composer who deserves the Edvard Prize already for his third album.

The jury's reasoning

There aren't many original opera texts written in Norwegian, but "Med kniven på strupen" by Vigdis Hjorth is definitely one of them. It is witty, to the point and delightfully theatrical in its associations with the macabre tradition of Bartok's "Bluebeard" and Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd".

The operatic form's requirement for the opposite of a wordy dialogue is well taken care of here, and makes way for a situational comedy that does not need long translations and explanations to be effective. “With a knife in your throat” is a blood-spattered text from a driven author who does not hesitate to use established genre concepts as a starting point for modern musical theatre. The text triggers musical actions – it is a textual trampoline that creates good, pointed situations. With the libretto for “With a knife in your throat”, Hjorth has intuitively understood what is required of a text to accommodate the dynamics of the operatic form.

The jury's reasoning

Ketil Hvoslef is the most subtle of composers, and in this relatively short, concentrated work he does not deny himself. One cello can make more sound than most other strings, and when – as here – 8 cellists add breadth to convey a family story, it results in an energy, drama and humor that is far from self-evident in today's concert halls. The work is full of surprises. Just when you think you have grasped the point and form, something new, something unpredictable happens. The composer uses the entire finely tuned expressive register that a combined cello group can display, from the small, barely audible detail, up to the large, harmonious canvas.

Octopus Rex, with its concise, concentrated form, is an exceptionally successful addition to a current repertoire.

Drawing on punk and grunge, the creators have challenged the framework of progressive rock. Their music uses rock's energy and format, but adds an experimental and groundbreaking expression.

The lyrics support the music in a masterful way. They use the capital letters of rock, both observant and enigmatic, to create images and associations that deepen the complexity and diversity of the music.

Over a career spanning more than 20 years, the composers have developed a distinct and original signature to their compositions. Their work has earned them great recognition, both in Norway and internationally.

The authors have always worked with a focus on the album format. The jury therefore finds it appropriate to award the prize for the entire album and not for a single work. The jury further believes that the album Child of the Future is very representative of the authors' career.

The jury's reasoning

Writing lyrics requires precision; one must be concise, economize on words, and weave them together with the music, so that the listener can create their own images. Kari Bremnes is able to create lyrics that feel like they have sprung straight from the music – or vice versa.

For the album LY, Kari Bremnes has written lyrics that anyone who has lived for a while can recognize. Dreams we let go of, wishing something was unsaid; regret and reconciliation, vulnerability and dignity. Looking back, settling accounts, being brave.

Kari Bremnes is an artist who constantly tours Europe, with lyrics in Norwegian. Not just any Norwegian. A Norwegian with a powerful local anchoring, as much as a content anchoring in a woman's life today, with significant possibilities for identification across national borders.

Kari Bremnes' lyrics for LY are both dark and funny, Norwegian and European; and tell stylishly and openly about life lived.

The jury's reasoning

The work is composed as an introduction to Pergolesi's "Stabat Mater". The great and demanding theme is thus Mary's suffering on the cross, and the short text (by Karin Moe) that forms the basis of Prime Preparation is shaped as the son's hymn to Mary; "Mother of Life".

To approach one of history's great works, and expose oneself to direct comparison with a master, is of course risky. Contrary to what the additional instrumentation might suggest (trumpet and percussion), it does not happen with great details. On the other hand, we have been given a rare filigree work of a work, radically subdued in tone, and with an exceptionally fine-tuned economy of means. The way the composer makes the strings pulsate and live – without well-known clichés – right through the half-hour long work is both captivating and fascinating to listen to. The rest of the instrumentation is inserted sparingly and accurately into the whole.

This music “goes somewhere”; it is going to Pergolesi, but first it must be here and now, in our time. Without paraphrasing the predecessor in any easy or unambiguous way, the transition from the current to the past work feels both seamless and meaningful; yes, as the title suggests: a preparation.

The work is written for the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, two vocal soloists, alto flute, trumpet and percussion.

The jury's reasoning

With a personal and heartfelt tone, unique playing technique and bold use of electronics, Nils Petter Molvær has succeeded in creating his own soundscapes. His music is the result of playfulness where composition, production and improvisation are often equal. With elements from modern jazz, electronica, hip-hop, ambient, house, pop and prog-rock, he has developed a modern Nordic tonal language that has garnered deserved international recognition. On the album Hamada, Molvær refines his own expression, seducing us with captivating, meditative motifs, still sound surfaces and simple melody lines. He dares to stand alone in a subdued expression with references to the minimalism of contemporary music. The album appears as a holistic work. He also makes room for solid, creative musicians who add beautiful soundscapes and massive energy in the form of heavy and suggestive rhythms.

This is distinctive music that once again consolidates Nils Petter Molvær's prominent position in Norwegian music life.

The jury's reasoning

This year's prize winner can point to an exceptionally rich and multifaceted list of works. His versatile musical background has resulted in an artistic production that encompasses a wide range of techniques and musical forms of expression. The prize winner's compositions are performed all over the world, and he is considered one of the Nordic countries' foremost living composers. The winning work Strange News is based on a libretto by Joose de Paauw and leads the listener into a dramatic story about the cynical exploitation of child soldiers in Africa. The composer uses an extensive multimedia apparatus that he masters with great virtuosity: symphony orchestra, actor, video and surround computer sound. The work's structural development of form has a condensed and captivating momentum, and the orchestral movement is rigorous, insistent and powerful. The dramatic and captivating text together with the intense theatrical means effectively drive the plot forward. The interpretation of the individual's vulnerability, vulnerability and the path back to a dignified life is heartbreaking and keeps the listener in a firm grip. Strange News is commissioned by the Oslo Philharmonic and Casa da Musica, Porto in collaboration with NRK, Christian Relief Network and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The jury's reasoning

The award winner has a unique position as the first lady of Norwegian rock. She is a rebel and a diva at the same time, and has been a role model for other Norwegian songwriters. The album Om igjen for første gang is a tribute to love, for better or worse. The lyrics are close, warm, funny, ironic, painful and courageous. The words are music alone, - good singable choruses, which grab and stick on the first listen. The music is both sophisticated and folk, with surprising harmonic turns and great arrangements. The composer has brought along a group of exquisite musicians who elevate the lyrics and melody, - while respectfully preserving the award winner's distinctive character. She has once again climbed up the charts with the song God nok som du er.

The jury's reasoning:

“Norwegians are not as urban as they think.” The prizewinner’s own claim is difficult to argue against when you see the popularity he, his fellow composer Aslak Haugen and the Hallingdal band Hellbillies enjoy everywhere. Ever-increasing record sales and sing-alongs from packed rock clubs and country parks speak of a modern and inclusive repertoire. Music and lyrics have undisguised roots in American folk music. Here, the “storyteller” tradition is a central element, and on the album Spissrotgang, the lyricist confirms his unique ability to convey simple, down-to-earth stories with dialect pride and love for his local environment. His background as a teacher and folk musician is reflected in solid professional craftsmanship and impressive insight. Within the strict musical framework of pop music, he writes with thematic originality, a conscious use of language and a lush voice.

The jury's reasoning

This year's prize winner can look back on almost 50 years of work in Norwegian music. In his music, he has often been inspired by political themes. He has also done so in the work A Bible Story, written for 1 actor and 15 musicians. In the work, the prize winner outlines the Bible story in 44 minutes. The text consists of excerpts from the Bible that are put together in a poetic-rhythmic form into a coherent story. It begins with the account of creation and ends, like the Bible, with the Revelation of John. It follows a biblical historical development that describes how and why the Bible, for better or worse, has had an impact on the current situation in the world. The class struggle is a recurring theme; how some become slaves and some become masters, an issue that strongly engages the prize winner. A Bible Story is a powerful work with a captivating dramaturgical momentum. The work is dynamically and transparently orchestrated in such a way that the text always stands out clearly, while the orchestral movement appears intense and powerful. The Edvard jury sees A Bible Story as a strong commentary on today's debate about freedom of expression, self-determination and Muhammad cartoons. The work was commissioned by the Oslo Sinfonietta.

The jury's reasoning

With the violin concerto Double Portrait, the prizewinner has created a personal, solid and richly faceted work with a strong, inherent dramatic power. The musical form is cyclical and is chiseled out into a dense tissue of seven interconnected movements, all named after the titles of a poem cycle by WH Auden. The electronics respond to the soloist's own material, and a dramaturgy arises in which the electro-acoustic voices develop a network of additional events that together create a subtle double portrait of the violin. The expressiveness of the sound masses and the poetic play of lines speak directly to the listener in an artistic form that thereby completes a musical line in the composer's production. The work was commissioned by IRCAM, Radio France Musique and the Ultima Festival.

The jury's reasoning:

For many years, the award winner has been searching for new, unknown soundscapes. Using ice as a sound source, he has developed an original and distinctive concept. He uses self-made instruments such as ice percussion, isophone and ice horns in his music. The album Igloo appears as a holistic composition. The work is experimental and unpredictable, where the fragility and power of the ice create great contrasts. The composer takes us into his own sound world, and advanced sound processing brings out timbres that are not audible to the ordinary ear. Percussive elements form the core of the ice music, while Sidsel Endresen's distinctive voice adds closeness and warmth to the work. Improvisation and playfulness have been edited into a bold work with a clear idea of ​​creating music that has never been heard before.

The jury's reasoning:

Thorough, thorough and good craftsmanship characterize his compositions. He has composed film music, signatures for TV, music aimed at children and, not least, the prize winner has elevated and refined the work of other popular composers. Everything from metal bands to bands, choirs and artists have benefited from his orchestral arrangements. In 2006, the prize winner helped seduce a new generation through the music for the film and TV series about the lifeboat Elias, which has become extremely popular. Many children now hum his melodies that create the atmosphere around the main character. The film about Elias has also garnered great recognition far beyond Norway's borders.

The jury's reasoning

In the open class we find a composer who has long impressed us with his ability to use impulses from others and to juggle between styles. Transferred to his own language, with professional confidence, he plays with clichés and quotes in an impulsive and innovative way that is both impressive and fascinating. This talent is particularly evident in larger-scale music drama, where the interaction between text, action and music within the strict framework of the theater must be respected. In his other production of contemporary music, he formulates himself in a topical and searching manner. The overall impression is of a creative and productive author with much on his heart and an open attitude to writing music. This year's work is based on Johan Falkberget's "The Fourth Night Watch" with libretto by Ivar Tindberg.

The jury's reasoning

Tough, hard-hitting and energetic guitar riffs are central to the prize winner's compositions, and simple but effective harmony and form form the framework. He has developed a completely unique style in music and lyrics, and through the band DUMDUM BOYS he has been a style creator and guide for Norwegian rock. The prize winner is perhaps the most obvious Norwegian rock poet, but without a classic narrative style. The lyrics consist rather of a series of poetic, fragmented, infectious messages in a personal form. His ability to deliver lyrics where the listener himself must build his own images from a mysterious, exciting and contrasting different world is unique.

In 2005, this creator has delivered new contributions to an album that has seduced a new generation of audiences. Once again, he has brought a rock song to the top of the charts and made all of Norway sing along that he is both a Splitter Pine and a Unicorn.

The jury's reasoning

What we call contemporary music or new music will always be a combination of tradition and experimental innovation. With this year's prize winner, it feels as if the music springs from late Romanticism with its mixture of sensuality and the longing for heavenly beauty. But now in a new form. The musical expression here becomes a fusion of European late Romanticism and international modernism, but with an indefinable Nordic patina and developed with great formal certainty and intelligence into a completely personal style. This is a composer we think we know, and whom we think we know so well that we sometimes think we can predict the next musical move. But most often we are wrong, and with this piece from 2005 we have been fooled once again. From his secret warehouse, the prize winner has brought out new sides and elements that once again make our ears grow and our hearts beat. This is music that seems just as vital and innovative as it did 50-60 years ago, and we can only thank you for another exciting, beautiful and inspiring gift to the music world and congratulate you on the EDVARD Prize!

The jury's reasoning

With a simple and breathtakingly beautiful theme, the listener is lured into a familiar musical landscape where one can safely close one's eyes and just let oneself be carried away. The work's function as applied music becomes a strength this time because the composer fulfills all its requirements and prerequisites with creativity and integrity. The traditionally strict form of the mass is maintained, while the improvised jazz parts neither seem unmotivated nor foreign. A holistic idea is carried forward by singable lines and elegant compositional solutions. This is music that can be performed by many and will be appreciated by the vast majority.

The jury's reasoning

A naked, intimate, well-formed, new folk music work with something personal, bright and untouched about it. It is mixed with traditional material, but bold arrangements, bouncy melodies and non-traditional instrument combinations make one listen with fresh ears. The deviation towards Irish folk music and jazz also appears as completely natural and homely spices in the play.

The jury's reasoning

A work with large, organic waves of intensity, composed of condensation/dilution of rhythmic activity, color shifts, instrumentation, and with microtonal melody and harmony lines. Good tension/balance between soloists and plenum, different placements in the room, microphoned sound and acoustic sound. A personal, solid and richly faceted work, with a strong, underlying dramatic force. Carefully coordinated imagery and lighting further clarify the piece.

The jury's reasoning

In this performance, music is a supporting element and an important dramaturgical partner to the text, movement and scenography. The musical starting point is a classic ballroom dance of folk origin – for most composers, a rather narrow framework. But the composer manages to vary the form in such a way that it constantly deepens the emotional content, constantly illuminates the material in new ways and constantly develops interestingly as music. And thus the original genre is also renewed. The composer shows impressive craftsmanship and great artistic understanding of the content of the piece. Through his participation, he makes an important contribution to releasing a bold idea.

The jury's reasoning

Tolerate is the result of a collaboration between several key creators in Norwegian popular music. The lyrics have a serious and vulnerable undertone. The melody in the verse is unpredictable, the chorus is catchy and melancholic. The song grows with each listen and manages to take the listener on a journey where lyrics and melody complement and support each other. The arrangement is dynamic, with many refined details. The way they have used electronics in combination with acoustic instruments gives the song a clear and distinctive signature. Tolerate is a personal, beautiful and modern pop song with international impact