Haakon Ellingsen: vocals, guitars, ukulele, banjo, keyboards, mandolin. Ketil Einarsen (Jaga Jazzist, Okasa): flutes, keyboards, vocals, saxy. Brynjar Dambo (White Willow, Okasa): keyboards, guitar, engineering. Gaute Storsve (Ignore): guitars, lapsteel, charango, keyboards. Henning Sandsdalen (Hanne Hukkelberg): bass, acoustic bass, lapsteel. Øystein Hvamen Rasmussen (Oslo Inn): drums, percussion. Sigrun Eng (Slagr, Tirill): cello. Erik Johannessen (Jaga Jazzist): trombone, French horn. Leif Ovesen (Pussycats, March Brown): vibraphone. Lars Pedersen (The Last James, WHEN): background vocals. The songs are produced by Brynjar Dambo, Haakon Ellingsen and Ketil Einarsen. "Jenny Kiss'd Me" is produced by Kyrre Fritzner and H.E, "Rainfalls" is produced by Morten Pettersen and H.E, "Butterflies" is produced by Lars Pedersen.
If you buy Haakon Ellingsen: "Bounty" from Termo Records you will hopefully find out that: "There is a certain sombre, cerebral playful something about those songs, so beautiful it hurts! They have a gentle aftertaste only matched by Brian Wilson at his creative peak around PET SOUNDS and SMILE. The songs don't seem to be particularly American or British inspired, or inspired by music from any other country for that matter, apart from the lyrics. They're out of time and out of geography. They are the perfect ballads Jeff Lynne (Idle Race, Electric Light Orchestra, Travelling Wilburys and...The Beatles...) has been striving at for the past 40 years." (Luna Kafe record review)
Baroque Pop Radio/Sean Foudy has posted this nice video!!!: "I'd Stay In This Mood All My Life If I Could" ("The Plum Album"- Termocd002)...:
Haakon Ellingsen is a Norwegian singer/songwriter, and musician. Psychedelic is one way to characterize his music; baroque pop, chamber pop, progressive or folk may be others.
He was a member of the neo-psychedelic pop group The Last James (1992-1999). After working with Lars Pedersen (WHEN) and Lars Lillo-Stenberg (De Lillos) in The Last James, he has released his music under such varied names as Gramophones, Sir Haakon & The Popular Musicians, Haakon, and now, finally, Haakon Ellingsen.
Discography: The Last James: "TLJ" (1993) The Last James: "Kindergarten" (1996) Gramophones: "Boy"-ep (1996) Gramophones: "The Last Dreamer" (1997) Haakon: "Minstrel" (2001) Sir Haakon & The Popular Musicians: "What Is To Come...?" (2004) Haakon Ellingsen: "Bounty" (2005) WHEN: "Trippy Happy" (2007) (partaking, composer: "Butterflies") Haakon Ellingsen: "The Plum Album" (2008)
"Haakon's dreamy delights have a pleasing habit of staying with you." (Marco Rossi, Shindig! on "The Plum Album")
"Norwegian Haakon Ellingsen clearly loves old psych, acid-folk and baroque pop too. Though some of "The Plum Album" is a tad over-stretched, when it works it astounds, and Ellingsen's arrangements are often mesmerising. "Tonight" brings fellow bearded, heavy-set Scandinavian Ebbott Lundberg to mind and even rips a Soundtrack Of Our Lives' song title off in the process, yet all is forgiven as it's so good." (Jon "Mojo" Mills, Record Collector on "The Plum Album")
"They say that one of the albums by Haakon's ex-band The Last James, is one of the Top5 Norwegian albums of all time. I don't know about the other four, but this one's just got to be one of them!" (Popism on "The Plum Album")
"Haakon Ellingsen's style of pop may hint of classic artists like The Beatles and, perhaps less so, The Beach Boys, but despite tiny similarities his music is quite unique. This is definitely a pop artist to keep an eye on in 2009 and beyond!" (Fense Post "Best Of 2008 Top 33 & 1/3" on "The Plum Album")
"He is one of our most outstanding songwriters with clear references to the late sixties, updated for our own times version of the era. Earlier, he got an outlet for this in The Last James ("Kindergarten" is Norways 5th or maybe even 3rd best pop album of all time). The word melodic becomes empty when to describe Haakon's pop music." (Audun Vinger (Natt Og Dag) on "Bounty")
"Haakon has the uncanny ability to create music which sounds at once both strange and familiar. The range on "The Plum Album" goes from the balladeer of some Cezanne painting, (with the same beautiful brush strokes), to the guy who's music makes you ask: "hmm, wonder how that tea tasted?!" (Not your Fathers tea, either)." (Valis (tripinsidethishouse.blogspot.com) on "The Plum Album")
""Charlie" must be the best soft Lennon ballad not to be written by Lennon himself, ever." "The Plum is ripe and most nibbles are as juicy and sweet as can be!" (Luna Kafe record review on "The Plum Album")
"Plum Album"-reviews and the roll of the dice...:
Spirit: 5/6 "There's something strangely beautiful about this recording."
Hamar Arbeiderblad: 5/6 "The songs are easy to sing along to, beautiful, melancholic and interesting."
Stavanger Aftenblad: 5/6 " "The Plum Album" is without doubt one of this autumn's finest Norwegian popalbums."
Romerikes Blad: 5/6 " "Bounty", that came in 2005, was a kind of a breakthrough, and this follow-up album is even better."
groove.no: 5/7 "Love for popmusic as a form of art."
Dagbladet: 4/6 "Sharp focus on the melody and accurately measured amounts of nostalgia."
Østlendingen: 4/6 "Elaborate and charming."
Fense Post: "It's uplifting and fun and has all the pop elements a pop fan could want."
Dagens Næringsliv: "King Haakon"... "And to be completely honest, the melodic lines are even more interesting here than on Brian Wilson's latest solo-album."
HOW TO BUY...: "THE PLUM ALBUM": Termo Records, heyday-mo.com, notlame.com, cdbaby.com, Platekompaniet/platekompaniet.no, marquee.com.jp "BOUNTY": heyday-mo.com, termorecords.com, jazzis.com (see: "Top Friends"), Platekompaniet/platekompaniet.no... "WHAT IS TO COME...?": jazzis.com (see: "Top Friends"), Platekompaniet/platekompaniet.no, cdbaby.com, or leave a message here on myspace.com/haakonellingsen and we can make an arrangement with use of PayPal... GRAMOPHONES: "BOY", "THE LAST DREAMER"...: s2records.com THE LAST JAMES: "KINDERGARTEN" (LP): heyday-mo.com
....FRIZZ RECORDS is proud to announce our fourth LP release...
LEILA ADU has been described as 'A Nina Simone for the Noughties', and her two acclaimed albums infuse a broadly 'art-rock' approach with elements of torch song, speakeasy blues, avant garde jazz, gamelan, post-rock textures, and a David Lynch style dreamlike b-movie melodrama. As her website has it, exploring the "dissonant edges of familiar forms", but with that kind of 'dissonance' that they once accused Thelonious Monk or Debussy of, the kind that soon betrays it's own compelling melodic and harmonic logic to the attentive listener...
'Dark Joan', Leila's third album as a solo artist, was recorded in Chicago with the legendary Steve Albini (PJ Harvey, Joanna Newsome, Nirvana, Pixies), and Albini's genius has been to strip her sound back to it's essence, and hold it's most distinctive qualities up to the light. It doesn't hurt that this is by far Leila's most powerful set of songs to date, and if anything we are lead even deeper into her world by the pictures painted with just piano (or in some cases harpsichord or a grime-encrusted electric piano) and that voice...
Capable of anything from delicate heartbreaking purity to a fearsome dramatic power, her powers are seemingly limitless, yet unlike most other singers of her calibre, never does she resort to melodrama or show-boating, or any kind of pastiche, instead she employs her resources fully in the expression of her distinctive musical vision and the deep well-spring of her imagination. Nothing ever sounds as though it could have not been sung...
Hey Haakon, sad to hear about your old cat. My Pipo ("Robby the cat") passed away last April, he was very ill nad only was 4 years old. Now I'm writing many new songs. Hope to have them all recorded by end of the year. I'm not anymore playing for Navy Blue...we had different opinions about the band and all friendly decided to stop playing together. Most probably I will start solo now. I will let you know what happens! All the best always! Yani
Hello Haakon! Hope you and yours are doing great. I enjoy very much listenning to your song "Dear funny" it is a lovely tune, and remembers me of summer :) Hugs for you, the cats and the plum tree :) Yani
You bet! I am also very fond of those old Humblebums songs. Our Gerry in the very beginning. He was - and still IS - wonderful! Thank you for joining me.
