espen gustavsen - lead vocals/guitar
pål gustavsen - vocals/banjo/guitar
jon iver helgaker - vocals/hammond/rhodes/synth
nils ulset brodersen - drums
eirik iversen - vocals/bass
Influences
captain beefheart, gillian welch, black sabbath, led zeppelin, grateful dead, frank zappa, wilco
Promo / Distribution
Tuba Records
www.tubarec.com
Kristine Bjørnstad-Promotion manager
+47 976 87 978
Booking:
Europe
henning@proton-team.com
henning beste
fon + 49 (0)561-2889126
fax + 49 (0)561-22891
Norway
thomas@atomicagency.no
Atomic Agency AS
t (+47) 24 14 55 02
f: (+47) 24 14 55 01
Sounds Like
Love In Decay - directed by Lars Einar Skageberg
Wish It Was Summer Always - directed by Lars Einar Skageberg
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Fountain - directed by Petter Sørnæs, 2007
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Us Annexed - directed by Aksel Hennie, 2006
Us Annexed
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Check out this live video recorded by Mr Lars Einar Skageberg performed at Blå, Oslo.
The Inbetween is the everything - September 2006. Good job, Lars!
Two brothers have spent the most of their lifetime plucking strings and hammering pianos and beatup drums in the ways of mountain music and deltablues. As Grand Island sprouted three more musicians after the brothers returned from overseas, they grew tired of the limitations in the Appalachian music legacy. And so more and more of the deliciously eccentric sides of music appeared as the bands sound grew from straight ahead amerigrass to a tight, energetic and dirty hybrid in the mesh made from hardsoul-bluegrass-disco, hardcore and rocknroll; southern indie. Sulphur vocals, heavy organs, banjo fingers from 76, desert bass and big city drums. Its a joyous, uncompromising melodic rhythm-galore, with two brothers on skins and bass and two brothers in front on strings and wails, with one fifth of keys on the side. The band has one foot in west coast glamorama and the other in Georgia, with its head pushed down in the sand of 29 Palms, one arm from Motor City, Appalachian revival-folk and gospel. Sin songs and sin-alongs.
Grand Island released their debut-album 'Say no to
sin' in 2006, and the album was nothing less than a
summer storm of a record, or a
mountain dam cracking open perhaps.
'Amiss are norms, order and respect for expectations.
Loath of narrative logic, temperance and a structure
of recognition, Grand Island’s dual pair of brothers
-with an unrelated fifth member constituting the
genetic freak- pour into the cauldron of their music
frantic banjos, jungle beats and primal veils,
blood-line precision, crystal-meth energy and general
hysteria.
The songs are not symmetrical and rounded entities,
nay, they are more reminiscent of the path of a
drugged, or inbred, mind, leaping ever-on never back.
They are complex, fragmented and most of all frantic
sequences of music. Like caustic soda and milk, the
true mountain dew, Grand Island is not something to
hold on to: you must go along and pick up the speed as
it gathers, and then, when the chorus sets in,
everything lifts like a vast flock of birds.
The choruses tend to be catchy beyond imagination
(“sin-song, sin-along” as they aptly put it
themselves) and constitute some kind of recurring
comment on the madness, or a promise: “there is always
a party near for those who dare!” (mic.no)'
After three European tours, performances at larger
festivals on the continent as well as invitations to
South by Southwest and Eurosonic, nominations for
Spellemann- (Norwegian Grammy) and Alarmawards, Grand
Island is finally back.
With the critically acclaimed debut-album 'Say no to
sin' in the trunk, the band has spent the last year on
the road and in studio to record their second album.
Sweet and tears has been left behind, and blood has
been spilt. Cars crashed and bridges burned. All so
that the band with pride and humility can present
“Boys & Brutes”, an album for those that wish to cry,
dance or fight.
The album is recorded and mixed in the famous
Propeller studios with Mike Hartung (A-ha, Shining,
Satyricon, JR Ewing and more) as producer. The album
is mastered in Los Angeles by Dave Collins (Queens of
the stone age, Madonna, Black Sabbath, Sting, and
more.)
The music of Grand Island can be described as an
unrelenting mix of pumping string-handling, subtle yet
insanely shifts in tempo, mood and intensity. The band
has on the new album worked hard to keep their
originality and trademarks, but at the same time
sought to expand their musical expression in a more
melodic, manifoldly and dynamic direction. In short,
it is very much Grand Island, but with a further
dimension.
Grand Island is planning a Norwegian tour in April
followed by a European tour in May as well as selected
festivals through-out northern Europe.
“There are two choices; you either love them to pieces
or you want to bust their heads from confusion”
'Selv om alle radiolyttere med respekt for seg selv har hørt låter som «Us Annexed» og «Love in Decay» flerfoldige ganger, har Grand Island av en eller annen syk grunn unnlatt å bli et skikkelig stort band i Norge. Ganske mye ligger jo til rette for nettopp dét; hitene, særegenheten og viljen er på plass. Og tro nå heller ikke at den biten med «live» mangler! Grand Island er uten tvil et av Norges beste band for tiden, og å se dem på en festivalscene er fantastisk moro. 9/10'
(anmeldelse fra øyafestivalen 2008 - musikknyheter.no http://www.musikknyheter.no/concert/4224)
Grand Island stiller i en egen liga i Norge da det er svært få eller ingen som spiller en slik form for musikk. Bandet er anno 2008 i storform og utstråler en energi som få er forunt. (puls.no)
Grand Island har et altoppslukende og frittenkende forhold til sjangere, og de har musikaliteten til å gi krumspringene både høyde og retning. De er sjeldent originale fugler i den utvidede norske rockfaunanen. (dagbladet)
Grand Island er ikke et band du kan mislike, for de river deg med seg med kreativitet, humør og tempo. De har låter og vendinger som engasjerer, og materiale nok til å avslutte med platas mulige høydepunkt, «Death And Dying». (dagsavisen)
Grand Island har referansene i orden. Enkelte ganger er det som om Franz Ferdinand har brutt seg inn i en Grateful Dead-konsert, andre ganger er det som en ørkenrock paret med kammerpop - her nekter man seg ingenting. Når vokalen strekker seg på tå i "The Flux Of History", er det et lite stykke himmel som berøres. (aftenposten)
Grand Island har kreativiteten til Beach Boys (perioden 65-67) og så har de hentet galskapen og energien til Stones (63-66). Det hele oser av spilleglede og det sprudler som champagne. Når året 2008 skal oppsummeres så tror jeg Boys & Brutes vil være langt framme. Et glimrende album har dette blitt. (groove.no)
Det er nettopp måten Grand Island hopper bukk over sjangergrenser som gjør dem til et så interessant band. Det å aldri kunne vite hva som kommer eller hvilken vei låtene vil ta. Få om noen norske band som kan vise en slik energi og musikalske kromspring som det Grand Island gjør på sitt beste. (musikknyeheter.no)
Et album som virkelig sprudler. Grand Island bare kjører videre i gode spor. Debuten "Say No To Sin" var bra, men denne er bedre. Flere knallåter denne gangen enn sist. (rb.no)
På årets plate er de tilbake med mer av det samme som gjorde debuten spennende, men denne gang i en mer raffinert og elegant utgave. Grand Island et band som mener alvor, og det er tydelig at massiv konsertjobbing har skapt en trygghet og selvtillit som har gjort seg utslag også i studio- og låtskriversammenheng. ”Razorblades and Celebrations" er noe av det mest fengende vi har hørt på svært lenge. (moss-avis)
Thank you for accepting our friend request!! Really appreciate it. Wish you an awesome thursday! =) Very best regards from Norway and Merlin’s Company!
“Beware of the armadilloes whose dark shadows sweeps the streets”
Vi gjør Norwegian Wood Music For China vol 11 samleren med Norske band i Kina nå, kun 2 ledige spotter igjen. Kommer ut i Kina i 10.000 eksemplarer. Ta kontakt om du/dere ønsker å være med, dere finner mer info i bloggene våre også.
Hörspielfest Altzella am 25./26. Juli 2009 im Klosterpark Altzella. Wir sehen uns am Wochenende! Mehr Informationen findet Ihr auf www.hörspielfest-altzella.de
Hey Grand Island! Come take a ride on a rocket ship with me to the outer reaches of the cosmos. We can take the time to look around and find out all the great and magical things about Einstein and physics and the world we live in.
Hi guys, It's a great pleasure to have you as my friends on MySpace. Thanks for accepting my friend request! Your music sounds good!You're awesome! I wish you much success with your music. Cheers from Brazil!
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