+47 N-2002: hellos? goodbuys?
Nu-year ...

2002 passed by. Incredibly fast. What happened really? Or did anything happen at all? Anything worth mentioning? The word is 2002 sold a lot more Norwegian records than other years. And there were released a lot. In fact I think 2002 must be the year presenting the highest number of discs in the history of 'popular music' in Norway. Loads of EPs. But also many a full-lenght album. And; incredibly many of them were debutants.

We haven't got neither the capasity nor the possibility to have a look at all of them here at the Kafé. Not even half of them. Maybe not even one out of ten. So, let's take a quick scroll through some of the others.

Ape-rock (Dictators, Ramones, etc) is still not out-fashioned and Gluecifer toured heavily to promote their Basement Apes. Two other from the heavy-weight classes were We and their Dinosauric Futurobic and Camaros's Romantique. The more melodic rock band Furia had a minor success with their debut Furia EP, and I'm excited to hear the young girls' up-coming first album. Power-poppers Beezewax put out their second album Oh Tahoe, and toured both UK and continental Europe. Another band of pop-heads Margarets finally finished their debut What kept you after how many years?

Of a melancholy nature came two surprises: Thomas Dybdahl's ..that great October sound and (yes, it's a group name) Jim Stärk's Ten songs and hey hey. German label Glitterhouse put out fascinating The White Birch's (see our October interview) Star is just a sun, while 'alright-let's-equip-our-audience-with-head-phones-combo' Schtimm (dreamy lo-fi Sun/Sun EP) could be another band to watch.

Of the more electronic pop and out in the experimental fields of new sound were Kim Hiorthøy's collage-pop electro-style Melke, ice-queen beauty Frost's second album Melodica, Jazzkammer's Pancakes, and Alexander Rishaug with his Panorama. And, finally, the ruling hip-hop street kids (besides kings of all: Tungtvann) Apollo who put out his Mine damer og herrer album, and Equicez's Live from pass it. Ooops, I almost forgot to mention an album I didn't get to hear (yet): a collection (put together by Lars Mørch Finborud a.k.a. Lasarus, of Uro) of various artists called Maiden Voyage: a wide selection of grooves from Norway '66-'76. Included are music from two laughed at films (from 1969) dealing with "herbal pleasure and horror"; Himmel og helvete (Heaven and Hell) and Psychedelica Blues. And that's a fitting end for this flashback of 2002...

Copyright © 2003 Håvard Oppøyen