Norway's Electronic Music Scene: 16 Acts You Need to Know

In today’s Internet age, it can be hard to decipher and segment cultures. Musically speaking, cultures have historically been subdivided mostly by g

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Complex Original

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In today’s Internet age, it can be hard to decipher and segment cultures. Musically speaking, cultures have historically been subdivided mostly by genres and locales, but that’s becoming an increasingly hard challenge. As sounds and scenes meld across the globe in an unprecedented fashion via the Internet, stars can seemingly be born out hype and blogwork, but the reality is, some places really just have something going on in their water; Scandinavia certainly does. Sweden at the very least has played a significant role in the development of house music, and specifically their iteration of saccharine sweet progressive house (Eric Prydz, Avicii, Swedish House Mafia), but they are not the only ones. In the last couple years especially, Norway has emerged as it’s own electronic music hotspot. Today, some of the biggest and brightest are Norwegian. Check out these Norwegian electronic acts that you need to know.

Bearson

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One of the finest delivering the chill/tropical house sound, Bearson has lit the blogosphere ablaze in the last few months. Now we have yet to hear an original but if his remixes are any indication, Bearson could soon be playing North American festivals as early as next summer.

Boom Jinx

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Boom Jinx has been around a minute. The 40+ Norwegian delivers his own brand of progressive trance and has garnered support from the entire community with releases on Anjunabeats. Armada, Enhanced Recordings, and more. Just this past August Boom Jinx topped the Beatport Trance charts with a single called "The Dark." With Meredith Call on vocals, the track storms heavily with cascading ambiance and a hard-driving big room electro-fusion trance sound.

Cashmere Cat

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He works with pop stars, releases his own delightfully sexy solo music, and DJs around the world. Cashmere Cat no doubt does it differently then everyone else. With releases on Pelican Fly and LuckyMe, the Cat is affiliated with two highly esteemed labels and most definitely redefined what it means to be a bedroom producer.

Fehrplay

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The former Prydz protegé has recently spread his own wings with his new deal with Ultra Music and releases with mau5trap. Fehrplay seems to just be really re-aligning his career trajectory and perhaps will inspire Norweigans as a whole to conjure up a sound that will in time, rival their Scandinavian counterparts, Sweden.

Finnebassen

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Just a month ago or so, Finnebassen had the honor of doing an Essential Mix for Pete Tong's legendary BBC show. The result highlights why Finnebassen is on this list as he effortlessly mixed the deepest of house records with an elegance that few can. Perhaps Norway's icey atmospheres have played a big part in Finnebassen's sound as the soundscapes he creates in his mixes and his own records tend to reflect what I imagine would be the perfect soundtrack for traversing the Fjords.

Jerry Folk

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You have to love how Jerry Folk's currently 19-years-old, has a SoundCloud full of bootleg remixes, and feels like the next thing to potentially pop. if that funky, indie, disco-tinged sound is up your alley, he's definitely one name to look into, as his sound seems to channel everything that works about Giorgio Moroder, Chromeo, and others of that ilk.

Funkin Matt

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This dude already has Fool's Gold, Mad Decent, Musical Freedom, Mixmash, and Ultra behind him. Funkin Matt brings quite simply one funkin' sound that'll sometimes find itself somewhere between an electro of the late '00s with techy, future house aesthetic and others with some crazy weirdo house music. This one versatile producer has shown he can do quite a bit with his tunes and is definitely a Norweigian to watch in the next little bit to see how he progresses.

Kygo

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Is anyone as hot as Kygo is right now? Doubt it. The Norwegian star has officially remixed Coldplay and recently filled-in for Avicii at TomorrowWorld where he rocked the mainstage with his signature uberchill tropical house sound. Now that he's got big deals with Sony/ATV and has an only increasing profile, Kygo's superstardom is slated to grow to somewhat unfathomable heights.

Lemaitre

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This Oslo-based duo might not be household names yet, but give them a year; the world might catch up. They exploded on the scene with a huge remix of Mat Zo and Porter Robinson's "Easy," but have rework tunes from Martin Solveig, collaborated with Camo & Krooked, and had one of their tunes featured in an iTunes TV ad. They're currently on tour with Astralwerks labelmate Porter Robinson, and the feeling is that they're one major hit away from hitting that next level.

Lido

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Lido had one of the craziest runs the blogosphere has seen in recent years with his massive string of remixes this past spring. As the numbers stacked up, anticipation for the Norwegian's debut EP only grew, and when I Love You finally did drop on Pelican Fly, Lido confirmed the hype. On top of that, Lido was slated to go on the now-cancelled Baauer/Boys Noize Run-X tour, but it nonetheless positions the incredibly talented artist at the top of most exciting artists to watch going forward.

Lindstrøm

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How he went from growing up a fan of country and western and playing organ in a Deep Purple tribute band turned into ditching all of his insturments, buying a sampler, and going full bore into electronic music escapes us, but with legends like Giles Peterson and François K singing his praises early, you know he was on the right track. He's remixed everyone from Franz Ferdinand to LCD Soundsystem, released multiple albums, and doesn't seem to play by any rules but one: enjoing what he's doing. Whether its funkier "space disco" or more hypnotic, intoxicating journies, Lindstrøm seems to be ever-evolving. Stick around for the space ride.

Orjan Nilsen

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Kirkenes' Orjan Nilsen is a name only diehard American trancers might know. That's no slight against Nilsen as much as it is a reflection against trance's impact in the U.S.; regardless, Nilsen has been at the damn near top of the trance game for the last 12 years with releases and heavy support from Armin Van Buuren. And as much as people will often decry the importance of the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs list, Nilsen has in fact broken the top 50 each of the last three years, peaking in 2012 with #32. Nilsen is also one of the few trance acts to get booked on North American festivals and that has to mean something for Norway.

Royksopp

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Up until about two years ago now, Royksopp was the symbol for Norwegian electronic music in it's entirety, winning seven Spellemannprisens and receiving one Grammy nomination. They've remixed the likes of Peter Gabriel, Lady Gaga, Beck, Coldplay, and others, and have been critical darlings to boot. The band has had a long illustrious run spanning 16 years and this week they announced their final album entitled The Inevtiable End will be released in November.

Slick Shoota

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While he had some minor success as dubstep producer Mindflow (well, he'd signed tracks to Never Say Die and Rocstar), it was when he morphed into Slick Shoota that proper acclaim came his way. Not only has he gotten love from outlets like OWSLA's Nest, he's dropped tunes on Mad Decent, B.YRSLF Division, Hyperboloid, Kitsunè, and Loose Squares, capitalizing on the juke/footwork craze with his own brand of funk-filled rhythms.

TeeBee

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TeeBee's helped captivate audiences in the drum & bass realm going on 15 years. While he was initially providing intricate vibes via the forward-thinking Certificate 18 imprint, it was his Subtitles Music imprint that saw him truly begin to soar, bringing some soul into the mechanical beats that would gravitate to the techier side of the dnb scene. He's not only helped usher in a number of today's finest producers (including Phace and Ulterior Motive), but he's created new life in his career via his union with Calyx, going from dropping widely-acclaimed material on their own imprints to aligning with the legendayr Ram Records. Their 2012 LP All Or Nothing showed how much he's grown, fusing the ferocity of the past with the appealing sounds of now.

Todd Terje

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Nu-disco might not be the most popular thing these days, but Todd Terje sticks to that sound and does Norway proud. His 2013 track "Inspector Norse" was universally lauded, as was his album. Terje doesn't get the play in the US market like he could, but regardless, Terje is doing his own style with pride making Norway proud.

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