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Unni at MySpace |
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30.11.2006 - RELEASE of Unni's 6th album TIL MEGABOUT THE RELEASE Unni Wilhelmsen took singing&songwriting to Norway. She started ten years ago with a sort of diary style magic moment on a dull day type of songs. English lyrics and melodies people like have earned her great sales through 5 album releases. Oct 2006 Unni released her 6. album: TIL MEG (FOR ME).
Now, two things that are easy to hear make the TIL MEG album different from the previous. The lyrics are in Norwegian cowritten with boyfriend Terje Borg. Secondly, Unni has produced much of the material herself. Resulting in a large span of sounds. She does industrial sounding Goliat (track 3) almost rapping the lyrics. Rocking Til meg (track 9) playing electric guitar. Then Natta sola (Say goodnight to the sun) as a waltz from the north country (track 2). The last song features Unni on piano, and her cat on acoustic guitar after entering the studio through the cat door.
The media has started hinting to the release. The way they do it is a good sign. Consert goers and -critics say that Unni sings beautifully in her own language. So far Unni has achieved two national Golden Records of Sales and two Norwegian Grammies. Record label: St. Cecilia music, Norway (Indie)
UNNI WILHELMSEN BIOGRAPHY Im a Norwegian female musician, writing, composing and performing my own material. I travel around with my guitars playing solo concerts most of the year, in addition to recording albums. I released my first album in 1996. It was awarded 2 Norwegian Grammies. My 5th and latest album, Hurricanes Eye was released in August 2003 through my own record label, St. Cecilia Music. In March 2004, it was released in the other Nordic countries. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa released the album in June 05. My albums have sold a total of over 120.000 copies in Norway so far. My music is in the singer-/ songwriter category, and I write in English mostly. I have played concerts in several parts of the world, on different occasions. In 2001, I contributed on a series of charity concerts against AIDS in Brazil, Thailand, Norway and South Africa. Ive recorded an album and participated in a documentary film for Care Norway in Tanzania 2005, with other female artists from Norway and Africa. Unni Wilhelmsen St. Cecilia Music 2005Questions & Answers1. Who is Unni Wilhelmsen? I sing what I can't say.Maybe in music I find myself. I get to know me a little better for each song I write. Music plays a part in almost every aspect of my life and has done so from an early age. As a kid I wanted a piano most of all. For many years I avoided the guitar I was given. As a young illustrator, I was more technical skilled than expressive and exciting. At the age of twenty I let the guitar out of the closet. Through playing and singing I found genuine and personal places. I quit drawing and started writing my own songs. Writing, playing and listening to music bring me pleasure, challenge and comfort. Like a painter chooses her type of paint, English was the language of my lyrics from the start, even though I’m from Norway. Harmonies from the singer-/ songwriter tradition often inspire my compositions, but sometimes my guitar makes exciting turns of its own. Then I just try to follow, pick up the impulse and turn it into something true or beautiful or both. The creative universes of Suzanne Vega, Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, Shawn Colvin, Nick Drake and Tori Amos have enchanted me for years. I feel like I’m part of that musical inheritance. I write about myself meeting other people. Of how they make me feel and react. I write about what I see. Music makes me know myself better. 2. What made you want to get into music in the first place? Growing up, music didn’t exactly play a prominent part in our family life. The magic of music as I discovered it, soon became a private adventure. I listened to Roger Whittaker at the age of 4, and I new every breath and phrase of the album without understanding the words. The resonance of his voice, the sound of his acoustic guitar, the finger-picking style, the secretive melancholic stories of his songs made a serious impact on me. I must have recognized something from that first encounter when I wore out my Simon & Garfunkel records later on. The harmonies of their landscape and the storytelling of the genre appealed to me like no other musical direction. Only the sound of a piano could compete with that. It was clear my parents wouldn’t get me a piano (we didn't have room for it), so I ended up with a guitar instead. I’ve never accepted it as a substitute for the piano I still wanted, but when I turned twenty, the guitar and I sort of came to terms with one another. I had been writing stuff for a while. Poem like pieces of thoughts and comments. They seemed naked to me. When I grew friendlier with my guitar, I could supply the words with music. It had something to do with jigsaw puzzle. I began to write songs. I sang in piano bars, just to see if I could. I picked up on microphone techniques and got a grip on handling the audience. I grew more familiar with my voice by singing covers, trying to resemble the artist I was covering. After a couple of years in a steady relationship with my guitar, I played my first gig at a club in Oslo. A music journalist came by and he liked what he heard. Without letting me know, he recommended me to a major record company. Out of the blue they called me at home and invited me over. They wanted to hear some of my music. The year was 1995 and I was 24. I had three different part time jobs, rented a small studio apartment and spent my nights working, attending concerts, or hanging out in piano bars. I had taped a couple of my songs at a friend’s house. I brought the cassette with me to the record company castle. The King awaited me in his quarters, and I was Cinderella, wearing my Superman T-shirt and clogs. I was suspicious and not very optimistic. After quietly listening to the tape, the King offered me a record contract and half the Kingdom. I was skeptical and confused, and had to go home and consider for a while. He sent me a draft, and I tried to imagine and understand what changes this contract could bring to my life. I had never wanted fame. I liked my jobs. Did I want everyone to hear my songs? Were there any clauses in the deal that would make me unhappy in the future? Could I quit if I wanted to after signing? Were these people the right ones to release and promote my type of music? Would I be able to keep my jobs at the same time as recording an album, and if not, what would be my economical situation if the record didn’t sell? My life changed that day. After a doubtful while I signed. I became the new Princess of female singer-/songwriters in Norway. The King, his court and I released my debut album ‘To Whom It May Concern’ in February 1996. It was a success. The album was awarded 2 Norwegian Grammies. I had become a musician. 3. How strongly motivated are you in the advancement of your career? I find myself doing things for music’s sake that I wouldn’t do otherwise. Everything starts with my personal relationship with music: Writing it, playing it and listening to it. I don’t think of it as work but as the source that makes it possible to live my life the way I do. I think of myself as one of the luckiest people in history. I want to keep it that way. Much of what I do is hard work. Recording and releasing records, being exposed, doing interviews, traveling up to a hundred and twenty days a year, answering mail from my audience, dealing with economy, going through contracts and papers, learning more about my occupation every day, and taking care of business as professionally as I can. Making music and playing it, is my passion. What I get paid for is making my music available to others. As long as they want access to my passion, I can make a living out of it. To provide my 5th and newest album with the best chances I could, I started my own record label, St. Cecilia Music. I have never worked harder. Taking control of the entire process myself was a real challenge. I had to raise enough money. I had to learn the technicalities and the formalities. I was the composer, the writer, the artist, the musician, the secretary, head of the record company, the accountant, layman lawyer, the art director, the management, the receptionist, and the performer. In addition to everything else I hadn’t thought of initially. I hired qualified help from a producer, a promotion company, local distributors, a photographer and more. As a team we planned and prepared a record release that competed successfully with every other release in Norway this year. As an established artist I couldn’t risk any drop in quality. I sort of wrote in my label’s manifesto that I would tolerate no compromise from the standards of my previous albums, all released on major labels. I don’t see the point in doing everything myself just to be in control. It’s not that. It’s more about knowing me. Norway is a small country. I’ve got a good picture of it. I don’t believe I’ll find anyone here more capable than myself in taking care of my music and my future. I want to stay happy with my work and my passion. That means working and learning and create new plans. Writing and playing is the most fun part anyway. 4. Can you describe some of your greatest concert experiences? I play concerts the whole year through. It’s my main source of income, and one of the favorite parts of my occupation. Playing intimate solo concerts with my guitars has sort of become my specialty. I try to establish as close a dialogue with my audience as I possibly can. There are a few places in Norway with just the right atmosphere, which I return to again and again. The crowd isn’t too large, and we start the concerts early. People are interested and quiet, and show their respect through silence and attention. That makes me good at what I do. At these concerts there’s room for both humor and melancholic sad songs. I usually tell how the songs came about and give hints about the lyrics when the crowd allows it. I enjoy other artists doing the same. One of the highlights I remember was Richard Thompson in Rockefeller Concert Hall, Oslo, a few years back. He brought Danny Thompson on double bass and it was just the two of them on stage. He talked and laughed with the audience between songs, and it brought on a remarkable atmosphere. It was one of the best intimate concerts I’ve been to. Suzanne Vega is capable of the same. I’ve seen her live several times, with and without bands. Those concerts are among my favorites. Playing with bands is important and exciting. I need to go on at least one band tour every year. Playing with others brings changes and new elements to my songs. I enjoy the social aspects of traveling with a group of musicians for weeks. We can present my music in different ways, so that the audiences get something else than they get when I play solo. Drums and electric guitars allow us to take on larger crowds and turn the tempo up, so that the concept becomes different. That effect is necessary whenever a new album is out. We try to recreate the album live, so that people get the right impression of it. I recently went to see Norway’s best rock band, Dum Dum Boys at Rockefeller. I think it’s the greatest rock’n’roll concert I’ve ever been to. Playing Rockefeller Music Hall in my hometown Oslo with a full band and a sold out house, is one of the things I dreamt of before I ever got into music for real. I’ll never forget the first time I did just that. 5. What would be your advice to other new artists? In young new artists, I often spot ambitions that aren’t founded on music itself. Not even based upon who they really are as individuals. People write me asking how they can become a pop star fast, make lots of money, get fan mail, and attend glamorous parties. And how can they release a CD and get a hit single on the radio before Christmas? Most people feel attracted to such illusions. None of us seem to be able to handle our lives and careers without problems, once we’ve reached the status of being ‘celebrities’. It concerns me the way media present Idol competitions and create new ‘star’s every season. In my collection of albums that I care for, there are very few artists or musicians that doesn’t write their own material. If your strength doesn’t lie in your own music or your voice or technique as a musician, what then is your strength and personality as an artist? Do the things I mentioned define your image, or are your appearance designed by people around you, based on other effects, like looks? Britney Spears is among the most well known artists today, but what’s genuine about her? Can she compare to artists like Alanis Morisette, Bono, Björk, Tori Amos, Eminem, Beatles, Ani DiFranco, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan? I don’t think so. Her stardom doesn’t come from herself as a person. It comes from the creative team around her, the enormous promotion budgets, the massive media coverage, the glamorous touched up pictures, the spectacular dancing shows and million dollar music videos. She plays her roll well, but others can play the same part. And I don’t think her life is filled with freedom, creativity, inspiration and doing what she likes best. In fact I’ve got a hunch it’s not. I think the phenomenon ‘Britney’ could have been many different girls. She hasn’t got a particular voice, style or face. She’s not a musician or a vocalist with integrity in my opinion. But she’s a superstar. Integrity is one of the most important virtues of this business if you want to stay in it and be respected. Only Bob Dylan can be Bob Dylan. Only you can be you. So who are you? What’s special about you? Will it last whatever it is you are on the verge of getting famous for? Is this the way you want people to know you? Are you staging yourself? Will the audience get tired of you because there weren’t enough of the real you to care for in the long run? People might need Britney Spears and stars her size. But not musically, I believe. Britney is about something else. We need glossy stars to dream of and identify with. And if you as an artist want to be that kind of object, go ahead. But then people like me most likely wont accept you as a musician. I’m audience too. I’m a faithful listener if I really start caring for someone’s music. And you don’t have to write your own songs. But if you don’t, you still have to infuse something of your own into the material. If you can’t get the audience to care for you as an individual, they will let you down after a while. And you might end up tired, frustrated, disappointed, lonely and broke. As of course, all of us in this business risk constantly. Comes with the territory. So watch out and make wise decisions. And ask people you trust about all the things I haven’t mentioned. Pay attention, aim to learn as much as you can, and don’t make the same mistakes twice. Good luck! To the top > |
