Einar Stray Orchestra is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

indie-pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

and

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

. The young quintet have released three albums to rave critics, two EP's, and have played more than 300 concerts in Europe/Asia. Combining classical and folk music with pop and rock they have played several sold-out headliner tours and festivals. Einar Stray Orchestra is influenced by bands such as

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...

, Bright Eyes, and

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation, an independent record label also located i ...

History

Einar Stray Einar is a Scandinavian given name deriving from the Old Norse name Einarr, which according to Guðbrandur Vigfússon is directly connected with the concept of the einherjar, warriors who died in battle and ascended to Valhalla in Norse mytholog ...

started recording songs in his bedroom in

Sandvika Sandvika () is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a List of cities in Norway, city by the municipal council (Norway), municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately ...

, a little town located in the south west of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in 2006 and uploaded them to Myspace. As an experimental singer/songwriter he brought musician friends with him on stage, and together they produced music both delicate and grandiose with strings, blows, percussion, choir parts, noisy guitars, and a classical inspired piano style - counting 11 band members at its most. After meeting the Norwegian artist

Moddi Pål Moddi Knutsen (born 18 February 1987 in Senja), known by the artist name Moddi, is a Norwegian musician, author and activist, whose contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest or social justice. Background Pål Knutsen grew up o ...

in 2008, they quickly joined forces and released their debut EPs together, as a split-vinyl. "Favors And Fields/Rubato EP" resulted in their first tour through Norway, including big festivals like Slottsfjell, By:larm and Øya. Moddi and Einar has appeared in each other's bands ever since. In 2011, the band got compressed into a five-piece, and released their debut album, ''Chiaroscuro'', in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan and Norway of which Terese Blåklokke did the artwork. With a range from noisy post-rock ballads to stripped down a cappella songs the band toured all of 2012, and gave also birth to "For The Country EP". They ended the year opening for

Múm Múm (stylized in lowercase) () is an Icelandic indietronica band whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments. History The band was formed in 1 ...

and

Under Byen were a Danish band founded in 1995 mainly by Katrine Stochholm and Henriette Sennenvaldt. (Danish for "Below the City") were known for producing their own unorthodox interpretation of rock. They rarely use guitars. Instead their soundscape i ...

in Russia. The second album ''Politricks'' was released in 2014 which had been rated by

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

as following: “There's so much going on that it's difficult to glean much upon initial listens – it's probably a little alienating, but if you do manage to persevere and penetrate the gloopy outer shell, you'll be rewarded with an opulent, everchanging chimera of a record.” It was Simen Sandbæk Skari of the band

Team Me Team Me is an indie pop band from Norway. Their 2011 debut studio album '' To the Treetops!'' won the 2011 Norwegian Grammy Awards (Spellemannprisen) in the category Best Pop Group of the Year. Their second studio album ''Blind as Night'' was rele ...

who did the artwork of this cover. In May 2015 the band announced that they are working on their third album, coming out in 2016.

Discography

Albums

*2011: Chiaroscuro (Nordic version - Spoon Train Audio) *2012: ''Chiaroscuro'' (European version -

Sinnbus Sinnbus is an independent record label and music publisher founded in Berlin, Germany, in 2003. The style of music released by Sinnbus varies from post-rock, post-punk, indie, and electronica. It first started as a loose network of friends, m ...

) *2014: ''Politricks'' (Riot Factory/

) *2017: ''Dear Bigotry'' (

)

EPs

*2008: ''Favors And Fields (EP - Spoon Train Audio)'' *2012: ''For the Country'' (EP -

)

References

{{Authority control Norwegian post-rock groups Musical groups established in 2006