Nils Økland (born 7 January 1961) is a Norwegian

Hardanger fiddle A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than fo ...

player known as a bridge builder between contemporary music and folk music, and the brother of the musician

Torbjørn Økland Torbjørn Eirik Økland (born 25 December 1964) is a Norwegian musician. Together with Øyvind Staveland he was the founder of the Norwegian band Vamp The VaMP driverless car was one of the first truly autonomous cars Balkansemblet (1984-1995 and 2005-) and in a duo along with jazz bassist

Bjørnar Andresen Bjørnar Andresen (1 April 1945 – 2 October 2004) was a Norwegian jazz musician (double bass, guitar, banjo), known for his improvisational and multicultural musical expression in a variety of publications. Career Andresen established the f ...

(Hot Club Records, 1986). Along with Arvid Gangsø and Jorun Hafstad he played in the trio ''Skinn og Bein'' ("Skin and Bones," which recorded ''Knaus — en samtidscollage'' (contemporary rock, Hot Club Records, 1989). Along with the improvisational band

Supersilent Supersilent is a Norwegian avant-garde-improvisational music group formed at Nattjazz in Bergen in 1997. The trio Veslefrekk was asked to play with electronic musician Helge "Deathprod" Stein. The fusion of the experimental jazz group with Sten' ...

he appeared on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

's broadcast ''The Wire Sessions Live'' (2000), where the concert program described Økland as a "virtuoso of the traditional Hardanger fiddle with a solo set that lights up the grey area separating folk forms from free improvisation and modern composition." After the solo recording ''Blå harding'' (Morild, 1996), he recorded ''Straum'' ("Stream",

Rune Grammofon Rune Grammofon is a Norwegian record label founded in 1998 by Rune Kristoffersen. Rune Grammofon's reputation for lovingly issued experimental electronic music, jazz, and improvised music by Norwegian artists has grown over the years with its art ...

, 2000) along with organist and

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

Sigbjørn Apeland Sigbjørn Apeland (born 10 May 1966 was raised in Sveio, Norway) is a musician (Organ (music), organ and Harmonium) and scientist, known from several recordings and for his work in the borderland between folk music, church music and improvisationa ...

on the

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

, brother

Torbjørn Økland Torbjørn Eirik Økland (born 25 December 1964) is a Norwegian musician. Together with Øyvind Staveland he was the founder of the Norwegian band Vamp The VaMP driverless car was one of the first truly autonomous cars Pål Thorstensen on bass and vocalist Åsne Valland Nordli. ''Bris,'' a recent recording ("Breeze,"

, 2004) which featured his own compositions, was a collaboration with Sigbjørn Apeland,

Mats Eilertsen Mats Eilertsen (born 4 March 1975) is a Norwegian jazz musician and composer. He is known for recording with numerous bands, including the Maria Kannegaard Trio, Ola Kvernberg, Nils Økland, Eldbjørg Raknes, Anders Aarum Trio, Eirik Hegdal, Sve ...

on bass,

Per Oddvar Johansen Per Oddvar Johansen (born 1 March 1968) is a Norwegian Jazz musician (drummer), most recognized for his work with Trygve Seim, Christian Wallumrød, The Source, Solveig Slettahjell and Vigleik Storaas, but has also been awarded the Spellemannp ...

on drums and Håkon Mørch Stene on percussion. Portions of the recording were Økland's music for

Jon Fosse Jon Olav Fosse (born 29 September 1959) is a Norwegian author and dramatist. Biography Jon Fosse was born in Haugesund, Norway. A serious accident at age seven brought him close to death; the experience significantly influenced his adulthood wr ...

's play ''Melankolika'', a play based on the tragic life of the artist

Lars Hertervig Lars Hertervig (16 February 1830 – 6 January 1902) was a Norwegian painter. His semi-fantastical work with motives from the coastal landscape in the traditional district of Ryfylke is regarded as one of the peaks of Norwegian painting. Life an ...

(1830-1902). As conductor at the

Ole Bull Academy The Ole Bull Academy ( no, Ole Bull Akademiet, established 1977 in Voss, Norway) is a Norwegian music college that offers college-level courses on Norwegian folk music and folk dance. Today, the Academy educates about 700 students annually, and o ...

for six years, Økland organized

Concerts Norway Concerts Norway ( no, Rikskonsertene) was established in 1967 on the initiative of the Arts Council Norway ( no, Norsk kulturråd), with its main purpose described as follows: "Concerts Norway is to make living music of high artistic quality acces ...

, an initiative to regularly perform quality music on a very intensive schedule throughout Norway. He collaborated on several recordings with jazz musician

Christian Wallumrød Christian Wallumrød (born 26 April 1971 in Kongsberg, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (piano, organ and electronic keyboards) and composer, and is considered one of the most prominent musicians of the younger Norwegian generation, known from ...

's ensemble and, with

Berit Opheim Berit Opheim Versto (born 18 June 1967 in Voss, Norway) is a Norwegian singer, known for her interpretations of folk music. Career Opheim studied at Bergen Musikkonservatorium (1987–90) and Norges Musikkhøgskole (1990–92), and has worked ...

(vocals) and

Bjørn Kjellemyr Bjørn Kjellemyr (born 4 December 1950 in Bamble, Norway) is a jazz double bassist, known from a variety of musical contexts like Terje Rypdal & The Chasers, Joe Henderson, Bob Berg, Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, Dag Arnesen, K ...

(bass), recorded for the trio BNB. Økland has also played on CDs issued by

Benedicte Maurseth Benedicte Maurseth (born 7 February 1983) is a Norwegian traditional folk singer and musician. Career Maurseth picked up the fiddle at the age seven, and studied with Knut Hamre. In addition to studies at the University of Bergen (minor in a ...

Knut Hamre Knut Hamre (born 3 March 1952) is a Norwegian Hardanger fiddle A Hardanger fiddle ( no, hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar ...

Kari Bremnes Kari Bremnes (born 9 December 1956) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. She got an MA in language, literature, history and theatre studies from the University of Oslo, and worked as a journalist for several years before deciding to dedicate h ...

Alf Cranner Alf Cranner (25 October 1936 – 3 March 2020) was a major Norwegian folk singer, lyricist and painter, considered by many to be the pioneer of the Norwegian folk music wave of the 1960s. (in Norwegian) (in Norwegian) The citation for the award o ...

Karoline Krüger Karoline Krüger (born 13 February 1970 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian singer, actress and composer. Career Krüger's first TV appearance was at the age of 11, in a youth show called ''Halvsju''. She got her breakthrough in 1988, first by ...

and

Hans Fredrik Jacobsen Hans Fredrik Jacobsen (born 8 September 1954) is a Norwegian musician and composer, best known for his work with his wife, the traditional folk singer Tone Hulbækmo, and with the medieval music group Kalenda Maya, as well as his concert and studi ...

Discography (in selection)

Solo albums

*1996: ''Blå Harding'' (Morild) *2000: ''Straum'' (

) *2004: ''Bris'' (Rune Grammofon) *2009: ''Monograph'' ( ECM) *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

: ''Kjølvatn'' (ECM) *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

: ''Lysning'' ( Hubro)

Collaborations

;With

*1986: ''Nils Økland/Bjørnar Andresen'' ( Hot Club) ;Within Skinn og Bein *1989: ''Knaus'' (Hot Club) ;Within 1982, including

and Øyvind Skarbø *2009: ''1982'' (

NorCD NorCD (established 1991 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian record label for folk, jazz, world music and improvisational music, led by the founder saxophonist and composer Karl Seglem. NorCD is distributed through Musikkoperatørene, and is a member ...

) *

: ''Chromola'' ( Heilo Music) ;With

*2011: ''Lysøen - Hommage À Ole Bull'' (ECM) ;With

Philippe Pierlot Philippe Pierlot (born 1958) is a Belgian viola da gamba player and a conductor in historically informed performance. He is also an academic teacher at the royal conservatories of The Hague and Brussels. Career Born in Liège, Pierlot learne ...

and

Elisabeth Seitz Elisabeth Seitz (born 4 November 1993) is a German artistic gymnast. She is the 2022 European champion and the 2018 World bronze medalist on the uneven bars. She is one of the only female gymnasts in history to compete the Def (full-twisting Gi ...

*2012: ''Anima'' (Heilo Music) ;With Georg Buljo *2014: ''Neve'' (Duippidit) ;With Lumen Drones *2014: ''Lumen Drones'' (ECM) ;With Linus *2016: ''Felt Like Old Folk'' (Smeraldina-Rima), featuring Niels Van Heertum

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okland, Nils 1961 births Living people Norwegian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) ECM Records artists Rune Grammofon artists Heilo Music artists NorCD artists Hot Club Records artists 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century Norwegian male musicians