Olaf Olsen (born 8 August 1976) 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 the ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

ian, known as the

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

BigBang Big Bang (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by YG Entertainment. The group consists of four members: G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang, and Daesung. Originally a five-piece band, Seungri retired from the entertainment industry ...

(1999–May 2000, May 2001–current)Bergan, Jon Vidar, ''Store Norske Leksikon'
BigBang
Kunnskapsforlaget. NRK.no Musikkleksiko
BigBang
Gonsholt Ighanian, Catherine, ''VG.no'' (November 14, 2008)
Rolling Stone hyller Bigbang
''Norsk pop- og rockleksikon'' (2005)
BigBang
Vega Forlag. with whom he has remained the longest after frontman

Øystein Greni Øystein Greni (born 15 June 1974 in Oslo) is the singer and lead guitar player of the Norwegian rock and roll band BigBang. Biography Øystein Greni is the son of Thor Sigbjørn Greni, singer and songwriter of the Undertakers Circus, a 60/70s ...

. He is renowned for his tall posture rising high above his

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...

, emphasized by his long blonde hair and beard. Olsen currently resides in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, along with the other members of the band to try their luck in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Career

Following the departure of original BigBang drummer Christer Engen in the summer of 1997, it was long uncertain who would become the band's drummer. Singer and guitarist

would often take place behind the drums, and both Martin Horntveth (of

Jaga Jazzist Jaga Jazzist (also known as Jaga) is a Norwegian experimental jazz band, that rose to prominence when the BBC named their second album, ''A Livingroom Hush'' (Smalltown Supersound/Ninja Tune), the best jazz album of 2002. (in Norwegian) Biograph ...

) and Christian Syvertsen (January–April 1999) did not stay long. In 1999, Olsen joined the band as their band's fourth drummer. Olsen had left BigBang in May 2000.Elsnab, P
Guldfuglen er landet på begge fødder
(Golden bird has landed on both feet).

GAFFA ''Gaffa'' (stylized as ''GAFFA'') is a free Nordic music magazine with local editions in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''Gaffa'' is Denmark's largest and oldest music magazine. It has been published since 1983 and has 320,000 print readers and ...

, 2000(10), 19–20. During this time, Danish rock musician

Tim Christensen Tim Christensen (born 2 July 1974 in Copenhagen) is a Danish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is known both as the singer, guitarist and songwriter of the Danish alternative rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (1988–1998, 2010, 2014–cu ...

was just looking for a drummer to replace a replacement for

Laust Sonne D-A-D is a Danish rock band. They were originally named Disneyland After Dark, but changed their name to avoid a lawsuit from The Walt Disney Company. History In the early 1980s in Copenhagen, D-A-D started playing together under their origi ...

, who had accepted the position of drummer in the hard rock band

D-A-D D-A-D is a Danish rock band. They were originally named Disneyland After Dark, but changed their name to avoid a lawsuit from The Walt Disney Company. History In the early 1980s in Copenhagen, D-A-D started playing together under their origi ...

. They had just finished recording Christensen's first solo album ''

Secrets on Parade ''Secrets on Parade'' is the debut solo album by Danish singer-songwriter Tim Christensen, released on 5 October 2000 on CD and vinyl. It is considered the transitional work between the music he made with Dizzy Mizz Lizzy and his solo music. Bef ...

'' and were getting ready to go on tour, so that a drummer was desperately needed at short notice. Since Christensen could not immediately find a suitable drummer, his record company

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

-Medley placed an anonymous ad in the June 2000 issue of

requesting applications for "a drummer for an established Danish rock artist". It asked for an experienced, energetic and technically good drummer between 20 and 30 years old that enjoys both hard and melancholic rock, and is available for a year ahead starting July 2000 for a domestic and international tour and related promotional activities. Christensen explains, "I subsequently spent endless difficult nights listening through the applications but before choosing between them, but before I had to decide, one of my friends told me about a drummer who had just left his Norwegian band BigBang, which seemed a fantastic opportunity to me. And it went well during a tryout, so we went with him." Olsen moved to CopenhagenTuxen, H. (2001)
Årets GAFFA-prisvindere
(This year's GAFFA prize winners).

, 2001(1), 24. and Christensen would later admit that "he lsenhas saved the band" In May 2001, Olsen returned to BigBang but also continued playing in Christensen's band. He recorded albums and went on tour with both acts. The only time schedules conflicted was in the summer of 2002, during which time

Johan Lei Gellet Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a manu ...

stood in for Olsen in Christensen's band.

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

(2010)
Tim Christensen: Info
Retrieved December 9, 2010. After recording drums for Christensen's second solo album ''

Honeyburst ''Honeyburst'' is the second studio album by Danish singer-songwriter Tim Christensen, released on 1 September 2003 on CD and vinyl. The vinyl edition of the album was re-released through the record label Parlophone on April 19, 2014. Overview ...

'' (2003), the band toured extensively through

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, Norway, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, to finish with a performance at the

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

, which was released as ''

Live at Abbey Road Studios 2004 ''Live at Abbey Road Studios 2004'' is a live 2CD and limited edition DVD/2CD and vinyl record by Danish singer-songwriter Tim Christensen, released in 2004. It is the first officially released live solo recording of Christensen. The DVD appear ...

'' (2004). During the song ''Surfing the Surface'', Olsen would often play on a miniature short-neck

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...

, which strongly contrasted with his appearance. The Abbey Road performance was Olsen's final performance in Christensen's band; he left in 2005 to focus on drumming for BigBang and was replaced by

Jesper Lind Jesper is a given name commonly believed to be of ancient Persian origin, meaning "Treasurer". Some notable people with the name Jesper include: Music * Jesper Koch (born 1967), Danish composer * Jesper Kyd (born 1972), Danish video game and fi ...

in Christensen's band. In 2008, he did play drums on half of the tracks on ''

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

'' (2008). In 2014 Olsen replaced

Thomas Strønen Thomas Strønen (born 7 December 1972) is a Norwegian jazz drummer who has recorded more than 70 albums. He has worked with Iain Ballamy, Arve Henriksen, Mats Eilertsen, Ashley Slater, Eivind Aarset, Christian Fennesz, Nils Petter Molvaer, Bobo ...

in the band

Needlepoint Needlepoint is a type of canvas work, a form of embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Traditionally needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas. Although needlepoint may be worked in a variety of stitches, m ...

and performed with them on the album ''Aimless Mary'' and at the 2016

Nattjazz Bergen International Jazz Festival or Nattjazz, is one of the largest jazz festivals of Norway. The festival has a musical profile with an emphasis on ethnic and contemporary jazz. It is held annually in late May, coinciding with Festspillene ...

in Bergen. Being the older brother of producer

Todd Terje Terje Olsen (born 1981), known professionally as Todd Terje, is a Norwegian DJ, songwriter, and record producer. His stage name is a homage to house music producer Todd Terry. Called "King of the summer jams" by ''Mixmag'', "one third of the Ho ...

, Olaf often performs drums with Terje on his live shows.

Equipment

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsc ...

(Round Badge and Stop-Sign Badge) * Ludwig *

Slingerland Slingerland is a United States manufacturer of drums. The company was founded in 1912 and enjoyed several decades of prominence in the industry before the 1980s. After ceasing operation in the early 1980s, Slingerland was acquired by Gibson, w ...

Zildjian :''Zildjian leads here. For people with the surname, see Zildjian (disambiguation)'' The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded ...

and

Paiste Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. is an Estonian word that means "shine". Apart from cymbals and gong ...

cymbals

References

External links

BigBang official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Olaf 1976 births Living people Norwegian rock drummers Male drummers 21st-century Norwegian drummers 21st-century Norwegian male musicians Bigbang (Norwegian band) members Needlepoint (band) members Musicians from Drammen