Vassendgutane is a Norwegian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

danseband (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by ...

that have defined their own genre, 'party-country', a combination of the two. The band was formed in

Ørsta is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre Districts of Norway, region of Western Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Ørsta ( ...

in 1996, and have since released seven albums and two DVDs.

Members

*Sindre Aam – vocals, bass and lyrics *Arthur Johan Bjørdal – vocals, guitar and lyrics *Rune S. Brautaset – guitar, vocals and lyrics *Ernst O. Brune – accordion *Alf Rune Melby – steel *Frank Willy Utgård – electric guitar *Kim Erik Lillestøl – drums Source:

History

Beginning

Vassendgutane was established in 1996 by founding band members Sindre Aam (vocals, bass), Arthur Johan Bjørdal (vocals, acouistic guitar), Rune Brautaset (vocals, acouistic guitar), Ernst Brude (accordion), Henning Arsæther (Drums), and Jan Ove Hovdenakk (electric guitar). Vassendgutane's most important inspiration both in the beginning, but also throughout their career has been the norwegian countryartist

Teddy Nelson Teddy Nelson (born ''Terje Nielsen'', August 23, 1939 - died June 8, 1992) was a Norwegian country music artist, best known for his hit singles "Diggy Liggy Lo", "Bonde ifrå Hamlagrø" and "Skilsmisseferd i Hardanger", and his collaborations with ...

. When Vassengutane released their first album ''Pylse og Konjakk'' in 2000 they had only written two of the songs in the album. There was one by artist

Ivar Medaas Ivar Medaas (April 9, 1938 – January 7, 2005) was a Norwegian folksinger and fiddle player The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards * List of contempo ...

, but the rest written originally by

Early 2000's

On their second album ''Gi Clutch'' (2002) were all the album's song's self written, and Vassendgutane rose from a phenomenon to regional heroes. Most of their albums were sold in gas stations and in concert. In 2005 they released their third album '' Ungkar med dobbelseng''. Soon the title track became known all over the country, helped by a music video directed by another man from

, Egil Olsen. The album sold well, and was on the norwegian music chart ''

VG-lista VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart. It is presented weekly in the newspaper '' VG''. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continents around the world. The data are collected by Nie ...

'' for three weeks.

Breakthrough

Despite negative ratings from music critics and little to none radio time on national radio, Vassendgutane rose to new heights. With Vassendgutane's 4th album ''XO'' released in 2008 they finally got their big national breakthrough, and the album topped the ''

'' chart for two weeks. In 2011 they released the album ''Riskrem og entrekått,'' who also did well. Album nr.6, ''Festi e'kje slutt'' (2012) is a collection of Vassengutane's greatest hits, as well as four new songs. Since then Vassendgutane have released the albums ''Hesteslepp'' (2013), ''Skru Opp!!'' (2015) and ''Du & Ej & Metoo'' (2018). Vassendgutane have sold to either

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platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

certification in Norway for all their albums, and all together Vassendgutane have sold over 300 000 albums. Vassendgutane release all their songs and albums on their own label Vassend Records. Source:

Discography

Albums

Singles and Ep's

*2001: "Køyr mej ned te vik" *2009: "Diggy liggy lo" *2012: "Stein, torv og grus" *2013: "Ho va so fine/Bygdis" *2017: "Hjertestartar og statoilkopp" *2017: "Køyr mej heimatt" *2018: "MeToo" *2019: "Skalldyrfest" *2019: "Sånn so det va før" *2020: "Hurragutt" *2021: "Longt Inne I En Fjord" *2022: "Skrekkraude Rapala" *2023 "Kongen av Norge"

DVD

*2006: ''Vassendgutane LIVE! Rockefeller'' *2009: ''Vassendgutane LIVE! Treungen''

References

Norwegian musical groups People from Ørsta {{norway-band-stub