D'Sound (stylized as d'sound) is a Norwegian
neo soul
Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...
band based in
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, Norway. The band was formed in 1993 with a line-up composed of lead vocalist
Simone Eriksrud
Simone Eriksrud (; born 21 August 1970) is a Norwegians, Norwegian musician, singer and composer from Volda Municipality, and a member of D'Sound. She was earlier in her career known as Simone Larsen or just with the mononym Simone.
Career In ...
, bassist
Jonny Sjo and drummer
Kim Ofstad.
After Eriksrud's initial departure in 2018, the band announced that they would continue as a duo and collaborate with various international artists to provide vocals for future material. Bae Louie band member
Mirjam Omdal joined in 2019 as a lead vocalist. Eriksrud returned to the band as a touring and recording member in 2022.
Band history
Drummer
Kim Ofstad (born 25 November 1969) and bassist Jonny Sjo (born 7 April 1969) met while both attending
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...
. D'Sound was formed back in 1993 in Oslo with vocalist
Simone Eriksrud
Simone Eriksrud (; born 21 August 1970) is a Norwegians, Norwegian musician, singer and composer from Volda Municipality, and a member of D'Sound. She was earlier in her career known as Simone Larsen or just with the mononym Simone.
Career In ...
(nee Larsen; born 21 August 1970) at a coincident rehearsal-meeting. Their debut album, ''Spice of Life'', was released in 1997, followed by the successful single "Real Name", and was nominated for two "Spellemannpriser", the Norwegian equivalent of the
Brits (United Kingdom) and the
Grammys
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
(United States). D'Sound's blend of jazz and pop with funky elements was well received, and they also gained recognition as a live act. Their second album, ''Beauty Is a Blessing'', was released in 1998 and won the "Spellemannpris" for Best Norwegian Pop Group. It received platinum certification in Norway; however, the album was never released internationally. The second single, "Down on the Street" (originally a hit for British jazz-funk band
Shakatak) also entered the UK club chart. The single "Tattooed on My Mind" was released with favorable reception in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
.
In 2000, the band resumed working together on their next album in Jonny Sjo's home studio. After a long period of writing material, ''Talkin' Talk'' was recorded. For the first time, the band also produced the album, along with their long-time keyboardist Stein Austrud. In the production of their third album, D'Sound was heavily influenced by modern
R&B American artists such as
Angie Stone
Angela Laverne Stone (née Brown; December 18, 1961 – March 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. With a career spanning over four decades, she has been credited with revolutionizing the sound of Ol ...
,
D'Angelo
Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...
,
Jill Scott and
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
. The album ''Talkin' Talk'' was mixed in Virginia Beach, United States by Serban Ghenea, whose credits include work for
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...
and
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
. For the subsequent tour, D'Sound joined with numerous national and international musicians and toured Norway with the songs from their three albums. Several international musicians like DJ Kemit from American hip-hop group
Arrested Development
''Arrested Development'' is an American satire, satirical television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz. It follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family and is presented in a Serial (radio and television), serialized format, inco ...
also joined the band in touring.
The title track from the album was used by
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...
in an ad campaign in 2001 to promote their
8310 cellphone in Asia, where the album gained a favourable reception.
In 2003, the group released ''Doublehearted'', which featured the hit single "
Do I Need a Reason". In 2004, their first
greatest hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
album was released, entitled ''Smooth Escapes - The Very Best of D'Sound''. The album was followed by the release of their fifth studio album ''My Today'', the following year. The band took a break after the release of their fourth album. Kim Ofstad left D'Sound in 2010, paring the band down to a duo of Eriksrud and Sjo, but returned in 2013.
In June 2018, Simone Eriksrud announced her departure from D'Sound and was replaced by Mirjam Omdal because the former wanted to spend more time with the rest of her family.
In March 2019, D’Sound participated in the Norwegian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019
The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...
(the Melodi Grand Prix
Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norsk Melodi Grand Prix, is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster (NRK). It determines for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been sta ...
), with their new song "Mr. Unicorn" and finished in third place. In September 2019, D’Sound released their eighth studio album, ''Unicorn''. Its cover features Sjo's brother and its title is dedicated to him. It contained tracks that featured Omdal as the band's main vocalist and collaborations with other artists and musicians such Armi Millare. In 2020, Omdal announced that she had returned to her band Bae Louie as a lead vocal but will continue to collaborate with Ofstad and Sjo as a touring member.
In 2021, D’Sound announced that their ninth studio album “25” will be released in January 2022. The album's title commemorates their 25 years since their debut album in 1997. Unlike the previous release, the album's tracklist will be a complete collaboration with many international artists and songwriters. Band vocalists Eriksrud and Omdal will also feature in some tracks. The first single and video from the album, “Save Some”, was released in May 2021 and kicked off their 25th anniversary since their debut with “Real Name” in 1996. “Save Some” is a collaboration with American R&B artist and songwriter Macy Gray
Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known professionally as Macy Gray, is an American contemporary R&B, R&B and soul music, soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influence ...
. In September 2021, the group collaborated with Barbadian singer Shontelle
Shontelle Delia Layne (born 4 October 1985), known mononymously as Shontelle, is a Barbadian singer and songwriter. She released her debut album '' Shontelligence'' in 2008. Her second album, '' No Gravity'', was released in 2010. Her singles " ...
for the album's second single “Necessary Love”. In December 2021, the band announced that they had reunited with Eriksrud through the release of the third single “Flashback”. The band began promoting the single and the album's release as a trio in 2022.
Line-up
Current members
*Jonny Sjo - bass, occasional guitar, vocals
* Kim Ofstad - drums, percussion
*Simone Eriksrud
Simone Eriksrud (; born 21 August 1970) is a Norwegians, Norwegian musician, singer and composer from Volda Municipality, and a member of D'Sound. She was earlier in her career known as Simone Larsen or just with the mononym Simone.
Career In ...
- piano, guitar, lead vocals (1993–2018; touring member 2022–present)
*Mirjam Omdal - lead vocals (2018–2020; touring member 2020–present)
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Live albums
Singles
*"Real Name" (1996)
*"All I Wanna Do" (1996)
*"Tattooed on My Mind" (1998)
*"Ain’t Giving Up" (1998)
*"Down On The Street" (1998)
*"Disco Ironic" (1999)
*"Talkin’ Talk" (2001)
*"Sing My Name" (2001)
*"Do I Need A Reason" (2002)
*"I Just Can’t Wait" (2003)
*"Breathe In, Breathe Out" (2003)
*"I Give Myself Away" (2003)
*"Romjulsdrøm" (2003)
*"If You Get Scared" (2004)
*"Universally" (2005)
*"Green Eyes" (2005)
*"Feel Again" (2005)
*"Lose Control" (2013)
*"Love Like Rain" (2014)
*"Dance with Me" (2015)
*"If You Don't Know" (2017)
*"Only One" (2017)
*"It's Just Me" (2018)
*"Join Me in My Head" (2018)
*"Lykkelig" (2018)
*"Mr. Unicorn" (2019)
*"This Island is Mine" (2019)
*"Somewhere in Between" (2019)
*"Aftershock" (2019)
*"Good Intentions" (2020)
*"Save Some" (2021)
*"Necessary Love" (2021)
*"Good Nature" (2021)
*"Run for Cover" (2021)
*"Flashback" (2021)
*"I Believe In You" (2023)
*"Get Used to It" (2024)
*"Mess Without This" (2024)
*"Your Love Keeps Me" (2024)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dsound
Norwegian pop music groups
Norwegian musical trios
Musical groups from Oslo
Musical groups established in 1993
1993 establishments in Norway
Spellemannprisen winners
Female-fronted musical groups