Delaware 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 Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band from

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konner ...

History

Early history: Beginnings as Beyond

Delaware started out in 1994 in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

as Beyond, a punk/hardcore band who later developed a more pop/melancholic rock sound. Their original line-up consisted of Jon Fredrik "Joffe" Torgersen on vocals, Jørgen Nøvik on drums, Ronny Andreassen on bass, Erik Lauritzen on guitars and Kyrre Bekkelund on guitars. A year later, inspired by British “indie” rock from the 90s, the band began recording their first demo, ''Icons'', while Richard Holmsen and

Petter Laugerud Petter may refer to: People: *Petter (given name) *W. E. W. Petter, English aircraft designer * Arlie Petters, a Belizean-American mathematical physicist * Tom Petters, former CEO and chairman of Petters Group Worldwide Place names: *Petter Bay, ...

replaced Lauritzen, shortly after Nøvik had moved on from the band to become a professional snowboarder and start his own music and art projects. Eager to get their music heard, Beyond self-released their debut and sold it in local shops and concerts. Their underground fan base began to grow. In 1998, Beyond recorded their follow-up, ''Polyphonic'', which they believed could be their major breakthrough. Before it could be released, a problem arose and the band had an important decision to make. Kyrre decided to leave the band to dedicate his time to his schooling. Feeling that they could not continue without him, Beyond disbanded and ''Polyphonic'' was scrapped. The ex-members of ''Beyond'' decided to record another demo under the name of Delaware without Kyrre. The idea was to simplify the music – become a pop band and say in three minutes what ''Beyond'' said in seven. The band quickly earned recognition through major radio stations and websites in Norway.

2001 - 2006

In 2001, Delaware was signed to

Sony Columbia , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

in Germany, who released the band’s debut album, '' ...And Everything Reminds Me'', in 2003. However, prior to its release, Ronny Andreassen left the band and was replaced by Morten Ødegaard Skaret. Quickly reaching critical acclaim in Germany and Norway, the band toured Europe both as a headliner and as a support act. Not happy with the way Sony Germany promoted the album, Delaware left Sony in search of another label. Sadly this happened at the time the album was to be released on Sony Norway and the branch pulled the plug on its promotion.

Since 2006

Shortly after leaving the major, Delaware found their new home with the label

Strangeways HM Prison Manchester is a Category A and B men's prison in Manchester, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It is still commonly referred to as Strangeways, which was its former official name derived from the area in which it is l ...

, also in Germany. While recording their second album, the band decided to use their rehearsal space in

and only record the drums in a proper studio. This went against their method for the first album, in which they strived for perfection. ''

Lost in the Beauty of Innocence Delaware is a Norwegian indie/alternative rock band from Drammen. History Early history: Beginnings as Beyond Delaware started out in 1994 in Drammen, Norway as Beyond, a punk/hardcore band who later developed a more pop/melancholic rock s ...

'' would prove to be a much more ‘real’ sounding album through the way in which they approached the recording process and the fact that they deliberately kept the errors in the takes. Delaware called upon longtime fan

Alex Møklebust Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

to produce the album. After hearing a demo of the new album,

Metropolis Records Metropolis Records is a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pen ...

decided to sign the band for North America. Both Strangeways and Metropolis released ''Lost in the Beauty of Innocence'' in 2006. Delaware was writing songs for their third album.

Members

*Richard Holmsen - Vocals/Guitars *Jon Fredrik "Joffe" Torgersen - Vocals/Guitars *Morten Ødegaard Skaret - bass *Petter Laugerud - Drums/Percussion

Former members

*Ronny Andreassen - bass

Discography

* ''Lost in the Beauty of Innocence'' ( Strange Ways, February 10, 2006) Produced by

and partly recorded in the band's rehearsal room, two singles from ''Lost in the Beauty of Innocence'' were released from the album, "Wish for" and "The Fourteenth".

# The Fourteenth # Cs # A Butterfly Kiss # Let them go # Loss # Evolve # To the Unsung # For what reason # Wish for # Unfold # You # With Fear And Anticipation

* ''...And Everything Reminds Me'' (

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...

, June 2, 2003)

# Everything Sometimes # Secret # Crevice # Always # Though # Decision # Lack of # Last Night # Both Sides # About You # As Teens

The band's name

Delaware is named after the

American state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

, but the band originally chose the name from an album by the band Drop Nineteens called ''Delaware''.

Music videos

"Always" music video"The Fourteenth" music video, directed by Kenneth Hjellum "Lack Of" music video, directed by NRK

Related projects

Richard Holmsen Delaware is a Norwegian indie/alternative rock band from Drammen. History Early history: Beginnings as Beyond Delaware started out in 1994 in Drammen, Norway as Beyond, a punk/hardcore band who later developed a more pop/melancholic rock s ...

has a solo project where he performs mostly acoustic songs in the vein of

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

Iron & Wine Samuel "Sam" Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a l ...

. *Morten Ødegaard Skaret also plays in several hardcore bands, including Don't Cry Wolf and BBCs *

was a part of the electronica project SEA from 1996-1998.

References

External links

Delaware Website
Official Delaware Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Delaware (Band) Norwegian indie rock groups Norwegian alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1999 1999 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Drammen Metropolis Records artists