Magnet is the pseudonym of Norwegian singer-songwriter Even Johansen (born 7 June 1970). To date, he has released five full-length studio albums as well as several singles and EPs. Johansen draws upon many influences, including folk, pop, and electronica. His albums are composed and produced solely by him, and he usually performs live sets on his own, using preset loops or creating them as he plays.

Biography

Even Johansen was born, raised, and resides in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

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 ...

, but he has also lived just outside the southern Scottish town of Lockerbie, where he recorded his '' On Your Side'' album. Initially, Even was a founding member of the Norwegian rock bands Libido and Chocolate Overdose. During his involvement with Libido, Even conceived a series of songs he thought were inappropriate for the band. His first solo album, ''

Quiet & Still ''Quiet & Still'' is Magnet's debut album, first released in Norway on 10 October 2000 after the dissolution of his previous band Libido. In the US, the album was released on 15 May 2001 under his birth name, Even Johansen, and featured his pictur ...

'', was released in 2000 under the alias Magnet (in the United States, the album was released under his real name). The name "Magnet" originated from when Even was a child with

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, ...

; he was prescribed a special magnetic tattoo on his left shoulder so it could attract iron. Magnet's second album '' On Your Side'' was released in June 2003 on

Ultimate Dilemma Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) * ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album) *''Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds *''The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilatio ...

to positive critical acclaim. The album features Magnet's duet with Irish singer-songwriter

Gemma Hayes Gemma Hayes (born 11 August 1977) is an Irish musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments, including the piano and the harmonica. She is also a m ...

on a cover of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "

Lay Lady Lay "Lay Lady Lay", sometimes rendered "Lay, Lady, Lay", is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released in 1969 on his ''Nashville Skyline'' album. Like many of the tracks on the album, Dylan sings the song in a low croon, rather than in the ...

", which was later featured in the 2005 film '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith''. Following European and North American tour dates throughout 2003 and 2004, Magnet signed to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

for his third album '' The Tourniquet'', which was released in May 2005 to further positive acclaim. In 2006, he contributed several songs to the soundtrack of the video game '' Dreamfall: The Longest Journey''. His fourth studio album, ''

The Simple Life ''The Simple Life'' is an American reality television series starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. It depicts the two wealthy socialites, as they struggle to do manual, low-paying jobs such as cleaning rooms, farm work, serving meals in fas ...

'', followed in March 2007 on the Hermetix Recordings label, an imprint of

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 ...

. Over the years, Even has toured with Phoenix,

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

Zero 7 Zero 7 are an English musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. They began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, '' Simple Things'', was released in 2001 in which their song "Destiny" stayed ...

Isobel Campbell Isobel Campbell (born 27 April 1976) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and cellist. She rose to prominence at age nineteen as a member of the indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, but left the group to pursue a solo career, first as The Gentle Wave ...

Ed Harcourt Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith (born 14 August 1977) is an English singer-songwriter. To date, he has released six studio albums, two EPs, and thirteen singles. His debut album, ''Here Be Monsters'', was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Priz ...

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

, and

Doves Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

. Even also provided a remix of Doves' song "The Last Broadcast," which was featured on the bonus disc of their 2003 B-sides and rarities compilation ''

Lost Sides ''Lost Sides'' is a compilation album by the band Doves. The original incarnation of ''Lost Sides'' was a promotional-only CD released in 2001, and only featured the B-sides from the singles taken from the band's debut album '' Lost Souls''. Th ...

''. On 16 July 2011, Even posted a new single to his Myspace page entitled "Doldrum Days", and followed it with his fifth and latest album at that date on 2 December 2011. The album, ''Ferrofluid'', was released in Norway through iTunes and other retailers.

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (10 October 2000) *'' On Your Side'' (23 June 2003) *'' The Tourniquet'' (30 May 2005) *''

'' (26 March 2007) *''Ferrofluid'' (2 December 2011)

Singles/EPs

*''Where Happiness Lives EP'' (3 June 2002) (CD, 10") *# "Where Happiness Lives" *# "I'll Come Along" *# "Heaviest Heart" *# "Nothing Hurts Now" *''Chasing Dreams EP'' (23 September 2002) (CD, 10") *# "Chasing Dreams" *# "Little Miss More or Less" *# "Home Song" *# "I'll Come Along" (Psychonauts Remix) *''The Day We Left Town EP'' (21 April 2003) (CD) *# "The Day We Left Town" *# "Clean Slate" *# "Dead Happy" *# "The Big Black Moon" *"Last Day of Summer" single (24 November 2003) (12") *# "Last Day of Summer" *# "Last Day of Summer" (

Tom Middleton Tom Middleton (born 18 August 1971) is a British electronic recording artist, sound designer, composer, music producer, remixer and DJ. His solo albums include ''Lifetracks'' (2007), ''Glasstracks'' (2011) and ''Sleep Better'' (2018). Middleton ...

Cosmos Vox Remix) *# "Last Day of Summer" (Tom Middleton Cosmos Deep Dub) *"Lay Lady Lay" single (22 March 2004) **CD: *# "

" (with

) (Radio Edit) *# "Wish Me Well" *# "Last Day of Summer" (Tom Middleton Cosmos Vox Remix) *# "Lay Lady Lay" (enhanced video) **7" vinyl: *# "Lay Lady Lay" (with Gemma Hayes) *# "Clean Slate" ( The Bees Remix Edit) *''Minus EP'' (29 November 2004) (Norway-only CD) *# "

Let It Snow "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heat wave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions ...

" *# "Clean Slate" *# "Heaviest Heart" *# "Dead Happy" *# "The Big Black Moon" *# "Clean Slate" (The Bees Remix) *"Hold On" (15 August 2005) **UK double 7" set: *# "Hold On" *# "The Mute" *# "The Pacemaker" *# "Good Mourning" **US Tour EP CD: *# "Hold On" (Radio Edit) *# "The Mute" *# "Good Mourning" *# "Grinder" *# "Hold On" (

Metronomy Metronomy are an English electronic music group formed in 1999. As of 2021, the band consists of Joseph Mount (vocals, keyboards and guitar), Oscar Cash (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar and saxophone), Anna Prior (drums and vocals), Olugbeng ...

Remix) *# "Hold On" ( Lindstrøm Remix) *"Fall at Your Feet" (5 December 2005) **CD: *# "Fall at Your Feet" (

Jack Joseph Puig Jack Joseph Puig is an American audio engineer, A&R executive, and record producer. He has worked with Tonic, Hole, Jellyfish, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Weezer, Fiona Apple, Roger Hodgson, Taxiride, Green Day, Counting Crows, No Doubt, Klax ...

Mix) *# "This Bird Can Never Fly" **7" vinyl: *# "Fall at Your Feet" *# "Hold On" (Metronomy Remix) *'' Dreamfall: The Longest Journey'' Soundtrack EP (5 April 2006) *# "Be With You" (previously unreleased) *# "My Darling Curse" *# "The Pacemaker" *# "Nothing Hurts Now" *"Lonely No More" (30 June 2008) *# "Lonely No More" *# "Pennydrop" *# "1997" *# "Selfhelper" *"Deja Vu" (13 September 2019) **Single track, digital download only

References

External links

Magnet's official

Magnet's official MySpace page

Magnet at Discogs

Magnet on Last.fm

Magnet on BPOP Mentometer (in Norwegian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnet 1970 births Living people Norwegian singer-songwriters Sony BMG artists Warner Music Group artists 21st-century Norwegian singers 21st-century Norwegian male singers