Vassendgutane is a Norwegian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

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

Ørsta Ørsta may refer to: Places * Ørsta (village), an urban village area within Ørsta Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Ørsta Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Møre og Romsdal Counties of Norway, ...

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 wi ...

. 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. He is best known for his 1963 song ''Dar Kjem Dampen'' written by . References 1938 births 2005 deaths Norwegian violinists Norwegian male v ...

, 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 the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from Norwegian and international artists. It is presented weekly in the newspaper ''Verdens Gang, VG''. The data is collected by Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Soundscan Inte ...

'' 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'' which 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; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

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.

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" *2024: "10.000 Skritt"

DVD

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

References

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