Christel Alsos

When Christel Alsos made her debut in 2007, she was a breath of fresh air in Norwegian public life. The talented girl from the north of Norway managed to grip Norwegian music fans with her distinctive voice and melancholy melodies. As many as 30,000 copies was sold of her debut album, “Closing The Distance”, and Christel was nominated for two Spellemann awards. After a three year wait, she’s now finally back. On the 27.september, she releases her follow-up album “Tomorrow is”.

Christel Alsos (b. 20/12/84) was raised in Fauske, Nordland, and appeared from a young age at her hometown’s many cultural events. Growing up in a music-loving family, music became an all-consuming interest for Christel. The shy girl recorded cassettes with self-written songs together with a female friend, and received a musical education by her family and friends spanning from old 60′s songs to Joni Mitchell. After some time she started appearing at local concerts, and received a lot of support from local media and audiences. After one year at a music college in Gjøvik, Christel went to Oslo with one goal: She wanted to be an artist.

Towards the end of 2006, Christel released her debut single( Sony Music). “Come On” became a radio favourite, entering the Hit40 list in November the same year. Collaborating with producer Arvid Solvang, her debut album “Closing the Distance” became a personal record where Christel’s voice, naturally, became the main instrument. The reviews were positive, and Christel was compared to other singer-songwriters, like for instance Norah Jones and Cat Power.

– When I think back, I believe that most of my musical inspiration comes from my own family. We’ve always been occupied with singing and playing – I especially remember my grandmother standing on the stairs with an accordion. But what mostly made me an artist, is the inner drive for my musical expression and the need for using my own voice, Christel says.

“Closing The Distance” was released in January, 2007, and sold convincingly: 30,000 copies. It was obvious that Norway liked Christel’s characteristic musical expression, and the sales figures made her one of the bestselling female artists during the spring of 2007. Backed up by a big audience, Christel toured with her own band. An experience that Christel enjoyed to the full:

– It was great to see that people from all over the country had a relationship to the songs I’d written. It’s a powerful experience to encounter a concert audience. When we’d played at Rockefeller in Oslo, it didn’t dawn on me until the day after the concert!

After an inspiring year on the road, Christel sat down with her newly bought guitar and noticed that it was time to start writing again. With a desire to “clean out the closet”, … has become a record that she describes as “influenced by my age” – about important people in her life that perhaps aren’t as important anymore, and about the need for being seen on more levels. But not all of Christel’s often melancholy tunes are filled with sorrow:

– Personally, I feel that melancholy is good for me and I don’t get sorry, even though my music can be described as sad. I feel that my melancholy is very hopeful.

In the autumn of 2009, Christel took part in a Scandinavian tribute to the master of melancholy, Leonard Cohen, on his 75th birthday. Together with artists like Ane Brun, Bo Sandström (from Bo Kaspers Orkester), Mikael Wiehe and Eva Dahlgren, Christel sang a version of “Suzanne” and attracted some attention, on Swedish TV among others.

She’s been working on Tomorrow is for two years, and again Arvid Solvang is her producer. At Viagram Studio in Oslo, Christel and her band have slowly but surely worked on songs and arrangements. Her band has consisted of Børre Flyen (drums), Tor Egil Kreken (bass), Martin Sjølie (keyboards), Morten Myklebust (guitar) and Kristian Kvalvaag (guitar), and according to Christel, they’ve turned “Tomorrow is” into a more dynamic and spontaneous record:

– Even though I’m very pleased with my first record, I’ve been considering my own expectations for the next album. In a way, I had a score to settle with “Closing The Distance”, and I’ve creatively analyzed what we did at that time and on this record. Quite simply, I wanted to travel a bit more now.

The first single from “Tomorrow is”, “Please Say”, has so far been put on the playlist of the NRK P1 og P4 radio channels, and a Norwegian tour is being set up these days. After three years, Christel is finally ready to present her new songs, in her very personal way.