Øystein Sevåg

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Øystein Sevåg
Birth name Øystein Sevåg
Born March 19, 1957 (1957-03-19) (age 51)
Bærum, Akershus, Norway
Genre(s) World music, New Age, classical music, folk
Occupation(s) Composer, keyboardist, flutist, record producer
Instrument(s) piano, keyboard, flute
Years active 1983–present
Label(s) Windham Hill, Hearts of Space, Siddharta Records
Website www.sevag.com

Øystein Sevåg is a Norwegian classical and world music composer and musician.

Øystein Sevåg was born near Oslo, Norway in 1957, beginning piano lessons at age five. As a teen he played bass in a rock band but returned to his classical roots in time to study piano, flute and composition at a private Music Conservatory in Oslo; by the 1980s, however, Sevåg had become fascinated by the possibilities offered by the development of the synthesizer, and he plunged into electronic music with his self-released 1989 debut LP Close Your Eyes and See.

The product of five years in the studio, the album slowly crept into Billboard's New Age charts in the USA, and it landed Sevåg on the Windham Hill label to issue the follow-up, 1993's Link. He returned two years later with Global House, a record reflecting a newfound interest in acoustic sounds and worldbeat textures, including didjeridoo and string quartet; the ambient album Visual, a collaboration with guitarist Lakki Patey, followed in 1996. Signing to the Hearts of Space label, Sevåg resurfaced in 1997 with the acclaimed Bridge, now including the Philharmonia Orchestra (London), winning the Indie Award in USA for the best new age recording of the year.

From 1999 to 2005 he lived in Freiburg, South Germany, where he among other things has been working with music therapy together with Maria Sevag and the psychologist Katharina Martin.

In April 2005 Sevåg's new album Caravan was released, 8 years after his previous album Bridge. The new material was introduced on a concert in Oslo in March. In June one of his new compositions in the classical area - a string trio - had its first performance on Casa dei Mezzo Music Festival on Crete, Greece. In October he had two concerts in Norway with his "Global House Band" - followed up by ten small solo concerts at the Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo.

In the spring 2006 Øystein Sevåg moved to Oslo. His latest album Based on a True Story was released in 2007.

Contents

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • 1989: Close Your Eyes and See
  • 1993: Link
  • 1995: Global House
  • 1997: Bridge
  • 2005: Caravan
  • 2007: Based on a True Story

[edit] Compilations

[edit] Collaborations

  • 1996: Visual with Lakki Patey
  • 2003: Amor Fati with Kristin Flood - English and Norwegian version
  • 2007: Eliksir: Earthly Things - producer

[edit] External links