Kari Bremnes - Fantastisk allerede

Celebrating 30 years as an artist with a double album of greatest hits

After 30 years as a musician and 17 years as a songwriter there is no disputing the special position Kari Bremnes holds in Norwegian music. Her warm and penetrating lyrics tell stories that touch her audience – her stories could just as easily be about them. Kari Bremnes has released 13 solo albums, where the latest, last year’s "LY" (Shelter), went gold and was nominated as best record of the year by one of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s radio stations.

This greatest hits album "Fantastisk allerede" (Fantastic already) is a big part of the celebrations, which already got under way in the summer with her concert in Oslo Opera House, which was the kick-off point for her tour of Norway this autumn, her longest ever.

At this concert, another popular Norwegian singer-songwriter, Anne Grete Preus, presented Kari with the Edvard Award for her "LY" album, and said: "As everybody here knows, you are a true song poet!"  This was greeted with thunderous applause from a packed house. The following excerpt from the jury's decision tells us of the importance and strengths of Kari Bremnes as an artist:

"Writing lyrics demands precision; brevity is the key, using a minimum of words and intertwining them with the music so the listener can create his or her own images. Kari Bremnes writes lyrics that feel as if they spring straight out of the music – or the other way round.

Kari Bremnes is an artist who tours Europe far and wide, singing lyrics in an expressive Norwegian. Not just any version or dialect of the Norwegian language. Her Norwegian has a strong local anchor and finds many sources in the contemporary life of women, with significant opportunities for identification across national borders."

It is very easy to be fascinated by and enthusiastic about an artist who has so many qualities, with so many indisputably appealing songs, and with such a rapport with her audience that she is spoken of in much of the world as the Hi-Fi Queen, and also because of the excellent sound quality of her albums. 

A new version of the title track which was a favourite on the radio this summer and a rerecording of "Grågåsa" (Greylag) have been included on this greatest hits album, along with many of the favourite tracks from the 13 solo records she has released after debuting with "Mitt ville hjerte" (My Wild Heart) in 1987.

Kari Bremnes has also generously shared memories and stories about the recording sessions and the evolution of her songs for this release.