News

Feb. 24th, 2010: Jaga Jazzist – European Tour – 24. Feb – 7. March

Today Jaga Jazzist is heading out on a two week European tour. The fresh release of «One Armed Bandit» album on Ninja Tune received rave reviews from all over the world, and now the nine piece band will bring their amazing live show to the following cities:
24.02.10 Denmark, Århus, Train
25.02.10 Denmark, Copehagen, Lille Vega
26.02.10 [...]

Mar. 20th, 2010: Jaga Jazzist anniversary live DVD

Jaga Jazzist is 15 years! To celebrate this anniversary we have together with the band put together a DVD to celebrate this. We’re happy to announce the first ever live documentation of Jaga Jazzist in the band’s career. And as Jaga Jazzist is known as a fantastic liveband, we all thought it was about time. [...]

Jan. 20th, 2010: Serena Maneesh – Reprobate!

Check out this amazing clip from Serena Maneesh performing a track from their upcoming album. The track is called “Reprobate!” and the album will be released worldwide on 4AD on 22nd March.

Jan. 8th, 2010: Up Front Artists @ Eurosonic 2010

5 of our great artists will perform showcases at this years Eurosonic Event in Groningen, The Netherlands next week on 14 & 15 of January. Check out the flyer here to see when our acts will appear!

Jan. 8th, 2010: Welcome to www.ufa.no

Hi and welcome to our brand new website!
We will endeavour to bring you all of the information on all our artists as soon as it come to hand.
2010 is  a huge year with new albums from Lindtsrøm & Christabelle, Jaga Jazzist, Serena Maneesh, Harrys Gym, Diskjokke ++
Please do not hesitate to contact either Vegard, Mark [...]

Upcoming shows

  • Harrys Gym @ Etnemarknaden - Aug 5
  • Lindstrøm & Christabelle @ Øyafestivalen, Oslo - Aug 10
  • Serena Maneesh @ Øyafestivalen, Oslo - Aug 10

Contact information

Up Front Artists
Fredensborgveien 24F
Oslo, Norway, N-0177
info@ufa.no

Mark Vaughan mark@ufa.no
P-C Rae pc@ufa.no
Vegard Waske vegard@ufa.no

Artists

120 days
120 Days had their first rehersal autumn 2001 in their small hometown, Kristiansund, on the north-westcoast of Norway. The band consisted of four 19 year old friends Jonas Dahl, Arne Kvalvik, Kjetil Ovesen and Ådne Meisfjord. They called themselves The Beautiful People. Five years later, they would become one of the most critically acclaimed bands in norwegian history.
Bjørn Torske
Bjørn Torske comes from the capital of electronic music in Norway, Tromsø, a small town far north over the artic circle. This town has bred great artists such as Mental Overdrive, Biosphere and Royksopp. Through Geir Jenssen, Torske got in touch with SSR/Crammed Discs in Belgium, and in 1991 he appeared on two separate 12″ [...]
Bygdin
East of Finnskogen, west of Dovre, right by the foot of Jotunheimen you find Bygdin. The lake that captures Galdhøpiggen in its own troll-like mirror. It’s the place where the forests no longer breathe. In this heart of Norway, this remote realm of the mountains, you can literally feel the pulse of eternity.
Diskjokke
Following the success of Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas comes diskJokke, a.k.a. Joachim Dyrdahl the latest in a string of exciting and innovative artists hailing from the respected Oslo electronica scene.
Fjorden Baby!
Fjorden baby! er et kollektivband bestående av fem medlemmer med forskjellige uttrykk. Dette kommer tydelig frem i deres visuelle utrrykk og i deres spesielle sound. Bandet bruker mye lazer og vindmaskin på konsertene og er ikke fremmed for å bruke alternative support acts, som Tae Kwon-Do oppvisning. Fjorden Baby! gav ut det selvstitulerte debutalbumet i [...]
Harrys Gym
Harrys Gym’s music could be described as an eerie blend of psychedelic pop smeered in atmosphere and blissed out melodies.
Hypertext
Hypertext ble dannet i 2006 som en kvartett, og nå, nesten fire år og tre sterke utgivelser senere har bandet så absolutt funnet seg selv som sekstett.
I Was A King
Having only been in existence for a few years, Norwegian group I Was a King has quickly gained recognition from the media, musicians, and fans alike. Front man Frode Strømstad has been said to have a unique gift of creating addictive melodies that hold distinctive roots to the 60’s, distorted through a 90’s indie scene filter.
Jaga Jazzist
Jaga Jazzist have become something of a musical phenomenon in Norway since they started out fifteen years ago. Not only is this instrumental band regarded as one of the most exciting and innovative in Norway, the members are all involved in other musical projects and have in one way or another contributed to almost every significant recording to come out of that part of the world in the last few years. Their albums sell huge quantities in their own country and massive crowds come to their shows. Their international acclaim is signalled by the fact that the new album was mixed in Chicago by John McEntire of Tortoise.
Jonquil
From Oxford (UK), Jonquil are the newest additions to the UFA roster. More info soon.
Kim Hiorthøy
Hiorthøy’s musical style is difficult to classify; the Smalltown Supersound website offers the following description: “On his records Kim Hiorthøy combines weird beats, lo-fi/leftfield electronics, field recordings, electro-acoustic sounds and samples, resulting in a sound all his own.” His live sets, however, differ from his recordings, with louder, faster beats and a techno undertone.
Lars Horntveth
Horntveth`s musical skills are self taught, starting Jaga Jazzist when he was 15 years old. Since then he has created five albums with the band. He debuted with his solo album Pooka in 2004 to wide critical acclaim. The album was awarded two different Norwegian Grammies: The Spellemann Prize, and the more alternative-leaning Alarm Prize. Horntveth has contributed to and written music for over 50 albums, including Turbonegro, Magnet, and Motorpsycho, among others. He has written three film scores, as well as music for several radio plays and theatrical productions. Kaleidoscopic is the largest and most challenging project Lars has accomplished to this day.
Lindstrøm
After the release of Lindstrøm’s critically acclaimed solo album Where You Go I Go Too, in 2008 and 2009`s collaborative album with Prins Thomas, II, Norway’s maestro of disco returns once again. This time he teams up with sultry vocalist Christabelle, to bring us Real Life Is No Cool, an edgy pop album of structured chaos and hypnotic beats.
Lindstrøm & Christabelle
After the release of Lindstrøm’s critically acclaimed solo album Where You Go I Go Too, in 2008 and 2009`s collaborative album with Prins Thomas, II, Norway’s maestro of disco returns once again. This time he teams up with sultry vocalist Christabelle, to bring us Real Life Is No Cool, an edgy pop album of structured chaos and hypnotic beats.
Line Larsen
Musikken til Line er vanskelig å sette i bås, og det er vanskelig å trekke klare referanser.
Musikken har særpreg. Den er melodiøs og stemningsfull med mange lag.
Det er storslagent og catchy, full av nerve, samtidig som det kan være delikat og uforutsigbart.
Ost & Kjex
After taking the aliases as Terminator Kjex and Cheesy, two bored Norwegians spent their lifesavings on a big pile of cheese and biscuits, some studio equipment and locked themselves away for about two years. Creating what would become, “Some But Not All Cheese Comes From the Moon”. Their debut album based solely on sounds from yes : cheese & biscuits.
Purified in blood
This blood alliance formed in 2003, and was known across the globe for their hardcore and vigilant display of healthy human values such as: Animal liberation and political-injustice to name a few
Razika
Razika is a young ska-influenced indie-punk band from Bergen. They have released a 7″ on their own label and is working on their debut album to be released… soon.
Serena Maneesh
Their rise was swift and surprising. Back in 2005 Norway’s Serena Maneesh found themselves championed by Pitchfork on one side of the Atlantic and Drowned In Sound on the other, and suddenly the band’s self-titled debut (initially released on Norwegian indie HoneyMilk, later reissued on Playlouder) became one of those rare things: a genuine word of mouth success. In a year that yielded such uncomplicated music delights as Hard-Fi and Kaiser Chiefs, here was an album that you could lose yourself in and a band you could believe in. Carefully constructed from the familiar (My Bloody Valentine, The Velvet Underground, The Stooges, Neu!) and the not so familiar (black metal, Norwegian composers such as Grieg and Fartein Valen), their wall of sound was unlike anything you’d ever heard before.
Silver
One dark Norwegian winter night back in 2001 I had my first experience with Silver. They had been touring England for a couple of weeks and were back in Norway to complete their Zoom tour. The venue obviously was too big considering the crowd of 30, and my expectations were low. But as the band entered the stage my jaw dropped. The energy! The vigour! The melody! The
attitude! I was stunned. This band was tight like Joey Ramone’s Levi’s jeans, furious like Lemmy without his morning JD, as fast as it was furious, still as cool as The Fonz. I had no idea this species existed in the flora of Norwegian rock’n’roll.