Anita Skorgan and ex husband Jahn Teigen were for many years the darlings of the Norwegian music scene. They divorced but each managed to continue with their own successful careers. Things went wrong for Skorgan upon the release of her album Basic in 1990 leaving her pop career floundering.
With Basic becoming something of a fiasco, Anita looked to other directions in terms of music, leaving pop behind. Instead, she concentrated on reinventing herself as a more mature artist, releasing compilation albums such as Julenatt (Christmas Eve) in 1994 and 2008 and Hele Veien (All The Way) in 2009. But now Anita Skorgan is back in full force with a brand new album, entitled På Gyllen Grunn (On Golden Ground), her first studio album in 10 years, following the release of Gull (Gold) way back in 2001.
The album is a collection of previously unreleased traditional norwegian folktunes, giving the album a distinct new age feel. The album and project also sees Anita once again working with Erik Hillestad (who wrote the music to For Vår Jord, the Norwegian Eurovision entry from 1988). Hillestad is a well known and respected figure within the Norwegian music industry, who is the founder of the record label Kirkelig Kulturverksted, which releases a great deal of religiously themed music and
has also written lyrics to all 10 tracks on På Gyllen Grunn.
The album was recorded in Emanuel Vigeland’s mausoleum at Slemdal, Oslo, Emanuel being the younger brother of Gustav Vigeland, creator of the Vigeland Sculpture Park, one of Norway’s most revered sculptors and artists. På Gyllen Grunn offers the listener a mixture of mytiscal new age music, psalms and traditional folk music and is apparently something completely different to anything Anita Skorgan has ever released previously. Upon it’s release at the end of August, the album has received mixed reviews in the press, indicating that it’s an adventurous release, clearly not aimed at the mainstream market.
The track listing is as follows:
1. Det Går en Elv (A River Flows)
2. Av Kjærlighet (Out Of Love)
3. Paradis Senkes Over Jorden (Paradise Descends Upon Earth)
4. Alene Gud (Only God)
5. Frihet (Freedom)
6. I Jordens Dyp (In the Depth of the Earth)
7. Vi Er Elskere (We Are Lovers)
8. Alt Hva Gud Har Skapt Er Rent (Everything Which God Has Made is Pure)
9. Dansen Går i Ring (The Dance Goes in Circles)
10. På Gyllen Grunn (On Golden Ground)
Anita Skorgan has represented Norway an amazing four times at the Eurovision Song Contest; twice as a soloist in 1977 with Casanova and 1979 with Oliver, as well as in 1982 with Jahn Teigen singing Adieu and in 1983 also with Teigen singing Do-Re-Mi. A couple of months she and Jahn officially said goodbye to their fans.
