Savoy (band)
Savoy | |
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Origin | Oslo, Norway Boston, USA Bergen, Norway |
Genres | Alternative rock[1] Post-grunge[1] |
Years active | 1994–present |
Labels | EMI Genepool Records Eleventeen Records Warner Bros. Records Universal Music |
Associated acts | A-ha |
Website | Savoy homepage |
Members | Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Lauren Savoy Frode Unneland |
Savoy are a Norwegian-American rock trio consisting of Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (famous from Norwegian band A-ha) (vocals/guitars/bass/keyboards), his wife Lauren Savoy (vocals/guitars) and Frode Unneland (drums/percussion/backing vocals). The band was formed in 1994 and has released 5 studio albums to date.
Contents
Biography
Savoy, unlike Waaktaar-Savoy's other band A-ha, has a certain down-to-earth indie rock approach to their music. All songs are composed by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Lauren Savoy. Lauren herself is known as a film maker, and Frode Unneland is one of Norway's best drummers known from the Bergen music scene as drummer with Chocolate Overdose and Popium. He has also drummed for Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche.
Savoy have achieved great critical success in Norway. They have been nominated for 3 Norwegian Grammy Awards (Spellemannprisen) and won two of them, in 2000 and 2002. Their most known hits include "Velvet" (also covered by A-ha), "Rain", "Star", "Grind You Down", "If You Won't Come to the Party" and "Whalebone" (from the soundtrack of the well-acclaimed Norwegian film Hawaii, Oslo). The latter track cleverly recycles lyrics from A-ha's 1993 track, "Locust". Savoy have sold a total of 200,000 albums.
On August 6, 2007, Savoy released Savoy Songbook Vol. 1, a double-CD where CD2 is a "best of"-album with 14 tracks, and CD1 contains three new songs and seven re-worked versions of some of their older songs. It will work as an introduction to the band outside Norway (noting a possible worldwide release). The first single from this release, "Karma Boomerang", is one of the new tracks and was released on 13 April 2007. The second single has been announced to be "Best Western Beauty" but no release date has been announced.
Savoy signed a UK deal with indie label Genepool Records. They are also back in the studio for the next album.
Band members
- Current members
- Paul Waaktaar-Savoy - Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards
- Lauren Savoy - Vocals, guitar
- Frode Unneland - Drums, backing vocals
- Guest musicians
- Greg Calvert - Bass (1995–1997)
- Geir Luedy - Bass (1997–1998)
- Maya Vik - Bass (2004)
- Christer Ottesen - Bass (2004)
- Jørun Bøgeberg - Bass
- Preben Grieg-Halvorsen - Keyboards
- Erin Hill - Harp, backing vocals
Discography
Studio albums
Year | Title | Label |
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1996 | Mary Is Coming | Warner Bros. |
1997 | Lackluster Me | EMI |
1999 | Mountains of Time | |
2001 | Reasons to Stay Indoors | |
2004 | Savoy | Eleventeen Records |
Compilation
Year | Title | Label |
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2007 | Savoy Songbook Vol. 1 | Universal |
External links
- Savoy on Myspace Official Savoy Myspace site
- http://savoy.aha-fr.com/ French fan site
Awards | ||
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Preceded by | Recipient of the best Pop band Spellemannprisen 1999 |
Succeeded by Briskeby |
Preceded by | Recipient of the best Pop band Spellemannprisen 2001 |
Succeeded by Ephemera |