Voted as best album of the year 2011, the debut album from The Last Hurrah!! titled "Spiritual Non-Believers" has certainly made an impact both in Norway and abroad. After listening to the album, the magazine MOJO called frontman HP Gundersen and asked if The Last Hurrah!! would be interested in doing a song on their Pink Floyd tribute CD. Even though the song was in the Mojo September issue, the band was very happy with the recording and it is now part of the upcoming EP "The Great Gig in Disguise"
Veteran Bergen producer HP Gundersen made The Last Hurrah!! project with vocalist Heidi Torsvik (Heidi Goodbye). Released on the fine label Rune Grammofon "Spiritual Non-Believers" caught the attention of music critics not only in Norway but also in UK and Germany. The debut album was voted Best Album of the Year 2011 by the music critics in the main Norwegian newspaper VG.
HP Gundersen wanted to create a good live band from the album project and decided to put together a six piece band. So he got together some of Bergens finest musicians: HP Gundersen (Pedal Steel, drone guitars), Heidi Torsvik (vocals), Sonja Otto (piano and vocals), Silje Solberg (harding fiddle and vocals), Nils Are Drønen (drums), Alex Grieg stand up base. On major shows they add Nils Einar Vinjor on guitar or Jon Irabagon on saxophone.
The band is touring in Spring and on festivals the coming Summer.
HP Gundersen is also producing a number of artists. He is one of Norway´s most sought after producers and we review a number of different productions for him every year.
MOJO:
Cosmic Norwegian raga acid folk-rock mania! Bergen´s prolific producer/composer/nutjob Hans Petter Gundersen has guided Sondre Lerche and Madrugada to heady heights, but rarely enjoyed the kudos himself. But, after stumbling over Stephen Stills´ secret tuning for “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” he´s mixed a mega dose of folkadelic blue sunshine. Bookended by the happy-clappy “Mother Nature” (like The Cowsills via Charlie Manson) and “Melodi Grand Prix 63″´s dreamy bossa nova, 30-minute centrepiece “The Ballad Of Billy And Lilly” is a song-cycle woven with kaleidoscopic stitching. Underpinning Heidi Goodbye´s spacey, girly presence (a tad Victoria Williams) are drones, pedal and steel guitars that expand the album´s horizons to take in raga, hoedowns, California-breezy folk and Appalachian thrumming on an altogether beguiling and irresistibly trippy trip.
| KAIZERS ORCHESTRA // | NOORA NOOR // | YOHANNA // | THE LAST HURRAH!! // | AMUND MAARUD // | BEL CANTO // | LEDFOOT // | MONA HALVORSEN |