Thomas Dybdahl

Thomas Dybdahl has garnered numerous accolades throughout his homeland earning him a “Spellemann prisen” (Norwegian Grammy) for Best Pop Artist along with an “Alarm” (Alternative Grammy) award for Best Pop Album. And, he has just been nominated for the 2007 Spellemanpris in the category of Best Male Artist. The awards ceremony takes place on January 27, 2007. Now, after achieving critical acclaim and platinum-selling status in his native Norway, Thomas Dybdahl is ready to share his emotive voice and intricate portraits in song with the rest of the world. At 27 years old, Dybdahl possesses a true strength and maturity in his songwriting that defies categorization. NPR has said of Dybdahl, “His delicate but lush music recalls that of Tim Buckley, Nick Drake and other forward-thinking songwriters.” And Jon Pareles of The New York Times recently wrote of Dybdahl’s under-discovered 2006 U.S. debut One Day You Will Dance For Me, New York City, “Thomas Dybdahl writes songs that move in for extreme close-ups: his acoustic guitar, his breathy voice, his vows of love. He's Norwegian, but he sings in English. …the tempos are glacial and the instruments few and pristine, so that every gesture is exposed. Anything less than total grace would turn precious and cloying, but Mr. Dybdahl maintains his poise; each song has the delicate suspense of a drawn breath.” Upon first listen, Science draws you in through the bare richness of the music. Delicate guitars meet soul-filled vocals that keep the listener anticipating each gentle nuance. His music is perhaps best enjoyed while open and able to absorb its many sounds, inflections and subtleties. The opening track, “Something Real,” is a rhythm-driven number featuring stand-up bass, piano, violin, viola, bass clarinet and bass saxophone, organ and pedal steel guitar with Dydahl on guitars, bows and vocals. Other noteworthy tracks include “Still My Body Aches,” the stark and moody heart-wrencher that finds Dybdahl’s distinctive vocals almost naked at the front of the song backed by a striking, yet subtle string arrangement and piano. “U” is an R&B number that highlights the range of Dybdahl’s soul-inflected croon and “Maury the Pawn” starts as an up-tempo neo-folk tune that collapses into a string-laden ending. The album artwork boasts some notable names with celebrity designer (and vocal Dybdahl supporter) Philippe Starck providing the graphic art direction and famed lens-man Jean-Baptiste Mondino (Madonna, David Bowie, Björk) providing the photographic art for the CD.