Biography

With a name that means "bridge" in their native tongue, it makes sense that Norway's Broen blend dub, electronic music, jazz, R&B, psychedelia, and more into vibrant, unpredictable pop. On albums like 2019's Do You See the Falling Leaves? they used this eclectic sound to express positive, unifying messages during a time when people were increasingly divided. The band features vocalist Marianna Røe, tuba player Heida Karine Johannesdottir Mobeck, keyboardist Anja Lauvdal, drummer Hans Hulbækmo, and guitarist Lars Ove Stene Fossheim, all of whom studied jazz at Sund Folkehøgskole at various times. In addition, Hulbækmo, Fossheim, and Lauvdal attended the jazz conservatory at Trondheim, while Mobeck studied music technology and Røe studied sound arts and design at the London College of Communication. The quintet began making music in the early 2010s, borrowing from wide-ranging influences including Flying Lotus, Kendrick Lamar, Talking Heads, and Paul Simon, and crafting a live show that featured bold costumes and dance moves. Broen released their debut album, Yoga, in Norway in 2015; later, the album was pared down to a four-song EP that was released internationally on Propeller Records. For their international debut, the band recorded in Oslo with Jaga Jazzist's Marcus Forsgren engineering the sessions. Preceded by the singles "<3" and "You (Detective)," I <3 Art arrived in 2017 via Bella Union. Broen reunited with Forsgren to make 2019's Do You See the Falling Leaves?, a vivid, wide-ranging set of songs with the shared purpose of bringing people together. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi