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Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson

Guitarists & composers

• Nomination for Danish Music Awards - Folk 2007
• Listen to music clips from Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson's CDs
• New album by Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson, 2006:
  "BLUES" - link to PDF
• Introducing the acoustic finger-picking guitar duo
  Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson
  - and their CD "Back to the Present"
• Back again after an eleven-year break
• CD releases as a guitar duo
• Participation on other, selected record releases
• Printed music
• Links to Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson biographies
• Contact & booking

Anders Roland
Finn Olafsson

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Nomination for Danish Music Awards - Folk 2007

PRESS RELEASE - March 1, 2007

The Danish guitar-duo
ANDERS ROLAND & FINN OLAFSSON
Nominated for Danish Music Awards - Folk 2007

It is a pleasure to announce that Danish guitar duo Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson have been nominated for Danish Music Awards - Folk 2007 - in the category "Danish Composer of the Year" - for their most recent album "Blues".

The nomination represents a natural acknowledgement of that wide range of superb CD reviews in which Danish music journalists are describing "Blues" using superlatives such as:

- Wonderfully relaxing music - (Jyllandsposten)
- The two musicians are not only faithful towards their own personal style - in a positive sense - technically, they are definitely extremely competent, with an outspoken talent for composing specifically for two acoustic guitars - (Gaffa)
- leading here in Danmark in the genre of acoustic steel-string music - (Folk & Musik)
- Not only are they equilibrists, they are masters of their own unique style - (Helsingør Dagblad)
- The two guitarists know some tricks on a guitar of which only a few others are capable -
- a pleasing lean-yourself-back-total-experience - (Jydske Vestkysten)
- emotional and sincere, but in no way gloomy - a beautiful and quiet record well suited for both intense listening and as pleasant background music - (Midtjyllands Avis)
- Like its predecessor ("DUO"), newly recorded "Blues" presents a wealth of crispy harmonious sound, and it is being sustained throughout by that deep and mutual confidence which is the fruit of Roland & Olafsson's decades-long co-operation - (Holbæk Amts Venstreblad & Kalundborg Folkeblad)

The nomination for the category "Danish Composer of the Year" is especially gratifying.
Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson have always invested the utmost of energy into their joint-composing, and the creation of new music has always been the primary driving force in their working together.

Listen to music clips from Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson's CDs
at Finn Olafsson's website:

New album: "BLUES" - link to press release, PDF

Open, read and print the press release
via this link:
"Blues" - press release (screen PDF)

Introducing the acoustic finger-picking guitar duo
Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson
- and their CD "Back to the Present" - 2003

At the turn of 1983, the folk music editors at the National Danish Broadcasting Company invited a number of musicians and solo performers to appear in a live New Year’s show, featuring music and interviews.
Anders joined the show, backing singer Erik Grip, and Finn appeared with folk musician Lars Lilholt as well as playing solo guitar compositions from his album "Acoustic Guitar".

At the time, Anders was writing songs which featured lots of guitar work, although the compositions were not instrumentals. But Finn’s compositions for solo guitar gave him the impulse to call Finn and suggest a collaboration.

The two guitarists met, and it soon transpired that there was a lot of creative chemistry between them.

They had a lot in common - they had both played lots of rock music, they both took an interest in classical guitar, and they both had experience as backing musicians for solo singers - but their styles and temperament also differed in significant areas, adding dynamics and contrast.

At first, the duo concentrated on Finn’s compositions, but soon Anders began to contribute ideas and themes.

Together they worked out arrangements, establishing the particular working process which would become their hallmark.

On their first album, "Sight-seeing", each tune was still attributed to either Anders or Finn, but it was soon decided that henceforth all titles should appear as joint compositions, since both musicians contributed equally, creating the duo’s unique sound.
Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson played together from 1984 until 1990. This new CD, "Back to the Present" contains a selection of tunes from the three albums recorded by the duo.
Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson played hundreds of gigs as a duo during those years, but in the studio they often used extra musicians, some of which appear on all their albums.
The keyboards are played by one of the best in the business, Bent Lundgaard, who has worked with Holger Laumann, Anne Linnet Band and at one time formed a duo with sax player Morten Øberg. At present he is the musical director at Odense Theatre.

Percussionist Jacob Andersen adds a phenomenal repertoire of rhythms and sounds. He has played with lots of Danish artists, such as Sneakers, Danseorkesteret, Mikkel Nordsø Band and many others. Jacob appears on all three albums.
On "High Holidays", guitarist Poul Halberg appears on keyboards. One of Denmark’s best guitarists, Poul’s immense understanding of the guitar enables him to contribute a valuable, poetic creativity to the music.
Through the years, Poul has been the creative power behind bands such as Halberg/Larsen and Ray Dee Ohh.

Finn’s brother Torsten Olafsson - co-founder, bass player and vocalist in the symphonic rock band Ache - appears on shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese bamboo flute.

Shakuhachi music originally stems from the Japanese Zen Buddhist tradition, and its eerie sound is often used as samples and played through a keyboard. However, what you hear on "El Hadji" and "Airy Signs" is the real thing!

In 2001 Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson revived their collaboration and in the 2002 their first three new compositions were recorded.
For the sessions it felt natural to invite Torsten Olafsson and Jacob Andersen back, and so they can be heard on "Still Water", "El Hadji" and "Back to the Present".

The album "Back to the Present" (Olafssongs OCD 040) was released in 2003 to be followed later that same year by the duo's 5th studio album "DUO" (Olafssongs OCD 041).

Their most recent CD, "BLUES" (Olafssongs OCD 051) came out in 2006 and was eventually nominated for Danish Music Awards - Folk 2007 in the category "Danish Composer of the Year".

Back again after an eleven-year break

There are some experiences one can never really forget about ...

- like for example the unique partnership of Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson who, during the 80s, together created some of the period's most delicate and poetic acoustic guitar music whatsoever.
Their lyrical, tuneful - and impressive - compositions were warmly welcomed by the radio stations, TV and the movie media, because the music allows so much space for contemplation, association and emotion.
The poetic qualities of their music became particularly present whenever the duo appeared live on stage all over the country - in the clubs and at the festivals - where Anders & Finn, artfully humoristic as they are, have always impressed and amused their audiences through setting the lyricism in a deeper perspective.

In Autumn 1990, however - after more than six years, three remarkable LP/CDs sold in the tens of thousands, and innumerable concerts - they had to put a temporary stop to their common activities ... other tasks had to be taken care of.
But now, after an eleven-year break, the duo is back again with both old and many new compositions on their repertoire.

Back then ...

Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson met - and formed their acoustic guitar duo - in 1984. They soon realized they had a steadily growing audience who really appreciated their original, lyrical guitar sound-scapes, and the debut album "Sight-seeing" was air-played extensively and used by all of the media - as jingles, background music and the like.
While performing ever more intensively in all of Denmark, they were frequently invited into the film and music studios where Anders and Finn's unique compositions and elegant guitar work were in high demand.
They performed on all the prominent festival stages, and with the two albums "Feriedage" ('86) and "Globetrotter" ('88) their reputation as "the leading Danish guitar duo of the 80s" was cemented, once and for all.
Beside numerous tutorial concerts at Danish public schools, Anders & Finn also went on tours to Northern Germany and the Czech Republic - in '89 and '90.

In between ...

Anders and Finn having split up in Autumn 1990, Finn now concentrated on his work as a music publisher, partly in the capacity as managing director of Warner/Chappell Music Denmark A/S, partly administering his own publishing company Olafssongs.
Having established his own recording studio he also produced and released CDs with f.i. The Savage Affair, Tony Vejslev and the guitarist Kasper Søborg.
Anders continued working as a guitar musician and composer. Teaming up again with Erik Grip (1991-96), he also performed with Halfdan E (1993-96), here presenting his own original material of songs with Danish lyrics. Furthermore, Anders was being kept quite busy as a music teacher ...
While not appearing as a duo during the 1990s, still the contact between Anders and Finn was not at all broken: When Anders Roland recorded his two noteworthy CDs "Liv, land og hjerte" ('93) and "The Wanderer - Outdoor Music for Acoustic Solo Guitar" ('98), Finn was with him as both producer, studio engineer and - studio guitarist! They also appeared once on Danish Television, in 1995, when - at the National Danish Song Contest that year - they accompanied actress & singer Ulla Henningsen performing her #2 song written by Anne Linnet.

Back to the Present ...

Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson have now returned to the Danish music scene.
Their many concerts in 2001 & 2002 have all been very succesful, including major appearances at the Tarm Festival, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum of art and Odense Folk Festival, to mention but a few. Over the last few months a lot of new finger-picking guitar material has been recorded in the studio, so a completely fresh CD can be expected already in April, 2003.
On June 5, 2002, though, a forerunner for this new Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson album was put out, namely "Tilbage til nutiden" (Olafssongs OCD 037), a compilation CD presenting two entirely new tracks and a selection of acoustic guitar highlights from the previous three records.
The "Tilbage til nutiden" album has, furthermore, been produced with English track titles and cover notes, entitled "Back to the Present" (Olafssongs OCD 040) and containing three new tracks - now ready for its international release.

CD releases as a guitar duo

ANDERS ROLAND & FINN OLAFSSON
Sight-seeing
Olafssongs OCD 002

Click in the center of the cover to read more about the album

ANDERS ROLAND & FINN OLAFSSON
Feriedage
Olafssongs OCD 003

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ANDERS ROLAND & FINN OLAFSSON
Globetrotter
Olafssongs OCD 010

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ANDERS ROLAND & FINN OLAFSSON with JYTTE PILLONI
Himlen over dig / Moretes tema
Olafssongs OSP 007

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ANDERS ROLAND & FINN OLAFSSON
Tilbage til nutiden
Olafssongs OCD 037

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ANDERS ROLAND & FINN OLAFSSON
Back to the Present
Olafssongs OCD 040

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ANDERS ROLAND & FINN OLAFSSON
DUO
Olafssongs OCD 041

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ANDERS ROLAND & FINN OLAFSSON
BLUES
Olafssongs OCD 051

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Participation on other, selected record releases

Erik Grip: Skærver og skår - Exlibris EXL 30025, 1985
Thomas Kjellerup: Ved siden af mig - RUP RUCD 9009, 1991
Annika Hoydal: Dulcinea - Olafssongs OCD 020/OCD 021, 1991
Anders Roland: Liv, land og hjerte - Olafssongs OCD 025, 1993
Anders Roland: The Wanderer - Olafssongs OCD 035, 1998

Printed music

Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson / Sten Kaalø: "Himlen over dig":
Printed in "Alle Tiders Sangbog 2" (Warner/Chappell Music Denmark 1409496, 1994)
Printed in "Imudico's Melodibog 73" (Musikforlaget Imudico, 2005)

Links to Anders Roland & Finn Olafsson biographies:

Contact & booking

Anders Roland - Phone: +45 46 41 24 45
Finn Olafsson - Phone: +45 48 39 22 59

Olafssongs - Paarupvej 44 - DK-3230 Graested - Denmark
Phone: +45 48 39 22 59 - Fax: +45 48 39 16 29 - E-mail: ol@olafssongs.dk

Copyright © 2002-2007 by Olafssongs, Denmark