Animal Alpha

Genre: Rock Hometown: Oslo NORWAY
www.animalalpha.com

Friday, March 17   11:00 p.m.
The Drink   (325 E 6th St)

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  Animal Alpha - Bundys
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Norwegian five-piece Animal Alpha was formed in 2002 when lead singer Agnete Kjølsrud met guitarist and songwriter Christian Wibe through musicians-wanted ads placed at the men's room at a local club in Oslo, Norway.
With the supplementation of the bass player Lars Imre Bidtnes, guitarist Christer Andre Cederberg and drummer Thomas Jacobsen, the quintet started intensive rehearsals, perfecting their sound and image.
After spending a great deal of 2004 in a battered old van gigging around Norway, the band soon earned a growing fan base and interest from the music industry.

This alongside performances at Oslo’s prestigious Øya Festival, earning them 8 of 10 points in British Metal Hammer Magazine, combined with an appearance on national TV program 'Lydverket' created a buzz around the band that led to two sold-out nights at Oslo’s 500-crowd-capacity John Dee club. Without any released material this is quite unique by Norwegian standards.
From being one of Norway's best hidden musical secrets, the band rose from relative obscurity into the musical mainstream by the end of 2004. A bidding war between none less than 11 record-labels ensued, and the band chose the small indie label Racing Junior, penciling the release of their first EP and album spring 2005.


Status:

2005 has thus proven to be a wonderful year for Animal Alpha, seeing them taking their first major step from underground to meteoric rise for global stardom.
This year also saw them enjoying an unbroken string of commercial successes and wonderful events:
- Rock producer extra-ordinaire Sylvia Massy Shivy (Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, System Of A Down, Red Hot Chili Peppers etc.) saw the band showcase at the annual Norwegian music-event by:Larm, and invited Animal Alpha to come record their first album and EP at her Radiostar Studios in California.

- "Bundy" highlight and first single of debut album went straight to #4 in the main single charts and managed to stay there for 8 weeks.

- "Bundy" was also picked by E.A Games to feature as soundtrack of two global PS2 releases; "Burnout Revenge" and " NHL 06"

- The "Bundy" video scared children when it was shown on daytime television by mistake.

- Their self titled "EP" sold to gold in Norway.

- Debut album "Pheromones" went straight to #11 in the Norwegian album charts, Top 40.

- Second single/music video "Most Wanted Cowboy" is still receiving massive airplay on National TV/Radio NRK/ NRK P3. Music video was ranked as 2nd most played video after first week of release.

- Interview on MTV Nordic.

- Major interest from UK music business, just from showcasing a couple of clubs in London.

- NRK (national broadcasting) picked Animal Alpha to represent Norway at the annual Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, The Netherlands, January 2006, making the band's first step towards European market. From this came a number of Summer Festivals from Denmark, Italy, Germany and so on.

Confirmed festivals: Rock Am Ring, Rock Im Park - Germany, Download - London UK, Hultsfred Festival, Sweden and so on.

- NRK P3 says the band has "what's needed to succeed in Europe, they're unique, charismatic and they're completely out of their minds..!"


Sound:
The rare talent of powerhouse live performances, original imagery and songwriting skills combined with musicianship and perfectionism are ingredients that form the Animal Alpha sound.
Some critics have tried to tag their music as horror-pop and post modern rock,
but their music delightfully continues to challenge musical genres.
The music could perhaps be described as a musical jack-in-the-box, at first glance beautiful and serene but upon closer inspection ugly, ragged and sharp.
In concert the boys always give 100% plus the little extra of what's needed of them to captivate the audience while lead singer Agnete Kjølsrud exudes the kind of stage charisma that makes it difficult to look away, creating a visceral and seismic show with the weird and wonderful Animal Alpha.

Press:
The general public has had no difficulty appreciating Animal Alpha's debut album. Both, EP and album received rave reviews.

Quotes/Words from The Wise:
"Seeing this band play is like finding a raw diamond in the coal dust, rugged yet beautiful, something to treasure, yet it can slice through steel with little effort. Agnete's lyrics are unexpected, brash, sultry, nasty, brutally sweet and genuine - she grabs your attention and does not let go. And the band is thrashing away relentlessly behind her. "Pheromones" is a twisted visit into the world of Animal Alpha, a place of snarling dogs and circus freaks and glittering diamonds."
- Sylvia Massy Shivy, producer

"The band was as tight as a condom wrapped around a nuclear sub-marine"
- fan