This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2020) |
Sort Sol (formerly Sods) | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Copenhagen, Denmark |
Genres | Post-punk |
Years active | 1977–1981 (as Sods) 1981–present (as Sort Sol) |
Labels | Universal |
Members | Steen Jørgensen Lars Top-Galia Tomas Ortved |
Past members | Knud Odde Peter Peter (Peter Schneidermann) Morten Versner |
Sort Sol is a Danish rock band from Copenhagen, Denmark. The band was formed in 1977 as a punk rock outfit, originally under the name Sods (stylized as SODS). The name Sort Sol was taken in the early 1980s. It translates to English as black sun and is named after a nature phenomenon particular to Denmark, where huge bird flocks gather in the sky and appear to block out the sun.
The Danish press often refers to their musical style as punk due to their origin, though nearly everything they have put out since 1980 is more reminiscent of styles such as post-punk, art-rock, gothic rock and even industrial music.
Sods was formed in Copenhagen, 1977. The original lineup consisted of: Steen Jørgensen (vocals), Peter Schneidermann (guitar; better known as Peter Peter), Knud Odde (bass) and Tomas Ortved (drums).
The band released their first studio album Minutes to Go in February 1979 which is considered the first Danish punk album. They went on to release Under en sort sol in 1980, a more experimental album, influenced in part by Joy Division, Pere Ubu and Television. T. S. Høeg (saxophone) entered the group for a short while in late 1980.
In 1981 the group released their first single under the name Sort Sol. The single "Marble Station" (with the b-side "Misguided") is only released in England on 4AD . In March 1981 the group played their first concert outside of Denmark. 1983 saw the release of the album Dagger & Guitar , featuring punk idol Lydia Lunch on two tracks.
In 1985 Lars Top-Galia (guitar, previously in the band ADS) joined the group, and the line-up stayed intact until 1996, when Peter Peter left due to disagreements within the band, partly owing to artistic differences.
In 1988 Sort Sol made the album Everything That Rises Must Converge which has been described as their artistic breakthrough. The album consists of 10 slowpaced tracks that rely heavily on the deep voice of Steen Jørgensen. In 1991 they made their first CD release which was Flow My Firetear . This was the first of their records reaching a broad audience.
They reached their peak popularity three years later with Glamourpuss which by 2002 had sold 122,483 copies in Denmark, more than all their previous records had sold. The Danish hit-movie Nattevagten used three tracks from Glamourpuss on the soundtrack, which contributed to the commercial breakthrough of Sort Sol in Denmark.
In 2004 Lars Top-Galia left the band and Sort Sol's future in jeopardy. Tomas Ortved releases his solo debut Sun Pistol in 2008. All members are known from various musical or art project throughout the years, which can be found listed in Jan Poulsens biography of the band.
In March 2009 rumours of a possible comeback began surfacing. On March 17, the Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet wrote that Steen Jørgensen have been in contact with all previous Sort Sol members to arrange farewell concerts. [1] However, two days later Lars Top-Galia denied any planned concerts, but confirmed that there have been talks with the old band members. He also said, "It is not unlikely that we could do in the future, but as I said, there are no concrete plans". [2]
In 2011 Sort Sol reunited and toured Denmark with 50 concerts and released The Blackest Box, a collection of all their albums re-mastered and toured again from April–August 2013. Sort Sol are back in the studio recording new material for the first time in over 11 years. With them in the studio was the american producer Randall Dunn who has recorded for bands like Sunn O)), Akron Family and Kinski. In 2017 Sort Sol released Stor langsom stjerne , which was followed by a tour in Denmark.
Internationally renowned artists who have performed and/or recorded with the group include William S. Burroughs, Lydia Lunch, Link Wray, The Jordanaires, Sune Rose Wagner (of The Raveonettes), Sissel Kyrkjebø and Chelsea Wolfe.
Year | Album detail | Chart peak DEN |
---|---|---|
As Sods | ||
1979 | Minutes to Go
| |
1980 | Under en sort sol
| |
As Sort Sol | ||
1983 | Dagger & Guitar
| |
1985 | Ruby don't take your love to town
| |
1987 | Everything that rises... must converge!
| |
1991 | Flow My Firetear
| |
1993 | Glamourpuss
| |
1996 | Unspoiled Monsters
| |
1997 | Diamond Wind (Limited to 500 copies)
| |
2001 | Snakecharmer
| 1 |
2017 | Stor Langsom Stjerne
| 2 [3] |
Year | Album detail | Chart peak DEN |
---|---|---|
As Sort Sol | ||
1992 | Fog Things
| |
2002 | Circle Hits the Flame – Best Off...
| 1 |
Mew is a Danish alternative rock band made up of Jonas Bjerre, Johan Wohlert (bass) and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen (drums). Wohlert left the band in 2006 before the birth of his first child, but made a return in 2013 while the band were in the studio, before making his first live appearances since his departure in 2014. Guitarist Bo Madsen left the band in June 2015. This was confirmed in a statement on the band's official website on 1 July of the same year.
Danish rock is rock music played in Denmark. Starting in the 1950s, rock music was inspired by the United States of America, where it was becoming extremely popular, although records could be difficult to obtain in the country. Danish jazz artists began adopting the rock genre. Towards the end of the 1950s and throughout the 1960s, Danish rock was heavily influenced by British music, one of the genres being R&B. By the late 1960s, Danish rock was again influenced by American rock. During the 1980s, the Danish rock consisted mainly of pop-rock bands, until the rock subgenre grunge broke through to the mainstream in the 1990s. In the late 1990s and early 21st century Indie rock was very popular.
The Naked was a Danish indie-rock band that existed from the end of the 1980s and disbanded in 1999. The band started out under the name Naked Lunch, later shortening the name to Naked, and finally to The Naked.
Psyched Up Janis was a Danish rock band formed by Sune Rose Wagner, now a member of The Raveonettes, Martin Bjerregaard, and Jakob Jørgensen.
Minutes to Go is the debut album released by Danish punk band Sods. It was released in 1979 and is often referred to as Denmark's first punk album. The original album contained eight of the band's own songs and a cover version of Suicide's "Ghost Rider".
Under en sort sol is the second album by the Danish rock band Sods, later known as Sort Sol. The album was recorded over two days in 1980 and released the same year. With this album, the group moved away from the punchy 1-2-3-4 punk, and into more experimental post-punk. To mark the change the band name was not written anywhere on the cover.
Dagger & Guitar is the 1983 third album by the Danish rock band Sort Sol and the first of their records to carry the new name Sort Sol.
Everything That Rises...Must Converge! is the fourth album by the Danish rock act Sort Sol and the second after renaming of the band.
Gnags is a Danish rock band from Skjern formed by Peter A. G. Nielsen and his brother Jens G. Nielsen in 1966.
Circle Hits the Flame – Best Off... is the second compilation album by Danish rock band Sort Sol, released on 4 March 2002. The album contains songs from the band's four studio albums released between 1991 and 2002. It also includes the three new songs, "Holler High", "Golden Wonder" and "Circle Hits the Flame". The first two are co-written with Søren Rasted of Aqua-fame. "Circle Hits the Flame" is an English translation of "Når solen stikker af", a song recorded for the Danish radio program Tværs in 1994. The album's release was preceded by the lead single "Holler High" in February 2002. The album peaked at number one in Denmark, and was certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipments of 50,000 copies.
Dodo and the Dodos is a Danish pop band that became a hit with Danish radio stations in the 1980s with its songs "Vågner i natten", "Sømand af verden", "Vi gør det vi ka' li", "Lev livet nu", and "Pigen med det røde hår". "Lev livet nu" was used by TV 2 Sport during the coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Big Fat Snake is a Danish pop/rock music group that was founded in 1990.
Flow My Firetear is the fifth album by the Danish rock act Sort Sol known earlier as Sods, and the third after the renaming. It was released in March 1991. The album was the band's first commercial success and included the hits "Siggimund Blue" and "Midnight Train To Summer".
Glamourpuss is the sixth album by the Danish rock band Sort Sol and the fourth after the renaming from the earlier name Sods. It is their most commercially successful to date, and includes their biggest hit "Let Your Fingers Do The Walking". It is also the last to be recorded with the original member Peter Peter, who left the band after touring in support of the album.
Unspoiled Monsters is the seventh album by the Danish alternative rock act Sort Sol and the fifth after the renaming of the band from the earlier Sods. It is the first without the original member Peter Peter, as he left the band before pre-production of the album. The album is a departure from Sort Sol's earlier albums, being less aggressive and much more experimental, incorporating programmed beats and greater number of keyboards. The songs are less melodic and more based on atmosphere.
Snakecharmer is the eighth studio album by the Danish rock band Sort Sol and the sixth under that name after renaming from the earlier Sods.
The Good The Bad are an instrumental Danish Surf rock trio formed in Copenhagen, consisting of Adam Olsson on lead guitar, Johan Lei Gellett on drums, and Manoj Ramdas on baritone guitar.
The Blackest Box is a compilation boxset by Danish punk/rock band Sort Sol/Sods. The boxset comprises 11 CDs – eight CDs with remastered editions of all of the band's studio albums, as well as three bonus CD. The boxset includes a new version of the album Unspoiled Monsters. In the boxset the album is named: Unspoiled Monsters / Artist's Cut. The difference from the original release and the version in the boxset is both the order of the tracks on the album and the lack of the song called: "The Painter" from the original release.
Peter Schneidermann better known as Peter Peter is a Danish rock musician and former member of the Danish rock band Sort Sol, before engaging on his own musical projects Bleeder and the Bleeder Group. Peter Peter is also notable for working with filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn and has written scores and soundtracks for a number of films.
Warm Guns were a Danish band formed in Aarhus in 1978 by Lars Muhl. Influenced by punk and new wave in the late seventies, the band was often compared to artists like Elvis Costello. Among the band's more well-known songs were "The Young Go First" and "Wonderkids".