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Thru the Mill releases Anita's first UK Album. Meet Anita and you will be struck by the same impression that we were. Here is a truly talented and lovely person with beautiful eyes and a stunning voice to match. When we caught up with her after an amazing Christmas spent on the road performing at more than 50 concerts, we started by asking her when she first learnt to play a musical instrument. 
Anita:I started by watching and listening to my elder sister when she practiced on the piano. I asked and asked my parents if I could start taking lessons myself. I was five at the time. My mother said I had to wait. I didn’t give in, and to stop me nagging, she brought me to the main piano teacher in Gothenbourgh. When he explained to me the relationship between the notes and the keyboard, it was all clear to me very fast. And so I was accepted as a student. My mother was helpless.
Three monthes later I did the same trick again… My sister was to play at a students concert at the concert hall in Gothenbourgh. I asked my teacher if I could attend too. He watched me for a while and gave me a little score J.S. Bach wrote for one of his many children and said: “If you can learn to play this piece in time, you can play at the concert.” Totally motivated I practised like never before and had the honour of opening the concert. A very big moment for me that I remember very clearly. Specially the high steps up towards the podium. So when did the singing start? Anita:I sang in the school choir in Gothenbourgh at the age of 7. When we moved home to Oslo,
I attended an audition for the Nrk`s girl choir (Like BBC in England). 500 girls sang and 4 were picked out. I was one of the very lucky!
We had a fantastic director called Marie Foss. We learned a lot about singing in a natural way and first of all about listening. For her it all depended on listening to each other. To really tune in. I’m still grateful for that. It has meant much to me. Through the choir we had a lot of TV performances. Some pure concerts, some children programs with a pedagogic angle, some children musicals. I had my debut in the main role as Ida in H. C. Andersen`s fairytale “Lille Idas blomster” (Little Ida`s flowers). Played on the only TV channel: NRK in 1966!
This was a mix of professional actors and children dancing and singing. Later on I participated in the Norwegian competion for young classical pianists, called “Ungdommens pianomester”. I became 2.nd at the age of 8 and won at the age of 13 in 1972.
When was you first performance and where? Anita:My first proper solo performance for the public was at a talent competition in Swedish and Norwegian TV called “Hylands hørna” in 1972. (Hyland`s corner”).
I wanted to sing, but was advised to play the piano to stand out from the many participants. I played “Auschwung” by Schumann and won the whole thing. 1.st price was a trip to Tokyo to participate in a TV show there. I became instant famous both in Sweden and Norway. Everybody watched this competition. A new era of my life suddenly started.
In Tokyo I was offered a record deal as a singer, but my parents refused. (They are wise people….) Back in Norway it started to be known that I had been singing in Tokyo on the TV and after some time I was offered a record deal from RCA.
Before that I had released an EP with four classical pieces. (Grieg, Chopin, Hurum and Schumann). It sold 200 copies….. So I recorded my first album in 1975. It was called “Til en venn” (For a friend”.
The record company didn’t quite know what to do with me. They suggested strange pop songs and I found out pretty soon that I could in fact come up with something my self. So I came forward with some songs my music teacher at school had given me. Ha was also a songwriter and I liked his lyrics and tunes. It was more in the folkgenre. I also included my first own song who this same teacher, Arne Hagen wrote the lyric to. But his songs became popular and we got radio playing of his first two songs , called “Den lille klovn” “The little clown” and “Du skal plante eit tre” “You shall plant a tree”.
So my career built itself nice and slowly while I finished youth school and later high school and university.
My first offer to sing in the Eurovision song contest came in 1976. The song was totally strange, but I was keen to participate. It was the only chance to get out of Norway in those days. And also they could offer a huge orchestra!! I came 3rd in the national final with a song called “Hastverk” ( “Short of time”) But next year I was offered a song called “Casanova”. I could hear that this song had much higher potential for a hit. And it won and I represented Norway for the first time. I had not much experience in performing for huge audiences, but was very satisfied especially not fainting on stage….. Later on I have represented Norway in 1979 with my own song “Oliver”, and then “Do re mi” and “Adieu” with Jahn Teigen and finally “For vår jord” (Child of earth) which I wrote together with Erik Hillestad for Karoline Kruger. Since then I stayed mostly away from the Eurovision. I wanted to be recognised for something else. The Eurovision was only a side track to me, but a rather entertaining one..
I wrote some songs for other artists now and then. After all it is a composer’s competition…. For the last 21 years I have participated on Christmas concerts in the churches around Norway. It was new when we started. A pop artist singing Christmas songs in the church was a totally new thing. But we managed to reach the people with all the respect necessary when you’re performing in such a place.
These concerts have grown and grown in popularity. And the last 10 years we have had sold out tours. (In 2008 we sold around 25.000 tickets) This has been the most meaningful musical activity I have ever been involved in and resulted in a Christmas album in 1994. “Julenatt” “The night of Christmas” (?) meaning the night He came to the earth. It was successful both among the critics and the public and has now sold over 50.000 copies. Last year we released a new version of the old record, with 5 new songs recorded. The challenge was to make it blend with the old. Timeless music, lyric and sound are something I really appreciate – in all genres.
We decided to release within a new frame, a book, both sold in book stores and the few music stores left.. My daughter illustrated the part of the book that took the shape of a calendar, where I for the first time wrote some very personal things about what the content of Christmas actually means to me and the practical use that is available and lies within this rather magical material. |
