Amund Maarud

 

With his album “Electric,” Amund Maarud is back where many believe he belongs—in the blues. The album also marks Amund’s 20th anniversary as a blues musician, now in a new version with a slightly mo-rock-influenced approach.

Amund Maarund won the 2011 Spellemann Award in the blues category for his album *Electric*.

 

Maarud started playing at the age of six in the band Maarudkara with his brother Henrik on drums and his father on bass. They placed second in NRK’s “Talentiaden” in 1997 and released their debut album, “First Blues,” the following year. Later, he spent his teenage years playing in the house band at Muddy Waters in Oslo.
“Some decisions are made without really being up for consideration. When I was ten years old, I decided to become a full-time blues guitarist. It didn’t seem any stranger than wanting to be a truck driver at a young age,” Amund writes in his liner notes for the album “Electric.”
In 2000, he formed the Amund Maarud Band, still with his brother Henrik on drums and with blues in their repertoire. The band was nominated for the 2003 Spellemann Award in the blues/country category for their debut album “Ripped, Stripped & Southern Fried,” and also received critical acclaim for the follow-up “Commotion.”The band was one of the most sought-after acts on the live scene, but after many years as the “young hope” of blues music, he and his brother announced in 2006 their transition to rock with The Grand.The band debuted with a self-titled EP and album on their own record label in 2007, and was nominated for the Alarm Award in the live category that same year. The band played a long series of concerts at home and abroad over the next two years: at festivals such as Roskilde, Eurosonic in the Netherlands, on “Rockpalast” on German TV, and at the biggest Norwegian festivals.
“My relationship with the blues has been turbulent at times, and we’ve had our share of arguments. After 15 years, I took a break and set my sights on the rock scene with The Grand. I needed to let off some steam, turn up the volume, and let the hell break loose,” writes Amund.Last year, The Grand announced that they would be taking a break to focus on their individual projects, including Morudes, a blues-punk duo with his brother Henrik, as well as his solo project under the name Amund Maarud. The band typically has a lineup of five to seven members. The repertoire consists of blues-based music with a focus on Amund’s guitar, and as usual, his brother Henrik is on drums. Eirik Tovsrud Knutsen, from The Grand, plays piano, Egil Stemkens on bass, and Bendik Brænne on saxophone, while the seven-piece band lineup includes Peter Marius Gundersen on trumpet and Hans Foyn Friis on trombone.
“Many people have been waiting for Amund Maarud to ‘come to his senses’ and start playing the blues again. His answer is ‘Electric,’ and it swings just like in the ‘old days’—and then some,” writes Dagbladet reviewer Øyvind Rønning about the album “Electric,” which he gives a five-star rating.He continues: “Amund has ‘grown up.’ He finds it challenging to twist and turn the blues a bit, and we should be glad of that. Without musicians like this, the blues would be as boring as many people make it out to be. We can’t have any of that,” he writes.

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