D'Sound

D’SOUND

D’SOUND describes themselves as a modern band, where all three members play equal roles in fronting the band. Simone (vocal), Jonny (bass) and Kim (drums) have kept together since 1993, when they had their first rehearsals in a downtown Oslo basement.

Kim and Jonny, who got to know each other studying music in the USA, were introduced to Simone in 1993. The three of them hit it off immediately in terms of chemistry and musical preferences, and started the Oslo garage band Sweet ‘n’ Sour, later to be called D’SOUND. They interpreted songs by artists like Prince and Tom Waits, and as synchronized as they were, it naturally led on to them writing their own material. A lot of Simone’s existing song material was one hidden resource that was given new life in the constellation D’SOUND. An abundance of inspiration from the likes of Mother Earth, Incognito and Brand New Heavies also contributed greatly. They had fun experimenting within acid jazz genre, R&B, and soul. “The only thing on our minds was the love of music, money had to be made elsewhere”, they agree.

1996 gave them their breakthrough in Norway with the debut single Real Name, that also became a top ten hit and the most played song on radio of the year. Their debut album, Spice of Life, was released early ’97, and established D’SOUND as a serious contender on the Norwegian music scene. The mixing of acid jazz, soul, funk, pop and drum’n’ bass, gave them a distinguished and original sound that made the critics as well as the audience fall in love with the band. Among the guest musicians on the album was world famous Norwegian jazz trumpet player Nils Petter Molvaer. D’SOUND was nominated for two Norwegian ”Grammy’s”, and made it to the top of the single charts with songs like Smooth Escape and All I wanna do.

Spice Of Life did not only do well in Norway; In 1997 Polydor, Japan released the album and during a promotion visit to Tokyo D’SOUND became the very first band to play live on MTV Japan. The single All I Wanna Do reached no. 1 on the Japanese international radio chart. Later that year the band appeared at the well known London night-spot, The Jazz Café in Camden, held concerts in Sweden and Denmark and toured Germany as support for UK act Roachford.

At the end of ’98 their second album Beauty is a Blessing had a stronger musical focus on drum’n’ bass and modern soul. The album became a huge success, entering at #1 on the Album chart. They received the norwegian ”Grammy” as Group of the Year - 1998. The singles Ain’t Giving Up, Tattooed On My Mind, Enjoy and Down On The Street (Their only cover version and a Shakatak classic) went very well, and Beauty is a Blessing rounded up selling 50.000 copies in Norway (population only 4,5 million) - Platinum award.

After a short break from band activities, D’SOUND started their work on the third album Talkin’ Talk in March 2000. On Talkin' Talk the band was able to live out their passion for modern American R & B. Strong sources of inspiration was Angie Stone, d’Angelo, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. D’SOUND mixed the album in Virginia Beach, USA, one of the world’s leading R&B-scenes. There they met up and worked with the highly acclaimed mixer Serban Ghenea, whose previous track record includes several major names, among them Janet Jackson, Prince, Blackstreet, Jill Scott and Kelis.

The album made its debut at no. 3 at the Norwegian sales chart and was followed up by a live tour. The concert at Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo was recorded and is now available on a great live DVD. A TV commercial for Nokia in South East Asia featuring the single track Talkin’Talk made new markets available for the band and the album ended up selling more than 30.000 units in Asia.

During the winter of 2003 D’SOUND worked in the studio finishing their fourth album. This time they went back to work with Espen Berg, who also worked with them on their first two albums and together with his partner Chris Sansom, they produced the record together. In Norway the first single Do I Need A Reason went straight into the top of the radio chart, where it stayed for more than 3 months.

The album named Doublehearted shows again a new side of D’SOUND, both in their song writing and as musicians. The 11 songs are presented in a way that will surprise some fans and hopefully gather many new ones, but still the band has kept their eye for catchy and groovy songs. Trying to capture some of their live expression several of the songs where recorded live in the studio and then adding the vocals. As always in a recording process new songs come to life. At the end of the session Simone brought in Doublehearted and everyone liked the song so much that they recorded on the spot. Simone right wrote the song after she got her Norwegian passport and therefore had to give up her German one. She felt really great by finally getting her Norwegian passport, but still sad that part of her earlier life was left behind. T