The Norwegian lovechild of Godspeed and Sufjan Stevens, Einar Stray first came onto the scene in 2008. In the three year’s since he’s reached the ripe old age of twenty, returned to Oslo and recruited a backing band featuring musicians from Moddi, Therese Aune and Shimmering and together they both whisper and shout. Grandiose, melancholy, orchestral and noisy. Post-rock, indie-pop, shoegaze and folk all blend together in a distinctive mix that no Norwegian artist can match. As keyboard player for A-ha prize winner Moddi, many people have heard Einar Stray’s dulcet tones in 2010. Since the release of his E.P. “Favors and fields” in 2008, Einar’s voice has grown and matured, but his piano playing is still at the very heart of what he does, creating songs that stir the emotions, that are both surprising and overwhelming but still also reguire something from the listener. As soon as you think you know where a song is going it takes off in a whole new direction, taking you along with it. The song “Arrows” from his debut was heavily featured on P3 Urørt and his first full length is expected in February 2011. “With exceptional flair for building, soaring melodies, Einar Stray puts you on slow-mo and transports you off to his jangly acoustic pop universe. An electric blanket of warm organ sounds provides the framework for “Arrows” and now with guitar, bass, strings and sing-along vocals, just lie back and feel the lump in your throat grow. Beautiful." – Henning Severud, NRK P3
http://bylarm.no/nor/artists/8948
