Gåte (pronounced [ˈɡôːtə]; Norwegian for 'riddle') is a band from Trøndelag, Norway playing Norwegian folk music bred with metal and electronica. Their style has been referred to as progressive folk-rock. The band was put together by Sveinung Sundli (violin, keyboards) in 2000 and originally consisted of his younger sister Gunnhild Sundli (vocals), Gjermund Landrø (bass, backing vocals), Martin Langlie (drums) and Magnus Børmark (guitar, keyboards). Langlie was replaced by Kenneth Kapstad in 2004.[2][3][4] They represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "Ulveham".

Gåte
Gåte in 2024
Gåte in 2024
Background information
OriginTrøndelag, Norway
Genres
Years active
  • 1999–2005
  • 2009–2010
  • 2017–present[1]
LabelsWarner Music Group
Members
Past members
Websitegaateofficial.com

History

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The band released their first EP, Gåte EP in 2000, and rapidly gained popularity. A second EP, also self-titled, was released in 2002. Their first album, Jygri, released the same year, proved to be their commercial breakthrough both in Norway and abroad, particularly in Scandinavia and Germany. They also gained a lot of media attention, particularly the distinctive voice of Gunnhild Sundli caught the interest of music journalists, who immediately started to speculate on her departure in order to establish a solo career. After the release of another EP, Statt opp (Maggeduliadei) in 2003, and their second album, Iselilja in 2004, the band announced that they were taking a break. In their press release, issued September 6, one of the reasons cited was that Gunnhild wanted to devote time to other pursuits. Nevertheless, their record company Warner Music Norway issued a live album, titled Liva, in 2006 which had been recorded at the Rockefeller Music Hall the previous year, and with bonus material from their concert at the Roskilde Festival in 2003.[2] Gåte made a comeback in 2017 with the EP Attersyn, followed by the album Svevn in 2018.[5]

During the first part of their career they toured extensively and played almost every popular music festival in Norway, as well as the major international festival Roskilde Festival in Denmark. The band reunited for one concert in 2009, but then decided to follow this up with a mini-tour of Norway consisting of five concerts in 2010. The fifth concert was held at the roof of the Oslo Opera House, and the band stated that this would be their final farewell.[3] In 2018, they started touring Norway again.[6]

In August 2023, Gåte announced that Sveinung was temporarily leaving the band and would not participate in the upcoming tour.[7]

The band took part in Melodi Grand Prix 2024, the Norwegian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, with the song "Ulveham".[8] They qualified from their semi-final on 20 January 2024[9] and ultimately won the final on 3 February 2024.

At Eurovision 2024, Gåte finished 10th in the second semifinal on 9 May, qualifying them for the Grand Final on 11 May, where they finished 25th.[10]

Song origins

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Many of Gåte's songs are rearranged versions of traditional Norwegian folk tunes, such as "Sjå Attende" (the title translates to "Look Back"), and "Knut Liten og Sylvelin" ("Little-Knut and Sylvelin"). Another main source of Gåte songs are poems by the Norwegian poet Astrid Krog Halse with added music by Sveinung Sundli, such as "Følgje" ("Company") and "Stengd Dør" ("Closed Door"). Some of their songs were written in Nynorsk/Landsmål and performed in a broad Trøndersk dialect.

On "Svevn", several songs have lyrics by veteran folk musician Knut Buen, who also wrote the lyrics to "Kjærleik" on "Iselilja".[5]

Members

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Gunnhild Sundli

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Two pictures of Gunnhild Sundli at Rock mot rus at Andøya, 2005.

Gunnhild (born 2 July 1985) is the band's lead vocalist and joined the band in 1999. She was born and grew up in Orkdal, and currently resides in Trondheim. She began to sing when she was 9 years old, and has since been singing in both classical and jazz music. She studied singing at Heimdal Upper Secondary School.[3]

Magnus Børmark

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Børmark (born 21 November 1982) is from Trondheim. He learned to play guitar and piano from his older brother. He has played in popular rock bands, such as Torch, before joining Gåte in December 2000. He plays a Fender Telecaster, Robotcaster and Les Robot, the last two being made by Frank Stavem. He also plays guitar in the band 22 [no].[11]

Jon Even Schärer

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Schärer (born 27 September 1990) is from Kvikne. He is the band drummer and collaborates with Norwegian artists as a lyricist to promote folk music. He is also an educational manager in a kindergarten and finished his bachelor's thesis in kindergarten education.[12]

Mats Paulsen

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Paulsen (born 1 March 1983) is a bass player from Trondheim. Together with Børmark, they formed the Norwegian band 22. He also became a finalist in the Norwegian version of MasterChef in 2010.[13]

John Stenersen

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Stenersen is a musician and composer from Risør. He plays ancient Nordic instruments such as the nyckelharpa, moraharpa, and hurdy-gurdy.[14]

Discography

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Albums

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List of studio albums, with selected details
Title Details Peak chart positions
NOR
[15]
Jygri 1
Iselilja
  • Released: 18 October 2004[17]
  • Label: Warner Music Norway AS
  • Formats: Physical, digital download, streaming
3
Liva
  • Released: 3 April 2006[18]
  • Label: Warner Music Norway AS
  • Formats: Physical, digital download, streaming
15
Svevn
  • Released: 2 November 2018[19]
  • Label: Drabant Music
  • Formats: Physical, digital download, streaming
11
Nord
  • Released: 3 December 2021[20]
  • Label: Indie Recordings
  • Formats: Physical, digital download, streaming
Ulveham
"—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

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List of extended plays, with selected details
Title Details Peak chart positions
NOR
[22]
Gåte EP
  • Released: 2000[23]
  • Label: Independent
  • Formats: Physical
Gåte EP 2
Statt opp (Maggeduliadei)
  • Released: 2003[25]
  • Label: Warner Music Norway
  • Formats: Physical, digital download, streaming
4
Attersyn
  • Released: 3 November 2017[26]
  • Label: Drabant Music
  • Formats: Physical, digital download, streaming
Til Nord
Vandrar
  • Released: 12 December 2023[28]
  • Label: Indie Recordings
  • Formats: Physical, digital download, streaming
"—" denotes an extended play that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

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Single Year Peak chart positions Album or EP
NOR
[15]
LTU
[29]
"Sjå attende" 2004 10 Iselilja
"Iselilja"
(with The Blizzard)
2009 Non-album single
"Stolt solvår" 2017 Attersyn
"Rideboll og gullborg"
"Kom no disjka" 2018 Svevn
"Bannlyst"
"Tonen"
"Huldra" 2019 Ulveham
"Svarteboka"
(featuring Djerv [no])
2023 Vandrar and Ulveham
"Skarvane"
"Ulveham" 2024 [A] 91
"På veg" Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other charted songs

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Single Year Peak chart positions Album or EP
NOR
[15]
"Førnesbrunen (Radio Edit)" 2023 10 Vandrar

Notes

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  1. ^ "Ulveham" did not enter the official Topplista Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at No. 23 on the Topplista Top 40 Radio Airplay chart.[30]

References

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  1. ^ "Bandet Gåte gjenoppstår – VG". Vg.no. 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b Bergan, Jon Vidar. "Gåte Biography". Store Norske Leksikon. Kunnskapsforlaget. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Follevåg, Geir (26 May 2010). "Gåte Biography". Allkunne.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  4. ^ "Gåte Biography". Last.fm. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  5. ^ a b Rønning, Øyvind (29 October 2018). "Mektig Gåte-comeback - 14 år etter forrige album". Dagbladet.no.
  6. ^ Robin Olsen. "Gåte annonserer flere konserter". Musikknyheter.no. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  7. ^ Guro Kleveland (22 August 2023). "Sveinung Sundli slutter i Gåte". ballade.no. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Norway's Melodi Grand Prix 2024: The 18 artists and songs". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 5 January 2024. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  9. ^ Abril, Ángel (20 January 2024). "Melodi Grand Prix 2024: Erika Norwich & Super Rob, Gåte y Dag Erik Oksvold & Anne Fagermo consiguen su pase para la gran final de la preselección noruega" [Melodi Grand Prix 2024: Erika Norwich & Super Rob, Gåte and Dag Erik Oksvold & Anne Fagermo manage to advance to the grand final of the Norwegian preselection]. ESCplus España (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Gåte". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 11 May 2024. Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  11. ^ Jolicoeur, Todd (13 October 2018). "10 Quick Ones with Magnus Børmark of 22". 100% Rock Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  12. ^ Arnesen, Marit (22 May 2017). "Gåte gjenoppstår med Jon Even Schärer på laget" [Gåte is resurrected with Jon Even Schärer on the team]. Arbeidets Rett (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  13. ^ Sørnes, Lars (2 April 2018). "Mats slår seg opp i restaurantbransjen" [Mats sets himself up in the restaurant business]. Bladet (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  14. ^ "John Stenersen". johnstenersen.no. Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  15. ^ a b c "Gåte". VG-lista. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Jygri - Album by Gåte". Spotify. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Iselilja - Album by Gåte". Spotify. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Liva - Album by Gåte". Spotify. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Svevn - Album by Gåte". Spotify. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Nord - Album by Gåte". Spotify. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  21. ^ Ulveham - Album by Gåte, 3 May 2024, archived from the original on 17 May 2024, retrieved 17 May 2024
  22. ^ Peak chart positions for singles in Norway:
  23. ^ "Gåte - Gåte (2000, CD)". Discogs. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Gåte ep - EP by Gåte". Spotify. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  25. ^ "Statt opp (Maggeduliadei) - Single by Gåte". Spotify. Archived from the original on 22 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  26. ^ "Attersyn - EP by Gåte". Spotify. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Til Nord - EP by Gåte". Spotify. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  28. ^ "Vandrar - EP by Gåte". Spotify. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  29. ^ "2024 20-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 17 May 2024. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  30. ^ "Topplista: Radio 2024 uke 06" (in Norwegian Bokmål). VG-lista. 14 February 2024. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
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Awards
Preceded by Recipient of the Newcomer Spellemannprisen
2002
Succeeded by
Preceded by Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
2024
Succeeded by
TBD