Ane Brun

Ane Brun (Norwegian pronunciation: [ɑːnə ˈbrʉːn]; born Ane Brunvoll on 10 March 1976 in Molde, Norway) is a Norwegian songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist of Sami origin.[1] Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, six of which are studio albums (including a collection of duets) and one live DVD. She has lived in Stockholm, Sweden, since 2001, where she writes, records, and runs her own label (Balloon Ranger Recordings).[2]

Ane Brun
Brun in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Ane Kvien Brunvoll
Born	(1976-03-10) 10 March 1976 Molde, Norway
Genres	Folk, pop, art pop
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1998–present
Labels	DetErMine, Balloon Ranger Recordings, V2, Cheap Lullaby (USA)
Website	www.anebrun.com

Early life and education

Ane Brunvoll is the daughter of lawyer Knut Anker Brunvoll (b. 1945) and jazz singer and pianist Inger Johanne Brunvoll (b. Kvien 1945). She grew up in a musical family in Molde, Norway. Her younger sister is vocalist Mari Kvien Brunvoll (b. 1984). Her older brother is photographer Bjørn Brunvoll (b. 1973).[3][4]

In 1995 she moved to study at the University of Bergen, jumping between courses in Spanish, law, and music. In Bergen she began writing her own material. She spent the next few years moving between Barcelona, Oslo and Bergen while making a living working in record shops and bars.

Career

After playing a few minor shows and recording her first demos in Bergen in 1999, she moved to Sweden, first to Uppsala and then to Stockholm in 2001, where she started to take her musical career seriously.

Brun recorded her debut album, Spending Time with Morgan, in 2002 in both Stockholm and back in Uppsala, with engineers and producers Katharina Nuttall, Cécile Grudet and Kim Nelson. It was released on the DetErMine label, which she formed with Ellekari Larsson from the Swedish band The Tiny. The album was released in 11 European countries in 2003 through a licence/distribution deal with V2 Music.[2]

Touring, 2002-2007

Ane Brun, Hamburg 2008.

After releasing the first album Brun toured around Europe but soon took some time out. She had been working intensively for two years and felt somewhat burnt out and in need of a break. After a six-month breather she started touring around Europe again and within the next year had her second album ready. A Temporary Dive was again produced by Katharina Nuttall and was released in 2005 throughout Europe, followed by the UK and the US in 2006, and in Japan in 2007. This album took the darker themes of Spending Time With Morgan further, through songs like "The Fight Song" and title track "A Temporary Dive", but there was also space for the lighter "Song No. 6", a duet with Ron Sexsmith.

A Temporary Dive was well received all over the world, picking up good reviews in magazines and newspapers from Time magazine to The Independent. She received award nominations from all over Europe too, and that year took home the Spellemannpris, the Norwegian equivalent of the Grammies, for Best Female Artist.[5]

After enjoying the collaboration on the previous few duets she had recorded, Brun was inspired to ask some artists whom she adored to sing with her on a full album called Duets. This album was released in November 2005 and besides another recording with Ron Sexsmith it also included songs with artists such as Syd Matters and Teitur. The collaboration with the band Madrugada on the single "Lift Me" gained her another Norwegian Grammy.[5]

Brun spent much of the next couple of years touring the world in many different stage arrangements. She has played with a full band including string section, just herself and string section at times, sometimes just a cello, and one backing vocalist or three. She often ends up coming back to solo acoustic guitar performances. "There is something about the focus in playing by myself that fascinates me", she says. "There’s nothing to hide behind when I’m alone on stage and it becomes almost meditative for me when I play."

One of her tours was with a string quintet, recorded and released as Live in Scandinavia (2007) and featured Nina Kinert and the guitarist Staffan Johansson. It includes songs from Brun's first two albums with new string arrangements by Malene Bay-Foged.

Later work, 2008-2013

Brun at the Kulturfestival in Stockholm, 13 August 2010

In 2008 Brun released her third studio album, Changing of the Seasons, which was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Múm, Coco Rosie). It included string arrangements by American composer Nico Muhly (Antony and the Johnsons, Grizzly Bear, The Reader soundtrack). Later the same year came the album Sketches, which included acoustic, demo versions of the songs on Changing of the Seasons. The Sketches tour featured a stripped down, sparse sound and now touring with musicians Rebekka Karijord, Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson, there were memorable gigs in places such as the Union Chapel in London.[5]

Back on the road, a concert at the Stockholm Concert Hall was filmed and released as an album and live DVD in 2009. Late in 2009, Brun organised the No More Lullabies concert to bring attention to the issues of climate justice. She assembled 24 well-known Swedish artists such as Robyn, Loney, Dear, Titiyo and Benny Andersson of ABBA to take part in seven hours of live music and visuals to mark the International Day of Climate Action on 24 October 2009. They succeeded in drawing attention to the issue before the upcoming COP15 conference.[5]

Brun featured as one of the guests on Peter Gabriel's 2011 studio album New Blood, singing Kate Bush's part on the re-recorded version of "Don't Give Up", recorded in 2010. She was subsequently invited to perform with him as support act and back-up singer on the New Blood tour throughout 2010.

In late 2011, Brun released her sixth studio album It All Starts with One, produced by Tobias Fröberg.

On 11 March 2013, Brun performed her own adaptation of Dido's Lament, from Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, at The Roundhouse in London.[6]

In May 2013, Brun released a 32-track collection of songs from her first 10 years in the music industry, entitled Songs - 2003 to 2013, which included four new songs. In October 2013 she released a 20-track collection of covers and out-takes entitled Rarities without pre-promotion.

Personal life

Brun was diagnosed with lupus erythematosus at the age of 27, and a lupus flareup in 2012 had her cancel a North American tour with Peter Gabriel.[7]

Discography

Ane Brun discography
Studio albums	6
Live albums	3
Video albums	1
Music videos	10
EPs	3
Singles	10

Albums

Studio albums

Year	Album	Peak positions						Certification
		NOR [8]	BEL (Fl) [9]	DEN [10]	FR [11]	NED [12]	SWE [13]
2003	Spending Time with Morgan	19	–	–	–	–	–
2005	A Temporary Dive	1	–	–	–	–	12	NOR: Platinum[14]
	Duets	2	–	–	–	–	40	NOR: 2x Platinum[15]
2008	Changing of the Seasons	1	–	–	–	48	2	NOR: Gold[14]
	Sketches	15	–	–	–	–	–
2011	It All Starts with One	1	67	36	159	13	1	NOR: 2x Platinum[14]
2015	When I'm Free	4	72	–	–	12	3
2017	Leave Me Breathless	3 [16]	75	–	–	76	5	NOR: Gold[14]

Live albums

Year	Album	Peak positions		Certification
		NOR [8]	SWE [13]
2007	Live in Scandinavia	11	12
2009	Live at Stockholm Concert Hall	7	5
2018	Live at Berdwardhallen (with the Swedish RSO and Hans Ek)		54 [17]

Compilation albums

Year	Album	Peak positions		Certification
		NOR [8]	SWE [13]
2013	Songs 2003 - 2013	2	6
	Rarities	21	-	NOR: Gold[14]

EPs

• 2001: What I Want
• 2001: Wooden Body
• 2004: My Lover Will Go

DVDs

• 2009: Live at Stockholm Concert Hall (also released as an album in Sweden)

Singles

Main artist

Year	Single	Peak positions			Certification	Album
		DEN [10]	NOR [8]	SWE [13]
2004	"My Lover Will Go"	–	–	39		A Temporary Dive
2008	"Big in Japan"	–	–	3		Bonus track on Changing of the Seasons
	"True Colors"	–	–	5
2013	"Oh Love"	23	–	–		It All Starts with One

Featured artist

Year	Single	Peak positions		Certification	Album
		NOR [8]	SWE [13]
2005	"Lift Me" (Madrugada feat. Ane Brun)	1	44
2015	"Can't Stop Playing (Makes Me High)" (Dr. Kucho! & Gregor Salto feat. Ane Brun)	–	–

Other singles (non-charting)

• 2003: "Are They Saying Goodbye"
• 2003: "Humming One of Your Songs"
• 2004: "I Shot My Heart"
• 2005: "Song No. 6"
• 2006: "Rubber & Soul" feat. Teitur
• 2006: "Balloon Ranger"
• 2008: "Headphone Silence" (Henrik Schwarz/DF Remix)
• 2009: "To Let Myself Go" (Malkyl Remix)
• 2011: "Do You Remember"
• 2015: "Directions"
• 2015: "Shape Of A Heart"

Also appears on

• Songs Of The Siren (Starbucks Hear Music, 2013)
• Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia 3CD-album (Nascente, 2011)
• Peter Gabriel - New Blood (Realworld, 2011)
• Peter Gabriel - New Blood Live In London Blu-ray (Realworld, 2011)
• Andrew Bayer - In My Last Life (Anjunabeats, 2018)

References

1. "Ane Brun's post on Sami People's National Day". Retrieved 5 October 2018.
2. "Brun, Ane Biography - Norsk Musikkinformasjon MIC.no". Archived from the original on 2013-03-14. (in Norwegian)
3. "Bjørn Brunvoll - Groove.no".
4. Ferguson, Tom (14 May 2005). "Global Pulse". Billboard. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
5. "Ane Brun returns to the UK - Listen to Norway MIC.no". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
6. "Baroque Remixed - Part 2". bbc.co.uk. 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
7. TOM HUIZENGA (April 1, 2016). Ane Brun: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert. National Public Radio.
8. NorwegianCharts.com: Ane Brun discography Archived March 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
9. Ultratop.be/nl/ Ane Brun discography Archived January 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
10. danishcharts.dk Ane Brun discography
11. DanishCharts.com Ane Brun discography Archived April 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
12. DutchCharts.com Ane Brun discography Archived April 26, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
13. SwedishCharts.com: Ane Brun discography Archived March 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
14. "Gold/Platinum". IFPI Norway. Retrieved 13 November 2019.(select Ane Brun in search)
15. "Gold/Platinum". IFPI Norway. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
16. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 41, 2017". VG-lista. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
17. "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 17, 2018. Click on "Veckans albumlista".

External links

• Official website

Awards
Preceded by Sissy Wish	Recipient of the best Female Pop Solo Artist Spellemannprisen 2005	Succeeded by Marit Larsen
Preceded by Maria Mena	Recipient of the best Female Pop Solo Artist Spellemannprisen 2011	Succeeded by No best Female Pop Solo Artist award