Moddi
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Moddi
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Senja, Troms, Norway |
| Genres | Folk |
| Years active | 2005–present |
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| Website | moddi |
Pål Moddi Knutsen is a Norwegian musician. His music has been described as a blend of folk music and pop, although he refers to himself as a singer and storyteller. Moddi is also widely recognised as a political and social activist.
Moddi is famous for his interpretations and translations of other artists, such as Vashti Bunyan, Pussy Riot and the Norwegian poet Helge Stanges.
Pål Knutsen was born 18 February 1987 and grew up on the island Senja in Northern Norway. He debuted 5 years old on the local radio station Draugen, singing a traditional sea shanty. During his early youth, the young Knutsen played classical piano, the cornet in the school's marching band, bass guitar in various rock bands and performed as a rapper.
At 18, he adopted the old family name Moddi and started writing his own songs under that name. After finishing school, the 20 years old Moddi decided try a year off and "travel, play concerts and have fun until I had spent all my money".
Moddi is part of the community around the culture centre Kråkeslottet in Senja, where he is booking the annual Kråkeslottfestivalen. He is currently writing a master's thesis at Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM) at the University of Oslo.
Moddi's debut release, Random Skywriting EP, was recorded in the bedroom studio of a friend and distributed in only 20 home-made copies. NRK Urørt, a Norwegian emerging artists radio show, picked up the EP and put it in heavy rotation on Norwegian radio channel P3. The following year, Moddi did some of his first concerts on festivals like by:Larm and Øyafestivalen, where he received good reviews from among others online magazine Pitchfork.
Moddi recorded his debut album Floriography with producer Valgeir Sigurðsson in Iceland. Upon release, it immediately hit the Norwegian album top 10. Q magazine described the album as "irrevocably heart-warming and beautifully constructed piece of melancholic folk-pop". Later that year, Moddi received the A-ha Grant of €120000 and toured as support for Angus and Julia Stone.
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