Shining (Norwegian band)

Shining
Shining 2009. From left: Torstein Lofthus, Tor Egil Kreken, Bernt Moen, Jørgen Munkeby
Background information
Origin	Oslo, Norway
Genres	Avant-garde,avant-garde metal,progressive rock,experimental rock,jazz fusion,free jazz
Years active	1999–present
Labels	BP, Jazzland, Rune Grammofon, Indie, Spinefarm Records
Website	www.shining.no
Members	Jørgen Munkeby Håkon Sagen Eirik Tovsrud Knutsen Tobias Ørnes Andersen Ole Vistnes
Past members	See below

Shining is a Norwegian avant-garde music band from Oslo. Thirteen musicians have been a part of the band's line-up in its history, with singer, guitarist, saxophonist and songwriter Jørgen Munkeby as its leading force and only constant member.

Shining was created in 1999 as an acoustic instrumental jazz quartet consisting of Munkeby, drummer Torstein Lofthus, pianist Morten Qvenild, and double bassist Aslak Hartberg. They released their first albums Where the Ragged People Go and Sweet Shanghai Devil in 2001 and 2003 respectively. Their 2005 album In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster led the band into a more avant-garde, electric, rock-oriented sound, with Qvenild now playing synthesizers and other electronic keyboards, and Hartberg mostly using bass guitar instead of double bass.

Qvenild and Hartberg both left the band before or following the release of the album, being replaced in 2005 by Andreas Hessen Schei and Morten Strøm respectively. Under this line-up, Shining released Grindstone in 2007, an album going into a heavier direction and distancing itself more from jazz, incorporating elements from progressive rock, pop, as well as 19th and 20th century classical music. On the following years, Schei was replaced by Andreas Ulvo who was himself later replaced by Bernt Moen, while Tor Egil Kreken replaced Strøm on bass guitar, and in addition the band included guitarist Even Helte Hermansen as a new member in 2010, expanding into a quintet.