Gustaf Norén
Gustaf Norén | |
|---|---|
 Gustaf Norén | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Gustaf Erik David Norén |
| Born | 1 February 1981 Borlänge, Sweden |
| Genres | Indie, Alternative, Rock, Pop |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 1996 - present |
| Associated acts | Mando Diao |
Gustaf Erik David Norén (born 1 February 1981 in Borlänge) is a Swedish musician (songwriting, vocals, guitar) and actor. He was one of the two frontmen of the Swedish band Mando Diao. He also is part of a musical duo with Viktor Norén as Gustaf & Vuktor Norén.
Beginnings[]
Gustaf was born to Jan Norén and Kerstin Bengtsson-Norén on February 1, 1981 in Borlänge (Sweden). He has two younger brothers, Viktor and Carl, and a younger sister Josefine. Gustaf describes the rural surroundings of his childhood as carefree and creative. His talent for music showed very soon at school, as well as his liking for playing roles. According to his mother, he was a born actor.
During Gustaf's childhood and teenage years football played a big role. As other members of Mando Diao, he was a fan of FC Brage (Borlänge), a local football club with strong roots in the working class.
After football rock music was the second most important topic at school. Gustaf had a soft spot for the music of the 1960s, especially The Beatles. New bands like Nirvana (band) were added to his favourites and since 1995 Britpop bands like Oasis (band) and Blur (band).[1]
Musical career[]
Mando Diao[]
Gustaf Norén, was one of the two frontmen (vocals, guitar) of Swedish rock band Mando Diao. In 1996, Gustaf met Björn Dixgård at a party. A short time later Björn invited Gustaf to join his band; they became the two frontmen of Butler, the band Björn Dixgård had founded together with Daniel Haglund, the future keyboarder of Mando Diao. Gustaf's father Jan for some time was part of the band too. In 1997, the name Butler was changed to Mando Jao. Allegedly Björn had a dream where a man appeared and shouted at him, telling him to name his band Mando Jao. Björn obeyed. Gustaf left the band in 1998 after he moved to Falun and had become alienated from his friends; however, after a short time he returned.[1]
In 1999, the name was changed to Mando Diao as the band was sure it would offer a better English pronunciation. Band members at this time were Björn Dixgård, Gustaf Norén, Daniel Haglund, and Carl-Johan Fogelklou. During the same year Samuel Giers joined the band as drummer. Daniel Haglund left the band in 2004 and was replaced by Mats Björke.
Touring bars and small locations all over Sweden was soon followed by performances in Central Europe; the USA and Japan. Each of Mando Diao's album releases became more successful; today they are one of Sweden's best known bands.
In 2008, Gustaf Norén and Björn Dixgård joined the artist collective Caligola; in 2012, the album Back To Earth was the first release of the music project.
Mando Diao's biggest success in their home country Sweden was achieved with the sixth studio album Infruset where ten poems of the Swedish poet Gustaf Fröding were set to music in 2012.
On 3 June 2015 Gustaf Norén separated from Mando Diao.[2] On 3 June 2015 a press release from Sony Music announced the separation due to band members having "different visions".[3][2]
After split[]
Gustaf has made some of his music available for free on Soundcloud, such as the song Ma Queen Of Everything which has been recorded by using a mobile studio in the nature and was released on 19 September 2015. Ma Queen Of Everything is an early version of Higher Love, a song which Gustaf debuted just a few months later as part of State of Sound.[4][5]
Soon after split, Gustaf Norén cooperated with Swedish singer Eric Saade in "Wide Awake" where he was featured. A remix was also released credit to Eric Saade featuring Gustaf Norén & Filatov & Karas the latter being a Russian DJ duo. This version charted in Russia, the Ukraine and in France.
State of Sound[]
State of Sound | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genres | Electronic pop/rock |
| Years active | 2016-2019 |
| Labels | Sony Records |
| Members | Gustaf Norén Viktor Norén Joakim Andrén |
In January 2016 Gustaf, along with his brother Viktor Norén and their friend Joakim Andrén, introduced their new project State of Sound. Their debut single "Higher Love" quickly climbed the charts and was gold certified in Sweden.[6] Their subsequent single "Uti vår hage" was also gold certified.[7]
Gustaf & Viktor Norén[]
Gustaf & Viktor Norén | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Sweden |
| Genres | Electronic pop/rock |
| Years active | 2016-present |
| Members | Gustaf Norén |
After the brothers Gustaf and Viktor Norén toured Sweden together in 2019, the two of them started working on their first joint full album in the same year. Hymns To The Rising Sun was recorded in the renowned RMV Studios at Skeppsholmen in Stockholm and released in October 2020, preceding the singles Rise Again and Walk With You.[8]
Acting career[]
Ingen kom ner[]
In 2009, Gustaf had his first appearance as an actor in the Swedish short film Ingen kom ner, a Swedish production directed by Torbjörn Martin. It tells a horror story and had its premiere at the Gothenburg Film Festival on 23 January 2009. On 18 April 2009 it was shown at the Arizona International Film Festival under the name No Come Down.[9]
She's Wild Again Tonight (2015)[]
On 12 November 2015 the Swedish movie She's Wild Again Tonight with Gustaf Norén and the Swedish actress Shima Niavarani as the main characters has had its premiere at the Stockholm Film Festival.[10] Directed by Fia-Stina Sandlund, She's Wild Again Tonight is the third part of Sandlund's film trilogy; the preceding two parts are She's Blonde Like Me (2011) and She's Staging It (2012). The screenplay by Fia-Stina Sandlund and Josefine Adolfsson is a contemporary take on August Strindberg's play Miss Julie (Fröken Julie) from 1888. The plot is set in Brooklyn and Gustaf Norén and Shima Niavarani play their own fictionalized personalities. What begins as a professional meeting between two politically conscious young artists develops into a game of power where their inner selves are exposed. With feminism and anti-racism as weapons, She's Wild Again Tonight examines the modern gender roles in the young urban conscious sphere and blurs the boundaries between reality, drama, and fiction.[11][12][10]
Others[]
In April 2021 it was first revealed that Gustaf is set to act in a new big movie alongside actress Liv Ullmann.[13]
Personal life[]
In 2006 Gustaf was voted "Sexiest Man in Sweden" and "Best Dressed Man in Sweden" and topped the list of Sweden's 100 sexiest men.[14]
Discography[]
Albums[]
Mando Diao[]
- 2002: Bring 'Em In
- 2004: Hurricane Bar
- 2006: Ode to Ochrasy
- 2007: Never Seen the Light of Day
- 2009: Give Me Fire!
- 2010: Above and Beyond - MTV Unplugged
- 2012: Infruset
- 2014: Ælita
Caligola[]
- 2012: Back to Earth
- 2012: Resurrection
State of Sound[]
- 2016: Higher Love
- 2017: High on You (EP)
- 2018: Evighetens sommar
Gustaf & Viktor Norén[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE | |||
| Hymns To The Rising Sun | 2020 | 55 [15] |
Singles[]
Gustaf & Viktor Norén[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE | ||||
| "Rise Again" | 2020 | – | Non-album release | |
| "Walk with You" | – | |||
| "Amerika" | 2021 | – |
State of Sound[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE |
BEL |
NED | ||||
| "Higher Love" (State of Sound feat. Viktor Norén & Gustaf Norén) |
2016 | 98 [16] |
– | – | SWE: Gold | Higher Love |
| "Uti vår hage" | – | – | – | SWE: Gold | ||
| "Wake Up Where You Are" (State of Sound) |
58 [17] |
Tip | 96 [18] |
|||
| "Love Me Like That" (State of Sound) |
2017 | 97 [19] |
– | – | ||
| "Sommarvind" (State of Sound feat. Gustaf Norén) |
2018 | – | – | – | Evighetens sommar | |
| "Somebody Like Me" (State of Sound feat. ORKID) |
2019 | – | – | – | ||
Featured in[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE |
FRA |
RUS |
UKR | ||||
| "Wide Awake" (Eric Saade featuring Gustaf Norén) |
2016 | – | – | – | – | Eric Saade album Saade | |
| "Wide Awake" (remix) (Eric Saade featuring Gustaf Norén & Filatov & Karas) |
– | 166 [15] |
9 [20] |
24 [20] |
|||
Filmography[]
- Ingen kom ner (2009)
- She's Wild Again Tonight (2015)
Personal life[]
Two brothers of Gustaf Norén are musical artists. Both Victor (Viktor) and Carl Norén were lead singers in the Swedish band Sugarplum Fairy from 1998 to 2013. Gustaf has collaborated particularly with Viktor after the split of his brother's band Sugarplum Fairy and couple of years after breakup if Gistaf's band Mando Diao.
See also[]
- Sugarplum Fairy, with membership of Viktor Norén
- Mando Diao, with membership of Gustaf Norén
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2012-11-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Gustaf Norén hoppar av Mando Diao: "Det finns ingen som kan planera ett liv"". Aftonbladet.se. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
- ^ "Mando Diao Without Singer Gustav Norén". The ScanPost. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
- ^ "Ma Queen Of Everything". Soundcloud.com.
- ^ "En rockstjärna som musiklärare". Värmlands Folkblad. September 4, 2015.
- ^ "State of Sound".
- ^ "Login • Instagram".
- ^ "Gustaf & Viktor Norén".
- ^ "No Come Down". IMDb.com.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-28. Retrieved 2015-12-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "She's Wild Again Tonight". IMDb.com.
- ^ "She's Wild Again Tonight (2015)". IMDb.com.
- ^ "Avslöjar: Gustaf Norén spelar Näcken och Liv Ullman högaktuell som mormor i ny storfilm i Dalarna: "Det blir sällsynt vackert"". 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Sveriges 100 sexigaste män". Aftonbladet.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "ERIC SAADE FEAT. GUSTAF NORÉN & FILATOV & KARAS - WIDE AWAKE (CHANSON)". French Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ "STATE OF SOUND FEAT. GUSTAF NORÉN & VIKTOR NORÉN - HIGHER LOVE (SONG)". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ "STATE OF SOUND - WAKE UP WHERE YOU ARE (SONG)". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ "STATE OF SOUND - WAKE UP WHERE YOU ARE (SONG)". Dutch Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ "STATE OF SOUND - LOVE ME LIKE THAT (SONG)". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Search > Gustaf_Norén". Tophit. tophit.ru.
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- Musical groups established in 2008
- Swedish performance artists
- Artists from Dalarna
- Mute Records artists
- English-language singers from Sweden