I’m not sure whether the knowledge that life is no better on the west coast of Norway right now than it is here in a grey, cold and damp corner of Greater Manchester should act as a comfort blanket but that windblown misery is the premise of the folk/neo-folk song from Ruben Magnus, ‘Å NEI, Å NEI’ (Oh no, Oh no).
The song is sung in the Ørsta dialect, that of a small town located on that western coast of Norway and for which Ålesund seems to be the nearest big town. Just so you can get your bearings as I know NMC readers like to. As we speak with a strong dialect where I am too that sold the song to me straight away.
It is billed as a protest song disguised as folk-pop. A protest against “invading screens” (not quite sure what that means – computer screens, mobile phone screens?), also all-consuming artificial intelligence and a housing market — or any kind of market — that is leaving most people behind.
Yep, the common woes of 21st Century life, whether you are in Ørsta or Oldham.
Ruben summoned a local ‘dream team’ to perform the song, including Marie Løvås (vocals) and Egil Olsen (production) while Andre Innselset added a heavy-hitting synth in the chorus that you wouldn’t expect to find in a traditional folk-pop sound. I’ll say more about that in a moment
My knowledge of Norwegian is that of a baby, never mind a west coast dialect, but Ruben gives a flavour of the meaning when he quotes the line “Everything increases in value… except my body and my soul”.
That’s a profound one that you might think belongs in 1970s punk. And releasing it on Friday the 13th was a master stroke. As if they were tempting providence.
The song goes nowhere near punk though, in fact for the most part it is a mellifluous, pensive acoustic guitar-led ballad, with a gentle dual vocal from Ruben and Marie Løvås.
But on two occasions it is interrupted by a screaming synth noise that might be from invading Martians. (Or the Americans, they’re worse). Signifying, I guess, the unexpected arrival of something both unsettling and unseen. An astronomical tax bill. A rent increase demand. A computer virus. An online scam.
The detritus of life in the ‘you’ve never had it so good’ 2020s.
An intriguing song, with unanticipated twists and turns, and a useful introduction to Ruben’s forthcoming album ‘Heksene’ (‘The Witches’), which is due later this year.
(Continues after the Spotify link).
Find him on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063675061522
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruben.magnus/
