Northern Europe
The sound of Norway
Black metal is the export, and it is genuinely one of the few genres a single country invented outright. But Norway also runs one of Europe's deepest jazz scenes, and the two share more personnel than either camp likes to admit.
741 artists in the catalog.
What Norway does that nowhere else does
Genres far more common here than across the rest of the catalog. The multiplier is how much more common, weighted by how many artists carry it.
Five records to start with
Not a canon — a way in. Each one links to what it is, who it's for and where to go next.
Norwegian artists worth walking into
Ordered by how much we can tell you, not just by how well-known they are.
a-ha
alternative rock · electronic rock
Where to start →Ketil Bjørnstad
jazz
Where to start →Dimmu Borgir
melodic black metal · symphonic black metal
Where to start →Elisabeth Andreassen
country music · folk music
Where to start →Mayhem
black metal
Where to start →Ulver
avant-garde metal · black metal
Where to start →AURORA
Nordic folk music · alternative dance
Where to start →Turbonegro
glam punk · hard rock
Where to start →Mortiis
dark ambient · dungeon synth
Where to start →Darkthrone
black metal
Where to start →Motorpsycho
progressive rock
Where to start →Immortal
black metal · death metal
Where to start →