Flunk are:
ULF NYGAARD Programming, vocals. Started his musical career in the early nineties, and was signed to PolyGram in 1995 with folk&røvere, a trip hop inspired boy/girl duo singing in Norwegian. The original female voice was Beate Slettevoll Lech (who in 1998 went on to form her own band Beady Belle). Ulf has made five folk&røvere albums, the latest includied one of the biggest Norwegian hits of 2003, rewarded with two Norwegian Grammy nominations. Founded Flunk around new year 2000/2001, taking a break from folk&røvere.
JO BAKKE Guitars, bass and more. Quit school to play rock¹n¹roll in the early ninities (he´s come to his senses and is back studying!), and stuck together with three friends who landed a big time deal with Sony Music Norway as the Happy Campers in the mid ninties. The quartet got their own London studio in 1997, and left Oslo. They released material through Ninja Tune, and worked with a variety of well known English names and the band´s front man Ola Haampland produced the first two folk&røvere albums. Jo released two house 12-inches on Guidance Recordings with Antenna after returning to Oslo working with former Happy Campers drummer Erik Ruud in 2002. He is also working together with Ulf in folk&røvere.
ANJA ØYEN VISTER Vocals. Started off in a girl band, later recorded a cover of a Beatles song in the legendary Abbey Road Studios for her ex-boyfriend´s band in 2001. Anja has been working on solo material for some years, and more or less accidentally ended up doing vocals on the first Flunk track to be released. This was winter 2001. In effect, she became the Flunk lead singer from the very first session.
ERIK RUUD Drums. Associated member, and full member of the Flunk live squad. More or less the same story as Jo staying together through Happy Campers to Antenna. Erik also plays percussion in Ulf´s folk&røvere project.
Flunk history:
NEW YEAR 2000/2001: Sessions in Oslo with Ulf and Jo. Uncertain when the Flunk name materialised, but in the beginning it was meant to be aninstrumental/sampled vocal project with no particular ambition. And certainly no record deal.
WINTER 2001: Got signed for a track on a compilation on Beatservice Records, and the label manager Vidar Hanssen was so impressed that he soon signed the «band» for an album.
SUMMER 2001: Most of the debut album was recorded in early summer. Most tracks were laid out before singer Anja was involved, she came in and improvised and the songs were taken from there. Then Jo would add his layers of guitar. Still it would take almost a year until the album was completed and released.
SPRING 2002: Flunk released their debut single a cover of New Order´s classic anthem, «Blue Monday», in April. The track received a lot of attention in the UK, and has been used on a load of compilations, both in Europe and the US. Debut album «For Sleepyheads Only» was released in late April. Great reviews in Norway. The band were invited to do a BBC recording session in London for the Radio 1 show «The Blue Room», and made their UK live debut at the Notting Hill Art´s Club. Flunk are also signed to Guidance Recordings in the US.
SUMMER 2002: The debut album got raving reviews in some of the British electronica magazines. The band played Norway´s finest rock festival in July.
AUTUMN 2002: US version of «For Sleepyheads Only» released in October. The band went to London to play London Jazz Festival in November.
2003: «For Sleepyheads Only» still being released in variuos parts of the world. Special editions released in Russia and Greece. Beatservice Records released «Treat Me Like You Do - For Sleepyheads Only Remixed» in June. The band worked on the second proper album all year, and went to Paris to record in October.
2004: The «Morning Star» album finished in March. Release in Norway in May, the rest of the world in June.
