Anja Lauvdal

Norwegian pianist, keyboardist, and composer Anja Lauvdal actively creates music in a variety of forms, from avant-garde jazz and free improvisation ensembles to indie pop groups. The Trondheim Conservatory of Music graduate is a member of atmospheric soul-pop band Broen and contemporary jazz group Moskus, as well as groups like Skrap, who have traversed numerous genres. She has also played on albums by Jenny Hval, Susanna, and Sondre Lerche, in addition to recording improv albums with Tony Buck (the Necks), Heiða Karine Jóhannesdóttir Mobeck (Fire! Orchestra), Ståle Liavik Solberg, and others. She made her solo debut with 2022's From a Story Now Lost, an experimental ambient work produced by Laurel Halo. Anja Lauvdal studied jazz at the Trondheim Conservatory of Music during the 2000s. She formed the acoustic jazz trio Moskus with two fellow students, double bassist Fredrik Luhr Dietrichson and drummer Hans Hulbækmo; they also played together in the larger group Skadedyr. Lauvdal was additionally a member of indie rock groups such as Your Headlights Are On and the shoegaze-influenced Snøskred. Skrap, Lauvdal's duo with Heiða Karine Jóhannesdóttir Mobeck, made their debut with the noisy 2013 release K.O. The more accessible group Broen, featuring both musicians, released their debut album Yoga in 2015, and later signed with Bella Union. In addition to all of her groups, Lauvdal appeared on Susanna's 2016 album Triangle, two Jenny Hval full-lengths, and Sondre Lerche's 2020 release Patience. In 2020, Lauvdal collaborated with the Necks' Tony Buck and Norwegian percussionist Ståle Liavik Solberg on the improvised LP Gemstones, and with Mobeck on The Big Bounce. Lauvdal and former Skadedyr member Joakim Heibø released All My Cloths on Smalltown Supersound in 2022. The same label released From a Story Now Lost, a more electronic solo effort which was produced by Laurel Halo.
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