Ole Paus


Ole Paus is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition. During the 1970s Paus was known for his biting social commentary, especially in his ironic and sometimes libellous "musical newspapers" in the form of broadside ballads in a series of albums titled "The Paus Post". He has later become known for a softer and more lyrical style, and has written some of Norway's best known songs, such as "Innerst i sjelen" and "Engler i sneen". He has often collaborated with Ketil Bjørnstad, notably on the "modern suite" Leve Patagonia; he has later collaborated with Kirkelig Kulturverksted on several projects, and with his son, the classical composer Marcus Paus, notably on the children's opera The Witches and several later works. One of his songs, "Mitt lille land", gained wide popularity after the 2011 Norway attacks and was described as "the new national anthem". He has been described as the Norwegian counterpart of Bob Dylan and as the "voice of the nation." Paus was discovered by artists Alf Cranner and Alf Prøysen, and was mentored by André Bjerke, Jens Bjørneboe and Henny Moan. Paus is noted for his consistent use of Norwegian and has been eager for other Norwegian musicians to switch from English to Norwegian.

Background

He is the son of General Ole Otto Paus and a member of the Paus family. He is the father of composer Marcus Paus.

Work

Ole Paus debuted as a singer-songwriter in 1970 and as an author the following year, after he was discovered by Alf Cranner and Alf Prøysen, respectively. He was one of the central figures of the so-called visebølgen i Norge, i.e. troubadours in the tradition of Evert Taube, Cornelis Vreeswijk and others.

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Albums

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