My name is Magne Kolstad. I was born in
the town of Porsgrunn, on the country side of Norway, in Telemark
county, 40 years ago. I spent my little boy childhood on the backseat
of a car, looking out on roads, mountains and houses passing me by,
while my parents were exploring Scandinavia without maps and
endpoints. I constantly had the experience of being on the move, but
was enjoying being with my parents, always discovering new places and
new people.
I remember getting the Elvis Presley
compilation “Elvis Forever vol.1” for Christmas as a six year old
boy, and there and then I was sold on popular music 'forever', just
like the sleeve said. I grew up listening to classic rock, which my
parents hated, dad in particular. The fun rock'n roll of Elvis, the
driving-freedom songs of Tom Petty, the longing-for-a-better-life
songs of Bruce Springsteen, the lonely-blues-man-conqering-it-all
music of Eric Clapton, and the cinematic reflections of all of the
above in the music of Ry Cooder. I educated myself following the
influences of these artists leading me to a diversity of genres like
jazz (among favourites are Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, Lee Ritenour) &
country (like Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw). Always in
for discovering new places and new people.
As a youngster growing up, in every
town I got to, I always wondered the same things. I was very courious
if I could reach the people I knew was out there, and if I could make
it where they lived. But the sensation from my childhood of always
being on the move, was rooted deeply in me, and I always felt like an
outsider. The feeling of being an outsider drew me to choose to study
communication as a major at the University. I figured I had a lot to
learn in the communications department, and that it was a lack of
communication skills that made me feel outside. Then a new journey
started for me, achieving a major degree in communication, and even
got a ph.d. scholarship to see how far I could go. During this period
of my life, I realised that music is a way of communicatinjg, though,
and that I could use everything I've learned through my formal
training, to explore new paths and meet new exciting people.
Prior to that, I did pursue my
interests in music in my teens, learning how to play the music I
listened to, and even explored playing guitar in a few bands. I've
always been a late bloomer, not sure why, but at 21, I remember
having written a number of songs, and was looking for second opinions
on my music. It was in the early days of the Internet, and I won free
evaluations of my songs and a consultation with L.A. based hit
songwriter Molly-Ann Leikin. I lacked experience in recording,
though, and never made it to submit my songs to Molly. After that, my
university studies slowly took over, and my drift to move on and
discover new places and new people was put into that.
Somewhere in the 2000s during the boom
in homestudio recording technology, I found a path back to music. I
was exploring my roots after I had lost both of my parents to cancer,
and was in need of channels to express emotions. So I started to play
music and write songs once more, and this time I was determined to
understand and learn recording technology. I slowly started to build
my homestudio, learning about computer based recording, while writing
music and figure out how to produce worktapes. After exploring
numerous paths, I've found no better way to discover new places and
new people, than with reaching out and connect through music.
Today, I still feel like the outsider
on the backseat of a car, always interested in exploring new
territory as a songwriter and composer, and still discovering new
places and new people. I live in a different country than where I was
born, I know different people than the ones I was raised with, I do
different things than I ever imagined. I realize now, that's a part
of who I am, the life I lead, and the paths I'm destined to thread.
Along the way I've gained self knowledge, a new family of my own, and
have settled with a way to reach people, that I feel confident with,
no matter how far away I am or feel.. music!
My biggest dream is to have my songs
played in mass media, communicating through music to all of those people in towns I've driven through, all of those people I've left behind from having constantly been on the move, and every person I've yet to meet and never will. Growing up in the 70'ies and 80'ies, I was
raised on the backseat of a car listening to radio and watching tv, so there's where my ideas of success comes
from, I guess.
Well, if you got this far - thanks for taking the time to get to know me a little better! I hope to get to know more about you too. If you are interested in the technical stuff, please read more
here, or click in the left column, where I've organized some information in an interview format, to facilitate the reading a bit.
Also please leave a comment in my
guestbook, listen to my
songs, take a look in the
news section to hear how my music is doing, and feel free to
email me about business, getting back in touch, suggestions for collaborations and everything else in between life and death.
Current professional memberships (links):
KODA (the danish PRO)NCBSongUTaxiBroadjamThe Guild of International Songwriters and ComposersBack to
Home
