D’Sound are: singer Simone, drummer Kim and bass player Jonny. In 1994 English and American bands playing acid jazz and hip hop was no rare experience in the Norwegian capital - what made D’SOUND stand out was that they were, in fact, Norwegian.

After their early beginnings in ‘93 / ‘94 they could not fail to be noticed, due to their knack for music, the ability to absorb musical influences, genuine love for music on and off stage, and required professional experience. So far this has resulted in getting a record deal and breakthrough in Norway, release in several other countries, various performances both locally and abroad, and also two nomminations for Norwegian Grammys. Having developed and matured, D’Sound have still kept strong elements of soul, R&B, jazz and drum ‘n’ bass, as pop music has progressed from their acid jazz starting point.

Through a succession of gigs, in particular at a leading Oslo club Head On, the band became noticed by other musicians and record business producers. This led to festival appearances and support gigs for main artists. Norwegian producer Hans Olav Grottheim contacted D’SOUND after a ‘94 appearance at Head On and invited them to make a demo of the song “Real Name”, which turned out to be a disappointment as it recieved a negative response from the major record companies. After a bad patch where the band started drifting apart, Kim and Jonny rescued Simone from the clutches of another up and coming band, and 100% dedication and hard work paid off this time with a ‘96 PolyGram record deal. Shortly afterwards their debut single “Real Name” was released, and occupied the number one spot on the Norwegian radio chart for an incredible 8 weeks. At the same time they were working around the clock to finish their debut album Spice Of Life, produced by Hans Olav Grottheim, Jan Bang, and Espen Berg.

D’SOUND’s sound was partly created by the band’s close involvment in the production, and partly due to the producers having previously mainly worked with dance and techno remixes. During the album production the producers took on the challenge of working with musicians, as opposed to only computers. It resulted in freedom to experiment and musical spontaniety - e.g. the track “Slow Dancing, French Kissing” was jammed live in the studio. Spice Of Life was recorded in 1996 and released in 1997, recieving extremely good reviews. The album has sold 20,000 units to date in Norway.

Spice Of Life did not only do well in Norway; In 1996 Polydor, Japan released the album and D’SOUND were asked to pay a promotional visit. The single “All I Wanna Do” reached no. 1 on the Japanese international radio chart. During the summer of 1997 D’SOUND got themselves a new manager - London based American, Doe Philips - who concentrated on breaking the band in new markets. As a result D’SOUND appeared at the well known London night-spot, The Jazz Café in Camden, amongst other places. Simultaneously release commitments were announced for Germany, Sweden and Denmark. D’SOUND have also been released in Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Spain, Portugal and the Philippines.

Besides appearances in Sweden and Denmark, D’SOUND have also toured as support band for Roachford in Germany. They have played sell out shows on numerous occasions in Norway and made two appearances at the 1997 Molde Festival. In 1997 D’SOUND supported Earth Wind & Fire in Oslo and later the same year toured the main cities of Norway in connection with their Spice Of Life album release.

The band has appeared on TV both in Norway and abroad, and was the first band to play live on MTV Japan. They have also played at the Polish Soppot Festival. D’SOUND were nominated for the 1998 Norwegian Grammy in the categories ‘Best New Artist’ and ‘Best Pop Album’.

At the end of 1997 D’SOUND started recording their follow-up album Beauty Is A Blessing. “The amalgamated musical form of expression between us has become closer, and musically we have become more complete, which allows us to experiment. Our band is ever changing. Beauty Is A Blessing is the album we feel has culminated the essence of the musical form of expression the three of us have right now”. It took Simone several years to realize that she could actually write songs. Today other people that just Kim and Jonny have discovered her talent. To Jonny, given the chance to flourish, and the challenges D’SOUND offer, is more than admiration for great idols. Kim has developed his obsession further, and it has not become a lesser one with D’SOUND. “To me D’SOUND was a stroke of good luck”, says Simone, but Kim and Jonny could easily have said the same thing. D’SOUND has never stopped evolving; they pick up trends and devote all their time to the band and to music. Until further notice Beauty Is A Blessing is a brilliant confirmation of this.

There album are:

• Spice Of Life 1996
• Beauty Is A Blessing 1998
• Talkin' Talk 2001

Soundsamples at:

http://www.hit40.no/dsound/english/mfs_discography.html