Thomas Dybdahlwith TrondheimSolistene

Teenage Astronauts is Thomas Dybdahl's tenth solo album since his debut …That Great October Sound (2002). His latest album began with conversations in the studio about growing up and about friendships.

'I've written my fair share of songs about breakups and relationships over the years. It's usually these stories that get my creative process going, but thinking back on my youth, it dawned on me that my first heartbreak wasn't caused by a breakup but by my best friend suddenly getting a girlfriend. I felt like I was going to die; that's how crushed I was. The people I navigated my youth with were the most important thing in the world to me. We felt like explorers, sometimes immortal, sometimes like snowflakes. Some friendships faded away, some ended in tears, and some have lasted into adulthood. This is an album about and for these friendships, writes Dybdahl.

Teenage Astronauts is a collaboration with Grammy-winning producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock and more), arranger Vince Mendoza (Björk, Joni Mitchell and more) and lyricist Edie Kuhnle Ottestad, with whom Dybdahl last worked on The October Trilogy.

Vocals, acoustic guitars and a string orchestra are key elements in Teenage Astronauts. The foundation for the album was recorded in California before Mendoza wrote the string arrangements, which were then recorded in Stavanger.

'We are looking forward to showcasing these new songs and others from the catalogue, together with a fantastic band and the fabulous musicians in TrondheimSolistene at the Bergen International Festival, writes Dybdahl.

Contributors

• Thomas Dybdahl vocals, guitar

• ​Lars Horntveth pedal steel guitar, guitar, synth, saxophone, clarinet, flute

• Gard Nilssen drums, percussion

• Ole Morten Vågan double bass

• Vegard Lien Bjerkan keys 
  

• TrondheimSolistene