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Bergen, Norway native Siri Wålberg (a.k.a. Sissy Wish) released her first record in 2003, the “Six Feet Tall” EP and quickly grew to critical acclaim. In 2005, she won a Norwegian Grammy for her debut full-length “You May Breathe” and after releasing her second LP, “Tuning In,” she signed with Sony BMG in Europe. “Beauties Never Die” found a home in North America with Afternoon Records and will be released digitally in the Summer of 2009 and physically in August 2009.
In the Norwegian artist flora, Sissy Wish can be seen as pretty weird flower; not only does she refuse to play the piano and write joni Mitchell-ish ballads, but she´s also something as unique as an artist constantly trying to challenge herself, her music, her live-shows; the keywords are humor, an extraordinary talent for pop-melody, for catchy tunes and breathtaking arrangements, but always (remember!), always on the strange part of town, around streets and alleys full of people covered in glitter dust.
Sissy Wish made her debut with the stunning “Six Feet Tall” EP in 2003, when she cut four tracks in two days with members from Norway’s eclectic group Sister Sonny. jingle-jangle guitars blended with the rhythmic powers of The Bad Seeds ca. Tender Prey, seasick pianos and the voice of Sissy on top, being a poppy Kate Bush, without the flowery, arty clothes and mannerisms, but with a similar kind of deliverance and determination. Never before has an unsigned artist gotten so much attention and broadcasting on Norwegian radio.
The debut album “You May Breathe,” recorded with legendary Norwegian producer HP Gundersen, showed that Sissy Wish just wasn’t satisfied; the album is a modern study of the Phil Spector wall-of-sound of the sixties; re-introducing tambourines, maracas, twang-guitars and lots of background vocals to the Norwegian pop-scene.
The album received rave reviews and is one of the highest critically acclaimed debut albums ever to be released in Norway. After releasing her second album “Tuning in,” Sissy was awarded with Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannsprisen) for “Best Female Artist” in 2005.
Her third album, “Beauties Never Die,” was recorded at Duper Studio, in Bergen, with the Norwegian super-producer and wiz-kid, Jorgen Traen (Sondre Lerche, Kayzers Orchestra, Jaga Jazzist and Sister Sonny), but also for his work with hardcore underground stuff, like Jazzkammer, The Golden Serenades, Toy and a million of really weird projects. Gone are the banjos and the acoustic guitars and the jingly universe of the first releases, instead you find yourself in a world of cheap synthesizers, toy organs and fuzz-guitars; the songs are possibly the most daring pieces of music Sissy Wish has ever delivered, and the record is filled with both complex structures, unexpected arrangements and ultra-catchy melodies, all backed up by hot, pumpy drums and basses.
Sissy Wish have been touring in Europe and the States since 2007 and lately, she has also been performing as a purely electronic trio with some of her band’s members, showing that Sissy Wish never stays still, and that she is constantly seeking new ways to express herself through the music.
