Finn Harald Røed, portrait from the Kingdom X period 1993-1994

Portrait of vocalist and composer Finn Harald Røed from the time with the techno pop band "The Kingdom X" from Kristiansand, Norway in 1994

Music background and history of Finn Harald Røed

A resumé of my life seen from a musical perspective, 1980-2010

Ever since I was a young boy I have composed music. At the age of five, I was an enthusiastic and improvising user of the family piano. Around the age of ten, I spent a few years learning basic piano skills from a piano teacher.

When I was about thirteen, I composed my first complete piece of music. It was a rather simple piano and vocal song, consisting of the standard combination of verses, choruses and a bridge. During the 20 years that followed, I composed and recorded more than two hundred songs. I have played both the piano, synthesizers and guitars in various bands and pop groups.

However, most of all I have always considered myself more of a composing vocalist than anything else, using whatever instrument at hand as a tool to bring forth the next song waiting in line. Composing music has always proved to be an effective method of self-therapy in my life. Through the combination of sound and lyrics, I have to a great extent been able to illustrate and put words on my feelings and emotions in a creative manner.

1984-89:

Concert in 1987 with the rock band The Dukes.

In the mid- and late 80's, I was a vocalist, songwriter and keyboard player in the band "The Headlines". The song "Get ya crying" was later released on an album (MC) with other local artists. In 1987-88 I also was the vocalist, songwriter and rythm guitarist in the local band "The Dukes". In 1987, both bands participated in Norway's largest musical/cultural competition for youth, and went to the county final.

Between 1988-1992, I participated in a few "project-bands", giving a limited number of concerts in southern Norway. In addition, I composed and played a lot on my own. Songwriting and recording tended to become more and more important compared to stage performances.

1990-92
In the early 90's, I wrote more songs than ever until this day. More than 100 complete pop and rock tracks were recorded. These recordings were done using a 4-track Tascam Porta One. Several of the songs were performed live in this period, while others reoccured in new versions in the techno-pop band "The Kingdom X" during the next couple of years.

Finn Harald Røed in 1993, with a KORG 01W-FD synthesizer

Finn Harald Røed in concert, 1993 with a KORG synthesizer.

1993-95:
During this period, I mainly wrote synth-based / electronic pop music. A main composing principle was to arrange the songs using sounds with as little relation to acoustic instruments as possible.

At the time, the wave of "unplugged concerts" was extremely popular - it was a time where the hits of the 80's were performed with traditiontal drums-bass-piano-guitar arrangements. In many ways, The Kingdom X was a counteraction to this commercial twist.

To read more about The Kingdom X and download a complete MP3 album for free, check out the dedicated web page about The Kingdom X.

The Kingdom X concert, April 1994

The Kingdom X was by many considered to be a different and interesting band. Several of the larger record companies (BMG Ariola and EMI) showed their interest during the first part of the 90's. I was the founder of the trio, and wrote the band's music. In addition to being the vocalist, I handled sequensers, DAT-playback, synths and samplers on stage. The band combined non-acoustic instruments and melodic vocal lines. The musical style can be described as a combination of the alternative 80's melodic synthpop and the 90's techno rythms.

In 1993/94 I also studied music at the Norwegian Agder University College (HiA), with vocals as my main instrument. The different classes gave me an interesting theoretical basis, in many ways very helpful to continue my development as a musician.

In 1994, I released my first album, a MC with 10 romantic ballads with electric piano and vocals as the main instruments. This album was released under my full name: "Finn Harald Røed: Moment in time".

CD release (1996)

First half of 1996:
In 1996, I reached the temporary peak of my musical life. In the late Spring, the CD "RØED: Transformation" was released and made available for sale in several record shops, especially in the Kristiansand and Moss area. The album summed up elements from both The Kingdom X period, and from the time just before and after that band. Several prominent musicians participated on the record, adding extra spice and energy to many of the songs. I remember it was a rather strange experience to wake up one morning, with the song "If we stay together" playing on the radio next to my bed. :-) Despite of positive feedback and interest from the local press, the local radio stations, from some of the largest record companies located in Oslo, and in the nationwide broadcasted radio program "Pandora's Jukebox", the album never became a commercial success. Highlights were the songs "The World is Changing" and "Wish you were my hero" (see the Downloads-section of www.replaceyourself.com).

1996-2001:
In 96/97 I wrote the 9 songs with lyrics for the play/musical "Fedrenes hjerte" ("Heart of the Fathers"). This play was performed in both Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger in 97-98, and again at the National Theatre's bi-scene in Oslo in 2000.

The late Autumn of 1996 I gave Melodie Grand Prix 1997 (Eurosong) a try with the piano ballad "En drømmers fantasi" ("A dreamer's fantasy"), but the song wasn't accepted for the final. However, the song and it's lyrics mean something special to me personally. The song is available on the MP3 / downloads page of this website.

In 1998, I sold most of the musical gear / studio equipment, except for a Kurzweil sampler and some less important pieces.

Compared to the high level of musical activity in the first part of the 90's, things really slowed down especially from 1998. As an example, I only wrote one single song in 1999; a special guitar+vocal piece, dedicated to my first born son. In 2000-2001, I didn't actually write any songs at all, nor did I record anything.

2002:
After a long musical break, I finally decided to get a new synthesizer and especially some studio software. I felt the creativity was coming back. The studio software program Cubase SX, a KORG Triton and lots of software synths found it's way to a room in our basement. The basis of a new studio and the ability to compose music was created. In October I wrote a duett in modern classical style with a religious text. The composition was performed by myself and a classical soprano singer on November 2. during a christian ceremon in Kristiansand.

Music video (2005)

2003-2005:
The new studio in the basement brought back a lot of the creativity I experienced in the early 90's. A number of new pop songs were composed. Many of them were later more or less rerecorded or remixed and relased on the MP3 album "Magical Graphic Color Scheme".

The songs written were deliberately angled towards becoming a different and closing chapter of the "Transformation" CD from 1996, only this time the songs should stand out as a whole. A general rule and goal while writing each song was that the song's feel/mood and lyrics should mean something personal to me. In contrast to just writing music that tries to fulfill a commercial recipe. In 2005 my first music video was released for the temporary version of "I replace myself".

MP3 album (2006)

2006:
My first album release for 10 years found place in August 2006: "Breakable, fragile and alive". All the material for this Internet CD release was both written and recorded from scratch during an intensive 2 week period in July 2006. Released a children's book about a Golden Retriever puppy (book title: "Poff og Pia"). The book was illustrated by the American artist Matthew Q. Jackson.

2007-2008:
Moved to Sweden in 2007 and built a temporary home studio in the garage. I continued working on songs written between 2003-2008, and released a new MP3-album on the Internet on the 8th of November 2008 with 12 songs. Highlights are "Things will never be the same" and the final version of "I replace myself". Quite a lot of the vocal recording and mixing was done in Sweden, while the rest was mainly recorded in Norway pre-2007, but mixed/mastered in Sweden. Moved back to Norway late December 2008. Showed up on various websites, including Wikipedia.org, MySpace.com, Uhort.no, NRK.no/urort, Garageband.com and Last.fm.

2009:
Wrote, recorded and released one song only, "Anything for love". Released on the Internet as a free MP3 single download.

Finn Harald Røed discography / album releases:

1994: Moment in time (MC)
1996: Transformation (CD)
1998: Fedrenes hjerte (CD - performed by other musicians)
2002: The Kingdom X (MP3-CD)
2003: ReplaceYourself.com (MP3-utgivelser)
2006: Breakable, fragile and alive (MP3-CD)
2008: Magical Graphic Color Scheme (MP3-CD)

Last updated: Aug 24, 2010

Transformation CD(1996)

The CD-release "Transformation" from 1996