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biography / portrait

The Norwegian band Gazpacho has been described by one critic as being “classical post ambient nocturnal atmospheric neo-progressive folk world rock”. The music has been compared to A-ha, Radiohead, Muse, Marillion, Talk Talk or Porcupine Tree. Before "Night" (2007), Gazpacho's three previous albums "Bravo" (2003) and "When Earth Lets Go" (2004) and "Firebird" (2005) were launched entirely on their own merit and awareness spread by "word of mouth" throughout the world. It didn't take long until they had debuted in the dutch indie charts at 6, and hit 1 three times on Mp3.com, won international song writing competitons, playlisted on national radio (Norway/ Holland), offered a support slot throughout Europe, voted as the top 10 album(s) of the year for over 6 months on various sites, a general 'vibe' was spreading underground on Gazpacho. Support Act on Marillion’s “Marbles” tour in 2004 with 31 Shows and more than 30.000 visitors radically raised their profile, earning the respect of audiences everywhere they played and garnering critical acclaim. Overwhelmed by the audience's positive reaction to Gazpacho, Marillion's record label, "Intact Records" thought to capitalise on Gazpacho's potential. They launched their their 3rd studio album, 'Firebird' along with licensing their entire back catalogue. Appearing on Firebird is none other than Marillion's guitar legend Steve Rothery contributing with stunning melodic guitars in 'Do you know what you are saying?'. Their last album “Night” (2007) shows a departure of the short song format of the previous albums, but instead consists of one long 50-minute conceptual piece, divided into five parts. The album was almost instantly well-received in prog-circles, topping the Just For Kicks Music sales chart for two weeks after its release. The (prog related) international press was almost unanimously positive, calling the album "very, very grand art", "nothing short of a masterpiece" and "an incredible album". The album charted in the reader's top 20 at Progwereld for more than a year. Night also did very well in several readers' polls at the end of 2007. The album was voted 9th best album of 2007 by listeners of Polish radio station MLWZ and 8th best album in the Dutch Progressive Rock Page Poll. The album is also in the top 10 of 2007 at Progarchives. The band is currently working on a follow-up for Night which is scheduled for release in 2009. (source: www.gazpachostreetteam.de)