Jarle Bernhoft

Jarle Bernhoft (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈjɑ̀lə ˈbæ̀ɳhʊft]; born on 21 June 1976), known professionally as Bernhoft (often stylized as Bern/hoft), is a Norwegian singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and lyricist.[1] Bernhoft is from Nittedal in Norway. His best known songs are "Streetlights", "Shout" (a Tears for Fears cover), "Choices", "C'mon Talk"[2] and "Stay With Me". He has also been in a number of bands, notably Explicit Lyrics and Span.

Jarle Bernhoft (Bern/hoft)
Bernhoft at Nobel Prizes concert 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Jarle Norman Bernhoft-Sjødin
Also known as	Bern/Hoft (solo work 2011 onwards) Rod Hot (in Green Granadas)
Born	21 June 1976 Norway
Years active	2002–present
Associated acts	Explicit Lyrics Span Green Granadas
Website	www.bernhoft.org

In June 2014 he appeared for the first time at the Glastonbury Festival and was featured by BBC One in a special performance of his song "Wind You Up."[3]

In December 2014, it was announced that his album Islander was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album for the 2015 Grammy Awards ceremony, held on 8 February 2015. His nomination is remarkable, as he was the first non-American artist to have been nominated in the 20 year-history of this US-dominated category. In a response to his nomination, Bernhoft stated that "Grammy has spoken. I make R&B music."[4]

With bands

Bernhoft at Vossajazz 2016.

in Explicit Lyrics

Hailing from Nittedal, Bernhoft attended Rud Upper Secondary School in Bærum where he joined the musical scene.[5] Jarle Bernhoft, alongside Fridtjof "Joff" Nilsen, were members of Explicit Lyrics. Within a span of three years, the band released three albums, Fleshpulse (1996), Flow (1997) and Lipshave (1998).

Span

After the breakup of Explicit Lyrics, Bernhoft, a vocalist and songwriter, and guitarist Nilsen joined drummer Fredrik Wallumrød and bassist Vemund Stavnes to form the band Span. After two EPs, Baby's Come Back (2002) and Found (2003), SPAN had two successful albums, Mass Distraction (2004) and Vs. Time (2005). The band broke up in 2005.[2]

Other collaborations

Bernhoft has contributed on a number of recordings and concerts with mostly Norwegian artists, such as Hanne Hukkelberg, Dadafon, Bigbang and The Køhn/Johansen Sextet.

He also played in the band Green Granadas using the stage name Rod Hot.

Solo

Bernhoft live in 2011.

He released his first solo album Ceramik City Chronicles on 1 September 2008. In January 2010 Bernhoft released a double live album called 1:Man 2:Band, where one half is a recording from his solo show at a jazz café in Oslo (Kampen Bistro), and the other half is a recording from his concerts in Rockefeller and Molde Jazz Festival with a full band.

His second solo album, Solidarity Breaks, was released the next year in January 2011. It topped the VG-lista,.[6] the Norwegian Albums Chart for a total of seven weeks (in July, August and September 2011). The album was credited to Bern/hoft rather than his full name Jarle Bernhoft. He was also credited as Bern/hoft in his 2014 follow-up album Islanders that also topped the VG-lista chart in May 2014.

In popular culture

In September 2011, Bernhoft appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show after producers of the show found his video on YouTube. While on the show he played his song "C'mon Talk".[7]

In July 2013, and again in June 2014, he was featured as a musical guest on "Conan" on TBS.[8]

Discography

Albums

With Explicit Lyrics

• 1996: Fleshpulse(EP)
• 1998: Lipshave

With Span

• 2004: Mass Distraction
• 2005: Vs. Time

With Børre Dalhaug's Bigbandblast

• 2004: Bigbandblast! (Real Records)[9]

Solo (studio)

Year	Album	Credited to	Peak positions
			NOR [10]	DEN [11]	FR [12]
2008	Ceramik City Chronicles	Jarle Bernhoft	4	—	—
2011	Solidarity Breaks	Bern/Hoft	1	29	64
2014	Islander	Bern/Hoft	1	23	208
2016	Stop/Shutup/Shout It Out	Bern/Hoft	25	—	—
2017	The Morning Comes	Bern/Hoft	—	—	—
2018	Humanoid	Bern/Hoft & the Fashion Bruises	23 [13]	—	—

Solo (Live)

Year	Album	Credited to	Peak positions
			NOR [14]
2010	1:Man 2:Band (live double album)	Jarle Bernhoft	—
2011	Walk With Me (Live at Chateau Neuf)	Bern/Hoft	1

Singles

With Span

• 2002: "Baby's Come Back"
• 2002: "On My Way Down"
• 2003: "Found"
• 2004: "Don't Think the Way They Do"
• 2005: "Cut Like Diamonds"

Solo

• 2008: "Streetlights"
• 2008: "Sunday"
• 2009: "Fly Away"
• 2011: "C'mon Talk"
• 2011: "Choices"
• 2012: "Stay with Me"
• 2012: "Shout" (France: #187)
• 2014: "Come Around" (France: #181)
• 2016: "We Have a Dream"

References

1. "Biography, Universal records (in Norwegian)". 2008. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14.
2. Birchmeier, Jason. "Jarle Bernhoft Biography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-11-30.
3. "BBC iPlayer - Glastonbury - 2014: Metallica". Bbc.co.uk. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
4. Bernhoft tweet, 5 December 2014
5. Craig, Elin Reffhaug (29 April 2014). "Hvalstrand-klar Bernhoft: – Tiden i Bærum var viktig for meg". Budstikka (in Norwegian). Retrieved 29 April 2014.
6. "Top Album List". August 2011.
7. Berhoft to "The Ellen Show" (in Norwegian)
8. "Bernhoft @ TeamCoco.com". Retrieved 2014-06-19.
9. Gorseth, Olav (2004-09-22). "Dødelig presist - Storbandplate produsert lag på lag" (in Norwegian). Bergens Tidende. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
10. "Jarle Bernhoft / Bern/Hoftdiscography". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
11. "Jarle Bernhoft / Bern/Hoftdiscography". danishcharts.dk. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
12. "Jarle Bernhoft / Bern/Hoftdiscography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
13. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 35, 2018". VG-lista. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
14. "Jarle Bernhoft discography". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.

External links

• Official website
• Bernhoft biography in The Guardian
• Interview with Uberrock - October 2010
• Bernhoft on Ronnie Scott's radio