Urban Music Adventure in Oslo with HTC
Last week, the Fever team set off to host yet another HTC European media tour, this time in Norway. The press trip invited media to take part in a music fuelled tour of Oslo, a city renowned for its innovative underground music scene. Journalists were all provided with the latest HTC handsets (HTC One X+ and 8X HTC windows phones) and got busy putting the handsets audio capabilities to the test.
A range of music and lifestyle journalists from Spain, Russia, Germany, Poland and the UK were invited and the likes of Rolling Stone magazine, MTV and Clash music all attended. The twelve journalists invited set off to explore the city’s urban music scene where HTC provided exclusive access to a number of music inspired venues as well as local influential music personalities.
The first stop on the tour took place in the cool and creative music themed Xpress Comfort Hotel. Here the journalists enjoyed intimate performances from Norway’s up and coming rappers, Phats Tha Physician and Cezinando and were joined by Trude Artnzen, otherwise known as Oslo’s guru of urban music and ‘mother’ to many urban rising stars in Norway. We then moved on to the stunning Oslo Opera House where we were given access to walk on the roof and take some panoramic cityscape shots. The Opera House acoustics expert met with us and talked us through how the adaptable design inside and outside the venue allows for the perfect sound for every event. As a small city, Oslo has to utilise every space they have, meaning that the Opera house isn’t just used for opera and ballet performances, but also hosts a number of events and gigs, whether that be rock, pop or rap.
In complete contrast to the beauty of the Opera House, we next visited the quirky underground bar, Café Mono, to meet the incredibly unique and talented Oslo Mobile Orchestra. The Orchestra is made up of students and lecturers from the University of Oslo and Norwegian Academy of Music, who have developed software allowing them to make music through the interaction of light and human movement using smartphones. We were treated to a live performance from the group who carried out a number of pieces using HTC handsets. They ended the session by offering the media some hands on time testing out the innovative software and then introduced us to our new favourite sound-making app, Melodrone. The Fever team is completely addicted!
After a quick lunch at the delicious NightHawk Diner, we visited the Urban Sound Studio for a talk from MusicFieldsForever, an inspirational project that develops interactive art installations for the visually impaired. All installations combine music, sound and art to inspire those with disabilities and highlighted to us all just how much music can positively impact lives. Last but certainly not least, we moved onto the quirky new club, Jaeger, to meet the super cool and talented DJ Abstract. He is renowned in Norway for having his finger on the pulse when it comes to the latest music trends. We were then all treated to a one-to-one masterclass on the decks! We loved Jaeger so much we returned that evening for some cheeky goodbye Oslo drinks before our flights home the next morning.
Check out what the attending journalists thought of the HTC Oslo trip on Twitter via #HTCOsloAudioTour and keep your eyes peeled for press coverage which will be appearing over the coming months.
