Ekstremsportveko is the largest extreme sport festival in the world, and is hosted every year in Voss, Western Norway. There are competitions in kayaking, rafting, mtb-bmx, skateboarding, skydiving, paragliding, hanggliding, multisport, freeride, big air, climbing, speed riding, cliff diving, biketrial, wind tunnel, BASE and longboarding.
For one whole week, 24 June – 1 July national and international athletes compete and challenge themselves in the elements. However, competitions are not always the main focus for the athletes. The sharing of knowledge, when hundreds of top athletes are gathering this last week of June, is just as important.
The various sports are the main focus of Ekstremsportveko. However, the music program has become an important part of the total festival experience. The last three days of the event, national and international artists spice up the festival with their vibrant music within the genres; pop, rock, funk and reggae!
Ekstremsportveko is owned by the non-profit organization Stiftinga Ekstreme Voss – “The Ekstreme Voss Foundation”. Voss Active, Voss Kayak Club, Voss Hang and Paraglider Club and Skydive Voss are the four local clubs who represent Ekstreme Voss. There are two people working in the administration full time all year round. In addition to this, Ekstremsportveko rely heavily on positive and hard working people. Every year 800+ volunteers from all over the world contribute to make the festival a huge success.
Music is an essential part of the festival, and this year the organizer has dug deep into different genres and carefully selected a line up hard to ignore. Extreme sports during the day. During the night rock, hip-hop, electro-rock, electronic new wave, EDM and more.
The following artists are lined up for this year:
DATAROCK
Whether you are a music fanatic or not, we believe everyone should have to experience, for themselves, and see their favorite band perform, live. As for rock music fanatics with a touch of the groove, you cannot call your self an “electric rock fan” if you have not, at least once, seen Datarock perform on a stage. Known worldwide for their playful rock music, Datarock tour the world with millions of fans all over the globe. Their music is all about having fun, known famously by wearing red tracksuits and big glasses. Datarock live performances have so much energy and vigor, the energy in the atmosphere is palpable.
ARIF
If you are a hip-hop music lover, the Norwegian rapper Arif is a must on your playlist. This young artist has proved to be one of Norway’s most important contributions to the rap and RnB genre. He has the ability to play with words making them flow, and his ability to tell today’s generations stories. His music makes necks turn, heads to nod and feet to move with joy and fascination. In attending any of his concerts, you will get to meet major players in the music industry. After selling out one of the biggest stages in Norway, Oslo Spektrum, Arif is now the talk of the town.
WHALES AND THIS LAKE
Electro-pop music lovers must attend Whales and This Lake’s concerts. They are the true definition of electro-pop genre music. This band, comprising of three artists, are doing “whale pop”, which is characterized as a dark and dancy genre of indie electro pop. The three artists originate from the sparsely populated Norwegian countryside where synths are homemade and the drums have been covered by whale skin for thousands of years. Why attend their live concerts? Whether you have never heard them, listened to them for a few days – or finally getting to see your favorite artists live, this is such an immense feeling to experience live. Whales and This Lake band with no doubt will play a major role in the European music scene for the next decade.
THULSA DOOM
There is no better place to enjoy metal music than a live concert. Thulsa Doom is a metal band, formed back in 1999, based in Oslo, Norway. Springing out from the record label Duplex Records, with bands such as Cumshots, The Dogs, Bare Egil Band, Black Debbath and Hurra Torpedo. Their music is inspired by Kyuss and early Black Sabbath. Stoner rock music fanatics know the true meaning of metal music through this band. This is a very famous band in Norway. They have been in the music industry since 1999. As a health benefit, if you get to see your favorite artists perform live, that tends to bring joy and happiness to people, not to mention the calories one burns when in the moshpit.
KREAM
Hailing from Bergen, Norway, and formed in 2015, KREAM features the talents of brothers Daniel and Markus Slettebakken. The Norwegian electronic-based duo is known for their high-energy house-oriented pop music, with gloomy undertones. Attending their concert is a must go for house music lovers. Kream released the song that they co-wrote with Swedish songwriting duo SHY “Taped up Heart” which feature vocals from Clara Hagman. The song has charted on Billboard’s Hot/Dance Electronic Songs chart and peaked at 22. Kream is the cream of house-oriented pop music. In a few year expect Kream to be the cherry.
FUTURE DUPER
Future Duper is a new name in the EDM/Pop music world. With their remixes, they have brought a new life to tunes from Alan Walker, Avicii, and Galantis and among others. Over time, they have developed their own bouncy and melodic tune. The band comprises of two members based in Oslo, Norway. Attending their concert gives their fans a chance to be really close to what was once an underground movement.
HKEEM
Hkeem is the kid on the block in Stovner, Oslo, in Norway. Bringing a new style of rap in the Rap world in Norway, Abdulhakim Hassan, better known as Hkeem, came into the spotlight after he and his youth friend Temur Baig released his breakthrough song “Fy faen”. This song, launched in April 2017, reached the first place on the VG list (Norwegian version of Billboard) in week 17, and became Norway’s most streamed song on Spotify. For the song, Hkeem and Temur were nominated in the class This Year’s song during P3 Gold 2017.
SONNY ALVEN
Many of us music lovers have very many different reasons why we listen to music; from enjoyment to idolizing our favorite artists. At Sonny Alven’s live concerts, it is an all-in-one package. He is steadily becoming known worldwide for his dance-inducing yet chilled out beats and signature electronic style. He has performed alongside huge electronic acts like Kygo and Galantis throughout Europe and the United States. If you are a fan of the big names in the electronic music genre, then Sonny Alven should not miss in your playlist as well. One of the main themes of electronic music concerts for people to later say “I saw him when he was up and coming”
AMANDA DELARA
If you are looking for the most exciting and promising new artist to surface during 2016, Amanda Delara is your choice. Having attended no musical school, she began playing piano in early childhood. As a teenager, she decided to write her own music. If you are a fan of pop music, you must be an Amanda Delara fan as well. Feeling like your spirits are down? Attending a concert is typically a high energy activity, and it can help to boost your fatigue throughout the day if not the whole extreme sports week.
KURT NILSEN
Kurt Nilsen is one of Norway’s best-selling artists and is one of the country’s popular live performers. He got his breakthrough in the norwegian TV-show “Idol” (like American Idol) in 2003 and became the year after World Idol. Since then, he has received countless awards, released several critically acclaimed albums and had some of Norway’s biggest radio hits.
Now, he are coming to Ekstremsportveko for a rare and intimate live performance on Wednesday June 27th.
RÖYKSOPP
The Tromsø squad Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland make up the electronic music group Röyksopp. The duo was officially formed in 1998, but has made electronic music ever since 1988 (!) And is undoubtedly pioneer in the genre. Ever since the debut, they have made great success both at home and abroad, and collaborated with famous artists such as Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Beck, Lady Gaga, Robyn & Susanne Sundfør to name a few. They have released a series of mixtapes & six studio albums, four of which have been in the first place on the VG list. They have won the Norwegian Grammy Awards, P3 Gull Awards and nominations for international awards such as Grammy and Brit Awards.
Röyksopp continues to impress the audience worldwide with their visual sensational DJ and livesets. After decades as DJs, they have delivered the DJ-sets in clubs all over the place; from London, Dubai & New York, to Mexico, Tokyo & Ibiza.
In June they are coming to Ekstremsportveko bringing a DJ-set that will set the Veko Lounge on fire.
Note: Due to serving of spirits in the lounge-tent, this concert will be for age 20+. However, the concert will be streamed to the main stage for age 18 – 20 years.
Extreme Artists at the Extreme Sports Festival in Norway, compiled by Admin
Feature image (on top): Röyksopp