Hailing from an indie rock background in his hometown Bergen, Sgt. Petter surprised both critics and record buyers with It's a Record, an album not very easy to pinpoint genre-wise. Soon after its release, music writers as well as music lovers realized they were dealing with a new young artist capable of combining country, folk, alternative rock, pop, and humor in a way that was entirely new to the Norwegian music scene. Not surprisingly, radio hits and award nominations followed all the fuzz. Eventually, Sgt. Petter inked a deal with the Dutch label Excelsior Recordings, and the international release of It's a Record helped spread his name across Europe, as well as placing him on several festival and club scenes around the continent. Sgt. Petter's second album,Monkey Tonk Matters, appeared in 2005, once again receiving great reviews. He scored a radio hit with the single "Honky Tonk Rose," and the album was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy Awards. By this time, Sgt. Petter was also operating as a regular collaborator with at least a dozen other artists and bands, all over Norway's country and rock scene. The Sergeant's third album, A Mid-Tempo Frenzy, came out on his own label, It's a Label, in 2006. This time a little more pop-influenced, the album secured Sgt. Petter's position as one of Norway's most exciting new artists. ~ Ketil Mosnes