| Fjordgata Records | |
| Founded: | 2021 |
| Founder: | Benjamín Gislí Einarsson, Sara Fjeldvær, Tuva Halse, Audun Rørmark |
| Distributor: | Bandcamp |
| Genre: | Jazz, pop |
| Location: | Trondheim, Norway |
Fjordgata Records is an independent music label founded in 2021 by Sara Fjeldvær, Benjamín Gislí Einarsson, Tuva Halse and Audun Rørmark.
Fjordgata Records was founded by four Norwegian musicians while they were students of the Jazzlinja at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The label name comes from the name of a street in Trondheim where the idea of this new label was born. Fjordgata works as a cooperative of artists aiming at maintaining control on their production. The Gaffa music magazine asks: "One often hears about up-and-coming bands and artists. But who are the young promising enthusiasts who want to facilitate and fight for these musicians when no one else does? Who dares to compete in a monopolized music landscape where unpredictability and nepotism reign?" According to Gaffa, "the goal was to create a platform to release their own and others' music, ensuring that the musicians themselves do not lose significant royalties or ownership shares of their music."[1] According to Fjeldvær, we "see many who are ridiculously talented, hardworking, and completely absorbed in their music. But they can't crack the code with the industry stuff and end up getting lost". Halse explains that "now we have a platform where we not only record and distribute music but also organize release concerts, work on video production for songs, and so on".[2] Einarsson claims that the long-term objective of the Fjordgata Records label is to establish it as one of the most exciting record labels in Nordic jazz and alternative music.[3]
Fjordgata Records has released debut albums from the Norwegian and Dutch scenes so far. Boxed, by the Bento Box Trio, was praised by the Norwegian jazz magazine Jazznytt,[4] featuring an unconventional trio leaving huge space for "free roles and open landscapes"[5] Stars, by Sara Fjeldvær, was found to have musical elements which make it "something unique" by gripping artist,[6] a "counterweight to the retouched and commercial pop vocal."[7]