Eriksen

Eriksen is a Norwegian roots music duo that released a series of popular albums during the early to mid-'90s. Comprised of siblings Rita Eriksen (vocals) and Frank Eriksen (vocals, guitar), the duo splintered in the late '90s, with Rita embarking on a similarly successful solo career. Born on May 26, 1966, in Sola, Norway, Rita made her solo debut in 1988 with Back from Wonderland, an English-language pop album laden with well-known standards. Little commercial success came of that effort, however, and four years passed before she and her brother made their album debut as Eriksen in 1992 with Two Blue. The album was a tremendous success, reaching the Top Ten of the Norwegian albums chart and garnering critical acclaim with a 1992 Spellemannprisen award for best Norwegian roots & country music album of the year. Subsequent Eriksen albums The Water Is Wide (1994) and Alt Vende Tebage (1995) were similarly successful, reaching numbers six and three, respectively, on the Norwegian albums chart. Rita then collaborated with Irish singer Dolores Keane on the album Tideland (1996), a collection of traditional music that was another big hit. A subsequent full-length effort by Rita and her brother, Blåmandag (1998), was a disappointment, however, and the duo dissolved their partnership in its wake. In the meantime, Rita withdrew from the album marketplace for several years. She eventually returned first with a low-key collaborative effort with the Queen Bees, From the Fountain (2005), before unveiling Hjerteslag (2008), her second-ever solo album. Released 20 years after her solo album debut, Hjerteslag was a major comeback success, reaching number six on the Norwegian albums chart and warranting the release of the chart-topping Eriksen retrospective, De Aller Beste, soon afterward. ~ Jason Birchmeier