– We received an SMS after last week’s broadcast: “So great that you are back on the radio – I didn’t discover it until now!”, Are Sende Osen tells. – He will be disappointed. Are and radio partner Odin Jensenius (aka. Klaus Sonstad) has decided for the second time to enter the years. Saturday 17 December will be the last broadcast for Are and Odin on news P1. The radio program was first broadcast daily on P3 between 2002 and 2005, and was then the channel’s most popular programme. The duo won many awards, released a record and toured Norway. Are and Odin in their P3 glory days. To this day, the grill suit jacket is still used extensively by the sheep farmer Odin. Photo: news After a ten-year hiatus, Are and Odin made a comeback in 2015. They were really only supposed to be substitutes for two weeks in the radio program Lønsj, but it ended up being one hour of fun every Saturday afternoon on news’s biggest radio channel, P1. – We noticed that army is life in the camp! Odin exclaims. – But no one would have imagined that we would continue for another 7.5 years! “Is this stupid?” City boy Are and sheep farmer Odin emphasize that they have by no means lost their wits. They are also not tired of each other, as they said they were the last time they gave up. On the contrary, they have a great time every broadcast, where they deliver oblique views on everything from big politics to obscure animal stories, and not least do musical antics with good help from pianist Åsmund Flaten. Musician Åsmund Flaten has been an invaluable third member of the gang. Incidentally, it was when Are and Odin started playing with music that it really took off. The breakthrough came in many ways with “Individrap”, their cover version of Paperboys’ “Barcelona”. Photo: Klaus Sonstad The listenership numbers also indicate that people have almost had enough of the Trønder couple’s jabbing. – It’s actually a bit strange that we give up, says Odin. But it’s about giving in while the game is good. – We want to decide for ourselves instead of being shut down one day. It is also 20 years since we started, so it fits nicely in a way, says Are. – And we think there should be a sense of sadness there. A feeling of, “Is this stupid?” The legend has it that Are discovered Odin when he was driving through Namdalen and listening to the local radio. There appeared the sheep farmer, like a diamond in the rough! Photo: Klaus Sonstad Social satire of a great kind One person who thinks it’s stupid that the duo is now giving up is channel manager for news Radio, Bjørn Tore Grøtte. He simply calls it “hugely stupid”. – Are and Odin, with Åsmund on piano, has been a potent presence on the radio for as long as I have worked at news, says Grøtte. – There is no doubt that they have been very good at meeting the spirit of the times and playing with the listeners with both heart and brain. The channel manager believes that Are and Odin have only gotten better and better over the years. – Some of the radio moments they have delivered on Saturdays on P1 are entertainment and social satire of a large nature. “Some of them will live forever,” he says. – So then you just have to start waiting for the next comeback! Same end as last According to Are and Odin, they have no plans to see much of each other again. After the last transmission, it’s finito. – It’s the same end as it was last time, says Odin. He will return to the farm to take care of the sheep and his mother, while Are will continue with other projects at news. – But as a fan of A-ha, I know all about how difficult it is to put a final stop! adds the sheep farmer with a grin. It is, after all, one of news’s major radio channels that is still unsullied by Are and Odin, namely P1+. Possibly they could have fit in there in ten years’ time? You should never say never. The last broadcast with Are and Odin is on Saturday 17 December, between 2pm and 4pm on news P1. It will be an amazing party, with a carefully selected audience of devoted fans in the studio.
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Are and Odin say thank you – last broadcast in December – news Trøndelag
