An era has ended. On 17 December, the radio radar couple Are and Odin have their very last broadcast. The broadcast goes at 14-16, and you can listen to it on news P1, or actually SEE it in this article. They had their very first broadcast in January 2002, and even with a break of almost 10 years between 2005 and 2015, the duo has been among news’s most popular profiles for the past 20 years. Improvised jabbing has been their method of creating entertainment for the thousands of homes. Not least, they have also, with good help from musician Åsmund Flaten, delivered musical humor and satire. They have become known for being loud, rapping, for messing with big and small and pushing a boundary or two, and not least also for always having their heart in the right place. After all, “We are all individuals together” has been their tagline. 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. Photo: Vegard Blakstad / news “Haters gonna hate” For many, Are and Odin have been an irresistible combo – including ski kings, broadcasting executives or rock stars. Swipe to see what a bunch of people have to say about Are and Odin: Petter Northug, cross-country legend “Love Are and Odin, so it’s sad that they are giving up! But I and many others hope for a comeback when life gets too boring after the last broadcast. My best and worst memory is the song they made about me. Unfortunately got it stuck on my brain, so it got stuck in my head during many training sessions. I wish them the best of luck with everything!” See Are and Odin’s song about Petter Northug further down in the matter. Vibeke Fürst Haugen, Broadcasting Manager “My first memory of Are and Odin is from a car trip many, many years ago. I was alone in the car and fell over a transmission. At first I was very surprised, then very giggling. In the end, I laughed so much that I simply had to pull over to the side and stop the car because it was dangerous to continue laughing. That’s exactly what I’ve never experienced before or since. I love Are and Odin’s slanted gaze, wonderful humor and wild stories. Thank you very much for the support!”Åge Aleksandersen, rock star”I actually thought that my version of “Light and heat” was perfect, but then it turned out that it wasn’t. Are and Odin have the perfect version. It’s clear I’m going to miss them. Fresh, great and content with substance in all the fluff.” See Are and Odin’s version of “Light and heat” further down in the story. Guri Solberg, news anchor, TV 2 “I am very fond of both Are and Odin, and Are and Klaus. We were colleagues when I worked in P3 in the early 2000s, and I remember very well the first time they brought out the characters – at least the first time I got to experience them – at an internal seminar in P3. I love the warm, wise and weird their humor. And I keep reminding myself that “we are all individuals together.” Kim Riseth, editor, Namdalsavisa “We are particularly proud of what Odin has achieved as a Namdaling. He is someone we value very highly, and who promotes Namdalen and what we stand for. Admittedly, there are some dialect words that I am a little confused by, but that’s okay. We are proud of him and think he represents Namdalen in a good way.”Ingrid Bjørnov, musician”A long and wild radio era is history. Sheep farmers across the country are losing their spearhead. The fat equinox will be marked on Tomter forever. At least until the weight drops. Respect.” Linda Hofstad Helleland, Storting representative (H) “I would like to thank Are and Odin for many laughs and pleasant radio experiences over the years. They have been a regular entertainment feature in my everyday life, with their miserly and whimsical humour. Self-irony on behalf of the people of Trønder, they have become quite good at it over time. It is a bit sad that they are going off the air, but fortunately we have many funny radio moments to think back on!” Share your favorite memory or send your greeting to the duo: Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you don’t have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue But the story of Are and Odin could quickly have become the story of the success that never happened. Because as you know, the taste is like the butt – and not everyone was overjoyed when they first went on the air in 2002. Many thought it was too loud and stupid, and they expressed their opinion – through both text messages, e-mails and faxes ! – I actually wondered if I should resign and let Are continue alone. I wasn’t used to getting feedback like that! says Odin Jensenius (aka. Klaus Sonstad). After all, he was really just an ordinary sheep farmer from Namdalen, who had by chance been discovered and taken on the radio by the P3 man Are Sende Osen. But Are always had the good feeling that this was radio gold and that people would eventually realize it. – He just said: “Haters gonna hate”, says Odin. – Or, he probably didn’t say that – because that expression came later. But you know what I mean! Are and Odin eventually became real radio pop stars. Photo: news And Are were clearly right. Now the couple can look back on over 20 years with many highlights: The breakthrough 2002 was the year when “Barcelona” with Paperboys ravaged the Norwegian charts. When Are and the Odin editors were sent a CD with the song, which also contained a karaoke track, Odin was terribly inspired. – It was a eureka moment, he says. Everything else was put aside, because Odin was to write his own lyrics to the melody – a song about all people being equally valuable. Are was actually quite annoyed that Odin spent so much time on the song, but it would turn out that it was time well spent. For “Individrap” was a kind of turning point. After it was sent for the first time, the inbox was full of people wanting more. There was also a music video – recorded live in a radio studio – with scantily clad ladies, muscular men and sheep, of course. Landeplage The success of “Individrap” opened the door for even more music from Are and Odin. They even got a record deal, which resulted in the album “Bæ to da bone”. This record reached third place on the VG-lista in 2004. The duo went on tour in Norway, and played both on the VG-lista at Rådhusplassen and Quartfestivalen. The clear biggest hit was the song “Klapp Klapp”, which became a real hit in the summer of 2004. It was on the VG-list for 16 weeks, with the best position being number two – only beaten by O-Zone’s “Dragostea Din Tei”. We challenge you to play the song and not get it stuck in your head afterwards. Åge + Britney = true In addition to actually writing their own songs or creating their own lyrics for well-known melodies, the concept of musical fusion has been an important thing for Are and Odin. Simply explained, it means taking a familiar text and putting it to another familiar melody. This musical play also opened the way for collaboration with one of Norway’s biggest rock legends, Åge Aleksandersen: Sending in a day When Are and Odin grew up in P3, it was incredibly free. – Nothing was forbidden, and the management was happy if it was ruled, says Are. This clearly opened the way for Are and Odin to convey harsh statements with a clear conscience, but not least also because it was free for wild stunts. That’s why Are and Odin were inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and they simply went to bed for peace in April 2005. It was about having the heart in the right place and fighting for the good causes. For 24 hours they stayed in room 501 at Hotel Augustin – and the whole thing was broadcast live on online TV, in addition to several broadcasts on P3 and NRK2. They were also taken in directly by talk show king Fredrik Skavlan in connection with the “action”, and Yoko Ono herself sent a greeting from New York where she announced: “I love you!” Are and Odin invited to a press conference from their hotel bed. Photo: Nils H. Toldnes / NTB Prisdryss In the last year before they took a break, 2005, Are and Odin almost had awards thrown at them. During Radiodagene, where the radio industry’s most prestigious awards are handed out, they were named “Radio Name of the Year”, in addition to receiving the audience award. In the same year, they also received Norsk Målungdom’s Dialect Prize, for having used dialect in a positive way and for having played a lot with language. Even during the gay magazine Blikk’s award ceremony in 2005, Are og Odin won an award, as “Artist of the Year”. The background was the song “Homonasjonalen”, which can offer stanzas such as “up all the gays of the earth – come out and say who you are”. The following year, the duo was also awarded Kulturadressa’s honorary prize. Until then, this award had only been awarded three times before, and Are and Odin were put in good company with Knudsen and Ludvigsen, Stargate and Åge Aleksandersen. Are and Odin together with P1 presenter Kari Slaatsveen during Radio Days 2005. Are and Odin received the audience award and became “Radio name of the year”, while Slaatsveen won the award for “Programme presenter of the year”. Photo: Sara Johannessen Meek / NTB Onani scandal Although Are and Odin disappeared from the air after Christmas Eve in 2005, they continued to live on in good health among the people. One of the most memorable moments involving them thus happened in 2009, when 10-year-old Håvar was to receive congratulations from his family on the radio. They wanted a song by Are og Odin, but the presenter of news Finnmark had the painful experience that their lyrics can be a little in the dark sometimes… The clip from the unfortunate congratulation has periodically gone viral online – and of course this was picked up up by Are og Odin when they were back with broadcasts on P1: Here you can hear the entire interview Are og Odin did with former presenter of news Finnmark, Vibeke Lund Pettersen. Minister of Justice to trouble After Are and Odin made a comeback in 2015, they calmed down the stunting outside the studio, apart from what has been described as “weird live shows” from time to time. But the main focus for the duo has thus been on delivering one hour of quality radio every Saturday. And the recipe is largely the same as in 2002; a good mix between humor and satire. – We didn’t try to invent gunpowder, or buy new clothes for that matter, says Odin. – I have exactly the same tie, the same shirt and the same jacket. That jacket has been involved in so much! Are and Odin have thus continued to deal with current issues in society in their own way, such as when Tor Mikkel Wara – as the fourth minister of justice in a short time – had to leave the post of prime minister: A tribute to Petter Northug To both pay tribute and fuck with people at the same time slang, is no problem for Are and Odin. Sending warm little nudges has almost become their expertise. The ski king Petter Northug has clearly not escaped, because hello – Are and Odin are also Trønder patriots, and then they have to promote the Trønders they can, in the way they know best. Mulla confusion In addition to broadcasting talk and music, all sorts of sounds often come from Are and Odin’s radio studio – usually signed Odin. Are calls his partner a master of sound painting. – I think it’s so funny. No matter what curious matter we are talking about, it is spontaneously voiced by him in a unique, unique way. There is no one else in Norway who is on the site, he says. No challenge is too big for Odin – he can do everything from obscure animal sounds to imitating Arabic. Badger in the nose No one escaped the corona troll that hit us in March 2020, not even Are and Odin. When we all started to get quite tired of Bent Høie and Espen Rostrup Nakstad, Are and Odin could offer a refreshing corona touch. They asked the questions many of us might not have thought much about – such as: Will your nose hairs embarrass you when the mask comes off? For Odin, the answer was YES! And because the radar couple is not particularly fond of taking themselves too seriously, Odin had to suffer for the beauty of the show: Failed replacement attempt Throughout the years, spontaneity has characterized the dynamics in the studio, and Are and Odin mess with each other as much as with others. But once Are went way over the limit for Odin – when he had tried to find a replacement in case Odin didn’t manage to get home safe and sound from a trip to Africa in 2019. Odin’s reaction really says it all: Are + Odin = True ❤️ Can’t get enough of Are and Odin? Then we can highly recommend this documentary, which was made in 2005: And here you can enjoy yourself for hours in Arne and Odin’s rich archive:
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The radio duo Are and Odin give up – see highlights from 20 wild years – news Trøndelag
