What kind of music can you expect from a 25-year-old singer/songwriter from a small fishing village in Norway? Did you guess enchanting folk with a hint of haunting strings laid over an enigmatic vocal? You did? Wow, good guess!
Christoffer Øien is a true find, and in a burgeoning musical world, he represents a perspicacious musician with tremendous ability that should be recognized by a global audience. Øien’s music is expansive folk; it mixes the style of some of Joe Purdy’s slower, lugubrious pieces with a mystical Radiohead flavor. The sound is bewitching, and one wants to continue listening to the wizard of Norway.
Let’s take a listen to two songs; the first a disturbing lullaby called “Sandman.”
The song is, well, creepy. It’s creepy in a good way. Øien clearly wants to elicit the feeling of an unsettling lullaby. Øien combines drawn out strings with light keys and acoustic guitar. The music culminates in a beautiful combination of strings that soothe the listener. His lyric is imaginative, and he sings such distinct lines as “it feels like rain, tastes like wine” and “it sounds like pain, but it’s all in my mind” Eerie and oddly enticing.
“The Wizard” begins with a plucked acoustic guitar and transitions to Øien’s unmistakable vocal. The song, like “Sandman” combines several influences, and, in some parts, almost takes the form as a gloomier early Coldplay composition. I can continue to search for Øien’s style in other musicians, but it may be wise to simply describe him as refreshingly original and tell you all to listen to more of his first album, Monster.
The Music Court 
Good to know about him!!