LISTEN TO SONGS FROM THE ALBUM HERE!

The long-anticipated debut record "Espionage" is finally out ! For those who fell in love with the "Madchen"  EP, those who caught the song "Attraction" playlisted on Norwegian Radio P3, or the fans who caught the explosive set at this years Oya Festival, now is the time to revel in this masterpiece of post-punk high octane rock. The band earned a perfect score (6/6 stars) for that performance at the Oya festival - as did the album's review with Norwegian free press newspaper "Natt og Dag": It's been a while since the expectations of a debut album have been so uniformly anxiously awaited by the Norwegian music press - and the moment of truth has arrived. "The School have delivered a completely solid record without any weaknesses..... they find themselves perfectly situated with one foot in Berlin 1976-77 and the other in Manchester 1979-80.....The sound is razor-sharp with a dark and pounding undertone that might scare some away, yet for most it exudes that warm fuzzy feeling. Impressive" -N&D, Sept 8, 2006. The album was produced by John Fryer (NIN,Depeche Mode, HIM). The video for the single "Bad to the Bone" can now be viewed on this website and at Youtube.com. The School will embark on a 17 date tour of Norway commencing mid-October - check the dates online at www.theschoolrock.com and make sure you catch them in your home town as this is one gig you won't want to miss ! 

The School was formed in one of Norway’s most musically fertile breeding grounds, the city of Trondheim, in the spring of 2004. The band made their mark within a year on the thriving and vibrant live circuit – quickly building a reputation for their catchy riffs and in-your-face attitude. The crowning moment took place at this years By:Larm (Norway’s answer to SXSW or The Great Escape) where the band blew away the crowd with two powerful shows, which resulted in the band being courted by several labels and booking agents. This resulted in The School being offered a show at one of Norway’s biggest festivals this summer, Oya Festivalen. In January of 2006 the band released their self-produced EP “Madchen EP” on their own. This 4-track EP was only available in local shops, and has since been sold out. It was this EP, and the blistering release party that followed, that created such an interest at Kong Tiki Records, that a decision was made the very next morning to work together. Kong Tiki will re-release the EP first, and the band will begin work on the debut album in June of 2006, for release sometime in the fall on Kong Tiki.

The School has received several distinctions in radio and press already – amongst them “Record of the Week” on Norway’s P3 radio station, and the EP received phenomenal reviews from the press, including a 5 out of 6 score from the main local newspaper Adresseavisa and a rare 6/6 from one of Norway’s biggest music publications Natt & Dag. The band will be gigging constantly during the spring, culminating at the festivals this summer.

The bands line up consists of three childhood friends from the west coast and two from the northern parts – founded by singer/songwriter Stig Aarskog, who first recruited the twin brothers Karl-Martin (Bass) and Thor-Inge Hoddevik (guitars) to play in the band. Shortly thereafter they drafted in Andreas Elvenes (keyboards/backing vocals) and finally Puppy (drums).

The School:
Stig Forde Aarskog: vocals/guitar
Thor-Inge Hoddevik: guitar
Karl-Martin Hoddevik: bass
Andreas Kj. Elvenes: keyboards
Puppy: drums

www.theschoolrock.com

Photos by Merete Haseth

Photo by Geir Mogen