Gåte is a Norwegian band which blends folk music with the sounds of metal and electronic beats adding lyrics in Norwegian and drawing their inspiration from the nature and mainly everything which surrounds them. Their big breakthrough was at the start of the 2000s. The band experienced huge success with spectacular live shows, two critically acclaimed studio albums, two EPs and a live album. During this period, Gåte sold more than 100,000 albums, went straight to the top of the NorwegianVG list and won the Spellemann award in 2002 as “best newcomer”. After a 12-year hiatus they made a long-awaited return in 2017. We had a chance to talk to the lead vocalist of the band, Gunnhild Sundli.

Hello Gunnhild, Gåte was formed back in 1999 and in the beginning of 2000´s you gained popularity then you were on a break on several occasions and now you finally decided to take part at Melodi Grand Prix. How did you make the decision to part at the show?
Hello! It all started when I was asked to participate as a solo artist for a song in Melodi Grand Prix. It was an honor to be asked, but the song didn’t quite feel like it was a 100% fit for me. I feel most at home in folk music and conveying folklore in Gåte, so I asked the rest of the band if it was something they would consider being a part of. We quickly found out that Gåte would be perfect for participating in Melodi Grand Prix this year, and it really feels like the right timing.

Can you tell us a bit about Ulveham and what does it mean for you?
“Ulveham” is based on a over 1000-year-old medieval ballad with an unknown author. We have drawn inspiration from this text and convey the essence, which is about liberation and power balance. Making your own choices, not being controlled by anyone else. Standing firmly in yourself without others dictating what you should do. We believe this is an important and timeless message.

For you entry Ulveham you cooperated with Rony Janssen who is also one of the authors behind Kim Wigaard La Melodia from MGP 2022 and Eli Kristin´s Touch of Venus. How was the cooperation?
The collaboration has been very inspiring. Ronny is a talented producer who understands the Gåte universe. The song was actually created when our former member Sveinung Sundli and Ronny were in the studio together. Ronny is skilled at modernizing and finding the right atmosphere in the sound, so we can combine the ancient with modern technology.

What can we expect from your performance? Can you share with us any details of it?
The show reflects our music. It’s dark, atmospheric and full of energy. We actually invited NRK to our concert at Rockefeller in Oslo beforehand so they could understand our Gåte-universe, which turned out to be very helpful as they immediately understood the essence of what we want to convey.

You often get inspired in traditional Norwegian music and some of the songs you created were even made by rearranging those. Some of the lyrics you even wrote in Nynorsk, what inspires the creation of your music nowadays and do you plan to continue writing songs in Landsmål?
We are inspired by everything. We are five very different individuals in the band, inspired by different things in life. I think that’s what makes our music varied and full of details. We will continue to write lyrics in Nynorsk, as we have a good collaboration with a Norwegian author going forward. Musically, we are of course inspired by other bands in a similar genre to ours, such as Kalandra, Wardruna, and Ævestaden. But we also draw inspiration from all sorts of genres.

Your entry is among the few performed in Norwegian language at MGP 2024. After the removal of the rule to sing in national language at ESC, Norway has only once performed a song in Norwegian at Eurovision. How does that make you feel and would you like to see Norwegian language song win MGP again?
For us, it has always been natural to sing in Norwegian, Old Norse, and Nynorsk. We believe it is important to use our mother tongue, also because people in Europe think it’s sophisticated with that kind of vocal “sound” blended with folklore. Of course, we believe that a Norwegian-language song should win MGP again 😉

In the long history of Melodi Grand Prix has long history, what's your favourite memory of the show, or do you have favourite lyrics of a song which competed at the stage of MGP which you could share with us?
We have several favorites, but if we were to highlight a memory, it would have to be when Alexander Rybak won with “Fairytale.” It was a big moment for many of us.

Do you watch Eurovision regularly, what is your favourite song from the contest?
I watch Eurovision annually, and I believe the rest of the band does too. Especially now that almost everyone in the band has children who also follow both Melodi Grand Prix and Eurovision. It’s difficult for us to pick a favorite song from the competition; there are so many good ones!

You performed at many festivals in your career which of the ones you took part was your favourite? Do you maybe have an anecdote from any of your performances which you´s like to share with our readers?
We have played at many festivals throughout our career, we have several favorites. One of our highlights since our reunion in 2017 is Tons Of Rock. It was something special to see 5000 metalheads start the concert somewhat a little skeptical and then get everyone to cheer with joy. We prefer it when we have something to prove live, so we have to work to convince people with our music. That’s when it’s most exciting and rewarding to play live. It’s not a given that everyone likes folk music combined with rock and metal. A funny story was when we were supposed to play at the Malakoff Rock Festival. Magnus (the guitarist) was suddenly missing; we couldn’t find him backstage before the concert. He had gone for a run in the forest and across some fields, and we got a selfie of him with some sheeps in a field. This was 20 minutes before we were supposed to go on stage. Since then, we just call him “the sheep whisperer.” He tends to go off on trips right before a concert, haha.

What do you do when you are not creating music and singing? Any hobbies?
We have many different hobbies. The common denominator is probably exercise. We enjoy hiking in the mountains, having great outdoor experiences, and running in the free.

What are your plans after Melodi Grand Prix 2024?
We already have an active collaboration with those who book us for concerts, so there will be some club concerts in Norway and some festivals. We will also work on a new album. And who knows, if we are lucky enough to win the final, there will be even more exciting things happening ahead!

Thank you so much for your time Gunnhild. We wish you the best of luck at Melodi Grand Prix. Do you want to share something else or you maybe have a message for readers of escbubble?
Thank you! We would like to generally say to all readers, thank you SO MUCH for your musical engagement; as artists, we truly appreciate getting so much attention for our music!

You can watch the performance of “Ulveham” below

You can let us know who are YOUR favorites in the final of MGP 2024 by voting in our poll below, and you can also leave your impressions in the comments and at our social media @escbubble

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