Jonas Alaska

Performing under the moniker Jonas Alaska, Norwegian native Jonas Aslaksen works as an indie pop singer and songwriter whose influences trace back to the singer/songwriter period spanning the 1960s and 1970s. The multi-instrumentalist, born in Åmli during 1988, pursued music studies in England at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. His self-titled first album, featuring spirited folk-rock, appeared in 2011, landing at number five on Norway's album chart while securing three Spellemann nominations—equivalent to that nation's Grammys—in Best Songwriter, Best Male Artist, and Newcomer of the Year, with the last of these honors going to him. Issued via Sony, If Only as a Ghost from 2013 improved on the prior release by one chart position and sustained critical parallels to Paul Simon based on a shared vocal tone. Younger, issued in 2015, marked Alaska's initial effort composed on electric rather than acoustic guitar and incorporated greater electronics alongside grittier guitar textures, ultimately landing inside Norway's Top 20. Fear Is a Demon arrived in 2017 as his fourth long-player through Braveheart Records.