Pristine

Emerging from Tromsø in northern Norway, the band Pristine blends blues elements with hard rock riffs, evoking the sounds of 1970s American Southern rock and classic psychedelia through its retro-infused approach. Fronted by singer/songwriter Heidi Solheim, the award-winning outfit first gained traction on the European blues scene via releases such as the 2011 album Detoxing and 2016’s Reboot. A subsequent deal with Nuclear Blast allowed the group to broaden its international reach via extensive touring and a shift toward heavier material, exemplified by the 2019 album Road Back to Ruin.

Solheim, originally from the small village of Øverbygd north of the Arctic Circle, assembled the initial incarnation of Pristine near Tromsø around 2006. Following years of local performances and entries in regional blues competitions, a stable lineup—comprising Solheim, guitarist Espen Jakobsen, organist Anders Oskal, bassist Åsmund Eriksson, and drummer Kim Karlson—tracked the 2011 debut Detoxing. Producer Andreas Mjøs (Jaga Jazzist) helmed that effort and also collaborated with Solheim on her 2012 solo outing Found as well as Pristine’s 2013 follow-up No Regret. Around the same time the band traveled to Memphis for the International Blues Challenge, becoming the first Norwegian act to reach the semi-finals. Reboot in 2016 marked a turn toward a more pronounced hard rock sound laced with vintage psychedelic touches. That direction persisted after the group joined German label Nuclear Blast for 2017’s Ninja, a largely live-captured collection of riff-driven rock retaining blues underpinnings. By the arrival of Road Back to Ruin in 2019, Solheim and Jakobsen remained the only founding members.