Paul "Strangefruit" Nyhus is an undisputable legend of the Norwegian dance
scene, and something of a veteran.
As a key figure on the scene since the early nineties, he has helped shape
and form the unique and eclectic sound of
northern electronic music.
Born and raised in the small village of Hamar, Paul accidentally  got
exposed to the sound of New York electro post disco
 in the early eighties, leading to the formation of highly developed
trainspotter genes and early DJ-ing skills.
"Hearing this kind of music in a place like I grew up was a rather exotic
and magic experience, like hearing
some kind of alien signals being transmitted straight into our heart and
souls ... like we were the chosen ones".
Only a handful of kids received these signals of phuturistic power, one of
them being a slightly younger Thomas Hermansen,
who started spinning at Paul`s parents`place and later became the
internationally acclaimed Prins Thomas.
However, early house and techno did not take of hold of Norway until the
approach of the 90`s, and Paul jumped onboard, taking the name
"Strangefruit", and gradually positioned himself as
one of the leading techno DJs of the nation.
Along with other norse luminaires such as Per Martinsen, Bjørn Torske and
Dj Abstract, he toured the country
as part of the Zone Brigade as well as all the major clubs. However, as the
major scene got taken over by trance and
harder techno, Strangefruit switched and brought back the eclectic styles
of his musical upbringing.
This led to his residency at Oslo`s legendary "Soda Club", the capital's
first truly glam club with a softer and somewhat
diverse disco-oriented soundtrack ... The soundtrack was documented as the
first ever commercialy released norwegian mix cd "Mixed" for Warner
Bros.in 1997,
a blueprint for the Norwegian nu-disco sound later heard by artists such
as Erot, Lindstrøm, Bjørn Torske, Prins Thomas, Todd Terje etc.
At the same time, Strangefruit hooked up with jazz musicians like Bugge
Wesseltoft and Nils Petter Molvaer for
fruitful collaborations that still last to this day. With trumpeter
Molvaer he toured for a decade as part of his band,
fusing the clubby DJ aspects with more abstract soundscaping, also
resulting in numerous albums, all classics within
the electronic jazz genre. "For me to collaborate with musicians like
that has opened my ears further up to music,
and to the diverse potential in using records as an instrument, it has
also taught me intuitively how to approach music when
producing in the studio". 1997 also saw the release of the first
Strangefruit remix (co-worked with Thorbjørn Brundtland, later of Røyksopp
fame) of Malin`s "Kinky People".
1997 also was the year when Paul joined the National Radio P3 for the
hugely influential weekly show named "Strangefruit".
The show lasted until 2002, and explored a boundless take on eclectic dance
music from all parts of the world presented in a
non-pretentious way. As the show came to an end in 2002, Strangefruit
synchronically won the people`s award as
Norway`s best ever DJ in a poll for "Natt & Dag" magazine.
As the millenium approached, Strangefruit continually DJ-ed, most notably as
half of the "Cosmos Jam Sessions", co-hosted with
Prins Thomas, and also further intense touring as part of the Nils Petter
Molvaer band.
However the main project was the formation of the Mungolian Jetset,
Strangefruits own production team along with Reidar Skår
and later Knut Sævik. The project kicked off with Bugge Wesseltoft album
commission for Jazzland Records, the 2006 release "Beauty Came To Us in
Stone"- a fantasy marriage of exotic 50s-inspired music fused with the
early-70s escapades of
Miles Davis, all produced in a contemporary style. In retrospect,
Strangefruit comments "Our first album really is really our 'difficult third
album' disguised as a debut". This paved the way for the current MJS sound
that
is equally full of twists and surprises, but now placed on the backbeat of a
monstrous psychedelic disco sound ... The Mungolians have
developed a highly original dance sound as heard in their
numerous remixes for artists and labels such as Output, Dialect, Eskimo,
Lindstrøm, Bebel Gilberto and numerous others.
Their wacko acid house remix of Pizzy Yelliot`s (another MJS pseudonym)
"Could You Be Loved", got voted as track of the year (2005)
by Bill Brewster, and their 2007 remix of Ost & Kjex`s "Milano Model" was
the only Norse track to make it in the top 100 chart of Pitchfork`s best
tracks of the year.
Approaching 2008,  Strangefruit currently holds residencies in all the
best Oslo venues such as Blå, Villa and Nomaden, as well as DJ-ing
abroad and developing a live edition of the Mungolian Jetset. Recently,
along with Jann Marius of Kango`s Stein Massive and Fjordfunk
fame, he has set up the "Luna Flicks" label, distributed through News in
Belgium.
 Due to his unique understanding of diverse music, he is highly regarded
as both a people`s DJ and a DJ's DJ within the Norwegian community,
. In his own words he says "A lot of DJs claim to be diverse, but what
they really mean is they can play both house and
techno ... for me it is equally compelling to play at an art exhibition as
in a club situation ... it is about understanding where you are playing and
that you are there to create a vibe. You can do these things in numerous
ways,
but it is important that it comes from within yourself"
Strangefruit spins a vibrant mix of dance music`s most interesting sounds
almost in a historical perspective.
He is renowned for his ability to fuse styles in an original, entertaining
and educational way. In his sets you`ll never be really sure what you will
hear:
it`ll be disco mixed with future-techno meeting psychedelic rock and dub
sounds licking the cosmic sky while interfering with the old and new sounds
of house music.