Kirsten Bråten Berg was born in Arendal, Norway, in 1950. She is recognized for her reinvention of folk music, including collaboration with jazz bassist Arild Andersen, contemporary composer Jan Erik Pettersen and lyricist Paal-Helge Haugen.
Kirsten was double winner of the National Contest for Traditional Music in 1987, and has toured extensively in Norway and abroad. Her solo debut, ‘Kirsten Bråten Berg’ (1980) was nominated for the Spellemannprisen; her second solo album, ‘Min kvedarlund’ (1988) gained the prize. In 2001 she released the Spellemann-nominated album, ‘Syng du mi røyst’, and in 2010, the critically acclaimed release ‘Songen’. In addition to her work as a solo artist, Bråten Berg has participated on several projects, both national and international. As part of the folk music group ‘Slinkombas’, with Hallvard Bjørgum, Gunnar Stubseid and Tellef Kvifte, she released the Spellemann-winning album ‘Slinkombas’ (1979) and ‘Slinkombas og bas igjen’ (1982). In 2005 she was proclaimed a Knight of The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav for her extraordinary work. Her pioneering work within Norwegian folk music and her collaborations across the boundaries of culture and genre have made her prominent in the Norwegian and the international music scenes.
