FARMERS MARKET was started in Trondheim during the fall of 1991.The members where all students of the Jazz Department at the Conservatory of Trondheim. What started out as a free-jazz quintet, soon found itself heading in a completely different direction; Bulgarian folk-music. This music, with its odd meters, oriental scales and improvisational possibilities, has become one of the main ingredients of "The Farmers Music".

The music is a mixture of Bulgarian folk music, jazz standards, popular music and humor. FARMERS MARKET has become one of Norway's most popular live bands, playing at all kinds of venues and festivals: jazz, folk and rock. FARMERS MARKET released their first CD, "Speed/Balkan/Boogie", in February 1995. This was a live recording from Molde International Jazzfestival 1994. The CD features 4 guests from Bulgaria; two singers from the women's choir "Lés mystére dés Voix Bulgares" (now known as "Angelite"), and two folkmusicians.

FARMERS saxophonist HÅVARD LUND left the band fall of 1995, and the band had to look to Bulgaria to get a replacement. Through friends they got in touch with TRIFON TRIFONOV. After an audition over the telephone(..!) he joined the band December 1995. The summer of 1996 FARMERS went into a studio, and recorded their second CD, "Music From The Hybrids". This CD was released on the 9th of April 1997.

STIAN CARSTENSEN is the bands multi-instrumentalist. He started on the accordion when he was about 8 or 9 years old. He was practicing the accordion every minute he had a chance, even in the backseat of the car as his father drove him to school in the morning. When he got to high-school he realised the accordion didn't have the same effect on girls as the guitar... He forced himself to listen to Judas Priest and other heavy metal bands, and within a year he kinda liked it. And by this time he played the guitar better than any of his fellow villagers. At a music seminar he met an older guitarist that was into jazz, and STIAN was amased by the chords this guy played... The chords even had numbers in them! STIAN decided to pursue this jazz thing, and some years later he got accepted at the Conservatory of Music in Trondheim at the dept. of jazz. Here he met the guys that made him take up the accordion again.

NILS-OLAV JOHANSEN was born in a very small place, deep inside a fjord near Trondheim. His father was a sailor, and NILS got exposed to Hawaii-music at an early age. This fluid string sound has followed NILS throughout his musical career. His first musical goals were to write popular songs to win the Eurovision Song Contest. He made such contributions like "Fools that drink" and "Give them a chance", none of which -luckily - got accepted. He then turned away from his views on drinking, and ended up at the Conservatory of Music in Trondheim at the dept. of jazz. He devoted himself to his studies of wine, women and song, and this - the wine in particular - led to 6 months of hoboing around France. NILS and his guitar finally found their way back to Norway, and in search for a calmer environment he joined the rest of us in FARMERS MARKET.

JARLE VESPESTAD was a wild child. His parents actually kept him on a leash to prevent him from running up and down the walls. He only calmed down when he found something to hit. So he became a drummer in the local marching band... after hysterically refusing to play the trumpet he first was assigned. He didn't take his drumming seriously until he after high school found himself heading into a future as a substitute teacher at his local high-school. He made his decision to be a musician, went to a pre-college school for a year and practiced 24 hours a day. After 6 months he came up for air and discovered that almost all the girls at school had been taken. He took a short break, made his choice and went for it... (They're still going at it). He returned to his drums, and when school was over he got accepted at the Conservatory of Music in Trondheim, dept. of jazz. Here he became the driving force behind many successful bands to come out of Trondheim the following years, one of which luckily was FARMERS MARKET.

TRIFON TRIFONOV is born and raised - and still lives - in Katonitza, Bulgaria. This is a small town just outside Plovdiv. He lives with his wife and son, his parents and his brother and family. They have a small farm on which they grow peppermint and peanuts. He is also one of Bulgaria's most respected saxophonist and travels a great deal playing weddings 'round Bulgaria. When FARMERS MARKET's saxophonist HÅVARD LUND, left the band fall of 1995, we had to look to Bulgaria for a replacement. We got our friend, Borislav Zgourowski, to record some saxophonists around Bulgaria and play the tapes for us over the telephone. Among the tapes we heard TRIFON's knocked us over. Boris went to his home, and they called STIAN from TRIFON's house( it's not possible to call from Norway to Katonitza, only the other way around). TRIFON and STIAN jammed - over the phone - for about an hour. There was no question. And we where lucky to get TRIFON to join the band. He came to Norway about a month later. We rehearsed for 2 days, and went on our first tour together.

FINN GUTTORMSEN is the urban alibi of the band. He is born in Mosjøen, a village which used to have official status as a town until the early 80's. His parents discovered that FINN had a talent for music and decided to cash in on this fact, and before he knew it he was playing euphonium in the local marching band. But FINN's musical heart was beating for ABBA, and euphonium didn't quite do the trick in this genre. So he went out and bought a Hofner bass. When FINN got to high school he was more into AC/DC and Van Halen. He and two friends started a band and where going to be rockstars. But they never got past the intros of the tunes, cause no one wanted to sing. So they had a repertoire of 40-50 intros by the end of high school. That's how FINN got into jazz - it sounded like never-ending intros...the singer never started... FINN went to Trondheim to study at the University. At the end of this year he got accepted at the Conservatory of Music in Trondheim, dept of jazz. and the his academic career was over. Here he found the guys that could play only intros - 40-50 in a row... and all the other stuff that FARMERS do.