Don't Speak of Tomorrow Gathers Sūn Byrd's Summer After Two Spellemann Nominations
An Oslo Horn Band Puts Three 2026 Songs Into One Release of Under Ten Minutes
At the Oslo Opera House on 22 March 2026, the Spellemann prize for R&B and soul went to Hillari for New Beginnings. Sūn Byrd were on that shortlist with In Paradiso. A year earlier, their debut album had lost the same category to Natnael. Now Don’t Speak of Tomorrow, out on Jansen Records since 18 September 2026, gathers the three songs the Oslo band released after that night.
Sūn Byrd’s title song sits in the playlist below, and the band’s full run of coverage is on the Sūn Byrd profile. Don’t Speak of Tomorrow came to BlackSounds.News through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news titles. Press play on the title song, then read on for the scene it lands in.
Norway’s Spellemann Shortlists for R&B and Soul Have Become a Meeting Point for Singers and Bands
Read the last two shortlists side by side and a pattern appears. Juries nominated eight records across the 2024 and 2025 prize years. Four came from singers releasing under their own names. The other four came from bands or collectives, and two of those were Sūn Byrd’s.
The 2024 field showed how wide the category runs. Natnael, born in Ethiopia and raised in Romsås in Oslo, won with Love & Dr. Martens. His musical upbringing mixed hip-hop, R&B and the Ethiopian rhythms his father introduced. Meanwhile, Isabelle Eberdean from Trondheim earned a nomination for the EP Freewheeling, which combines retro soul with R&B, jazz and modern pop. GiddyGang, a collective born from jam sessions in Oslo in 2019, earned a nomination with the South African rapper Vuyo for Destiny/Sacrifice.
The 2025 shortlist kept that balance. Hillari, named Urørt of the year by NRK P3 in 2023, won with the debut album New Beginnings. Stefanos Yowhannes earned a place with Stuck in Transit. Likewise, Orbits made the list with Blood Red Sky. That trio of Lars Horntveth from Jaga Jazzist, the singer Natalie Sandtorv and the producer Erlend Mokkelbost recorded it live in an abandoned gym hall.
That is the wave this release lands in. The singers on these lists bring roots that run from Ethiopia to the Philippines. The bands, in turn, bring horn lines, string arrangements and jam sessions. Both strands meet at the same prize, and the juries treat them as one genre.
Twice Shortlisted, and Still on the Road
Sūn Byrd sit on the band side of that line, and they are the only act nominated in both years. The lineup explains the position. Singer Johan Helland fronts a rhythm section, keys and a horn line of trumpet and saxophone. The members came up through two Norwegian working bands, Bård Berg Electric Band and Fieh.
That Fieh thread runs through the 2025 shortlist too, because members of Fieh also play in the live version of Orbits. The Oslo circle behind these records is small. As a result, the same players carry its sound from one stage to the next.
The other half of the position is the stage itself. The band have played more than 250 concerts across Norway and Europe. In 2026 the tour took them to New York and Austin in March. Then came Köln, Bratislava and Bergen in the spring, Kendal Calling in August and the Ship Festival in Šibenik in September.
Isabelle Eberdean, GiddyGang and Orbits Map the Norwegian Ground Around Don’t Speak of Tomorrow
For a listener who comes to Don’t Speak of Tomorrow from the singer side, Isabelle Eberdean is the closest match. Freewheeling sets retro soul against R&B and jazz. Sūn Byrd cover similar ground with soul, jazz, pop and touches of electronica. The difference is the front line: the band builds it around horns rather than one voice.
GiddyGang is the reference for how a group of players turns a jam into a record. The collective’s members came from gospel, jazz and soul, and its nominated release paired that groove with a rapper. Similarly, Sūn Byrd’s sound starts from the jam, with extended grooves on stage. The records, though, keep each song between three and three and a half minutes.
Orbits is the closest neighbour in method. Their album was recorded live, and their stage band draws on the same Oslo circle. The record pairs string arrangements inspired by the Brazilian composer Arthur Verocai with beats in the manner of D’Angelo. Where Orbits stretch toward jazz and psych rock, Sūn Byrd stay with punchy basslines, crisp drums and bold horn arrangements rooted in 1960s and 1970s records.
Three Songs in Under Ten Minutes on Don’t Speak of Tomorrow
Don’t Speak of Tomorrow works as a summer in miniature. Is This What Love Is came out on 26 June. Changes followed on 28 August, and the title song arrived on 18 September with both earlier songs behind it. The running order puts the newest song first, at 3:21, then Changes at 3:06 and Is This What Love Is at 3:26.
The next step is already listed. Apple Music shows a four-song EP, My Mind Doesn’t Work Like That, for 23 October 2026, with a new title song ahead of all three. So the single is also a preview of the band’s next release.
Who It Is For
Don’t Speak of Tomorrow is for listeners who follow Norwegian R&B and want to hear its band side. It also suits anyone who met Sūn Byrd at a festival set this year and wants the songs in studio form. Listeners in Germany, the United Kingdom and Luxembourg, where the band played through the summer, have the most direct way in.
From the BlackSounds.News Curator Team: “Being the one act shortlisted in both years says the juries hear something constant in Sūn Byrd. Don’t Speak of Tomorrow tests that by putting the newest song first, ahead of the two singles that carried the band through the summer.”
Where to Hear Don’t Speak of Tomorrow and Follow the Oslo Band Sūn Byrd
Stream Don’t Speak of Tomorrow on Spotify, Apple Music or Bandcamp. Then follow Sūn Byrd on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Tour dates and records are on the official site.
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