Anders Buaas (b. 1974) - guitarist, composer and producer from Larvik, Norway. He has played with several Norwegian bands, worked as a producer, as well as a touring guitarist for Paul DiAnno (Iron Maiden) and Tim Ripper Owens (Judas Priest).
Since 2017, Anders Buaas has released his own instrumental music, and really gotten noticed in the progressive rock community.
His first solo project was the album trilogy "The Witches of Finnmark", telling the horrifying stories of the persecution of witches in Norway during the 16th and 17th century. The trilogy was released in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and resulted in a tour in 2022, where the stories was told through his music, historian Rune Blix Hagens narrative, dancers and on-screen images.
In 2021 Buaas released the double album "Tarot" in collaboration with visual artist Verena Waddell, where they interpreted the 22 cards of the major arcana through musical compositions and paintings.
Buaas´ last album "The Edinburgh Suite" (2022) did really well, featuring musicians Marco Minnemann (Steven Wilson, The Aristocrats), Tony Franklin (The Firm, Kate Bush, Whitesnake), Christian M. Berg (Oslo-philharminic) and Richard Garcia (Tubular Tribute). It is a sonic journey through Buaas´favorite city.
In 2023 Anders Buaas and his band headlined the Crescendo Prog Festival in France.
2025 sees the release of "Trollringen", Buaas´ first album with vocals (on 4 of 10 tracks). This was inspired by Sigurd Hoels novel «Trollringen».
Buaas is currently working with Scottish author Graeme Milne on a musical, set to be released in 2027. It is called "Mausoleum", a love story from Edinburgh, woven into some of Edinburghs most famous ghost- and horror stories.
This album is loosely based on and inspired by the novel «Trollringen» by Norwegian author Sigurd Hoel.
"Trollringen is a historical saga, murder mystery, and domestic tragedy. It was inspired by his discovery in childhood of an executioner's block used in the beheading of a murderer in 1833.
From that image grew the story of a utopian, a young farmer named Haavard, whose struggle in his time against religious bigotry, mindless conformity,
and political and intellectual stagnation has implications for whatever or whoever can be branded as radical in our own time." (goodreads.com)
All the songs were written between 2019 and 2025 without a concept in mind, but fit the narrative of the story well. It is up to the listener to connect the dots.
"As I mainy focus on instrumental music, my main love and musical venture, I had some songs with vocals and lyrics that were unused. This was the time to fit them into an album." (A. Buaas)
A live string section is also new to this release, as well as the use of soprano saxophone on the title track.
Buaas new album "The Edinburgh Suite" features an all-star lineup with Marco Minnemann on drums, Tony Franklin on bass, Christian M. Berg on mallets/percussion and Richard Garcia on Keyboards. The album is a sonic journey through the streets and history of Edinburgh.
"Tarot" is a double album containing 22 tracks, each based on a card in the Tarots Major Arcana. This project is a collaboration with artist Verena Waddell, who painted 22 full size paintings for the tracks. This project was exhibited at art galleries, with live concert and live paintings. It is still possible to book this art exhibit with live performance.