Babel Fish

Babel Fish are a Norwegian pop rock band from Oslo formed in the late 1980s. The band's members are Tarjei van Ravens, Halvor Holter, Odd Jensen, and Simon Malm, the first three as co-founders. Babel Fish were influenced by artists such as The Beatles, Crowded House, and Kate Bush; they were a classic four-piece and their songs emphasized melodies, vocal harmonies, and catchy guitar riffs, featuring a production which combined a classic sound and some less frequent elements, such as Mellotron and recorded vocal samples. During the first years of the band, the group worked as a cover band and as studio musicians. The 1996 single "Light of Day" was released under the name Daily Planet, one year after the band had signed up with Waterfall Productions. As they were informed that a Swedish band had already been using that name, the group decided on the current name, inspired by the incredible Babel fish from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books by Douglas Adams. The band pitched "Light of Day" and "Mania" to international labels, and when Atlantic Records picked them up, their first album Babel Fish was already half finished. The album was released worldwide in 1998.