MOST people's knowledge of Norwegian music is limited to A-ha and the brunette who was one quarter of Abba, but Thomas Dybdhal hopes to change that.

Thomas has released four albums in his native Norway, all of which have gone platinum and has won several awards including two of the Norwegian version of the Grammys.

Now he's aiming to crack the UK market, issuing a debut CD that's a compilation of his music career so far and lining up a series of live dates that includes Derby's Royal.

"It's a nice way of introducing me as an artist," says Thomas. "Instead of re-releasing records that are five years old we have a collection that still has a common denominator running through it. The label picked the songs. No-one has ever heard of me so they don't have to take into consideration whether a song was a hit single in Norway or Denmark, they could just pick what they liked."

The self-titled UK album was released in September and got a warm reception.

"You always brace yourself when you release an album and you can't please everyone," says Thomas. "You expect a few horrible criticisms but people seem to like it."

Thomas doesn't even mind the numerous comparisons to Nick Drake. "You have to be pigeonholed that's how you place a new artist," he says. "There's no point in comparing me to another unknown artist. Nick Drake was a fantastic artist and I have no qualms about that."

Thomas picked up a guitar at the age of three and has always had an affinity with music. "When I was 11 it went from being a hobby to a big part of my life," he says. "My parents weren't musical at all and I had the chat with my dad about ''music being an unstable business'' but that's not what you believe when you are playing your guitar when you are 14 or 15.

"I started out like a million other boys playing all the riffs of solos to Metallica albums and Jimi Hendrix and all that stuff but I got to a point where I needed to make something of my own."

And the melancholic songs that Thomas created struck a chord in his homeland. "It's not the same scale as the UK where there are a zillion bands trying to make it at any one point but it's all relative," says Thomas.

"We only have 4.5 million people in Norway. To make it to a certain point where you can make a living at it here is still a rare thing. Everything is timing, luck and coincidence as well as having something people want to listen to.

"Trying to get radio plays in the UK is very hard. The big stations are very afraid of upsetting their demographic. It has to be something most people like and therefore nothing that takes risks."

That's why Thomas is doing it that hard way, playing dates up and down the country to get his name known.

"Playing live is what I love doing – it's one of the greatest joys of being a musician."

And Thomas has the advantage of always writing the songs in English.

"English pop music is almost like a genre in itself, it doesn't equate to anything in the language, it's just a big part of Norwegian popular culture in its own right. Everyone growing up has a relationship with the American or British pop and rock scene. It's very natural."

THOMAS DYBDHAL

WHERE: The Royal, Derby.

WHEN: Monday, December 7 (doors open 7pm).

TICKETS: £7 in advance.

VISIT: www.theroyalderby. co.uk or call 01332 255800 – Assembly Rooms box office.