THE SHORT STORY
​Gisle is a veteran innovator at the intersection of music and technology, with decades of experience inventing new tech, products, building companies, and creating successful exits.​
LIVE MUSIC
In 1995, he co-founded Bergenfest, today one of Norway’s premier music festivals, and served as its Chair of the Board from the very beginning until 2020.
He co-founded Bergen Live, Norway’s largest concert promoter, launching with the Rolling Stones in 2006 and later producing major concerts with Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Rihanna, Metallica and more. Gisle served as Chairman from the inception of the company in 2002 until its acquisition by Live Nation in 2019.
Bergen Live was acquired by Live Nation in 2019.
"Koengen" is the main venue for Bergen Live’s major concerts.
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY
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Since the 1990s, Gisle has developed several music software and holds a Master degree in Music/Technology with more than 25 years of international product experience.
His collaborations include the New York University (NYU), the New York Philharmonic, the Kennedy Center, the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, UNESCO, Quincy Jones’ QWEST TV, The German Fraunhofer Institute, and SUNSET PICTURES in Hollywood.
​MusIT
In 2002, he and his company MusIT, became the first Westerner to publish music technology in China, working with the China Conservatory of Music and the Central Conservatory of Music.​
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Gisle presenting MusIT at the NAMM-China show in Shanghai, 2004.
As the first music sequencer to integrate the traditional Chinese number-notation system, MusIT's Musicator opened an entirely new bridge between modern digital music production and centuries-old Chinese music practice.
GRIEG MUSIC EDUCATION
Gisle founded Grieg Music Education in 2005, the creators of Music Delta, honored on The World Finance 100 List in 2013, presenting the 100 new global Business elite of the year.
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Gisle founded the OIID company and launched OIID, the first music multitrack player for mobile devices in 2015.
Nikolai demonstrates OIID at the Royal Albert Hall in London, in connection with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra’s 250th anniversary celebration concert — showing the audience how they themselves could step into the role of conductor or producer. This concept later became fully realized in the iTO project.
In 2020 Gisle founded the iTO company together with Nikolai Johnsen, and they developed the iTO-mixer together with leading musicians, including Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, Alune Wade and Esperanza Spalding.
Gisle and Nikolai have been working with these musicians in multiple projects through International Jazz Day, the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, and UNESCO.
This video clip is a moment from the 77-hour Facebook Live session in which Esperanza composed and recorded her entire EXPOSURE album. The broadcast was followed by 4.2 million viewers, with Gisle serving as co-producer.
​​Gisle holds two U.S. patents for advanced methods of handling, integrating, and utilizing multiple forms of multimedia content.
